Alert archive / Georgia / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 480

April 17, 200319 counties in Georgia; 4 counties in Tennessee

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Apr 17, 2003, 3:13 PM EDT for 19 counties in Georgia; 4 counties in Tennessee. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 17, 2003, 3:13 PM EDT (19:13 UTC)
Expired
Apr 17, 2003, 5:45 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 23 counties

Bartow County, GA, Catoosa County, GA, Chattooga County, GA, Cherokee County, GA, Cobb County, GA, Dade County, GA, Dawson County, GA, Douglas County, GA, Floyd County, GA, Forsyth County, GA, Fulton County, GA, Gordon County, GA, Haralson County, GA, Murray County, GA, Paulding County, GA, Pickens County, GA, Polk County, GA, Walker County, GA, Whitfield County, GA, Bledsoe County, TN, Bradley County, TN, Hamilton County, TN, Sequatchie County, TN

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 109 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:16 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 7.2 hours before the alert went out and 150 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2003-04-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2003-04-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 53 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1324 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
53 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
105 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

562 
ACUS11 KWNS 171914
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 171913 
GAZ000-TNZ000-ALZ000-172145-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0480
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0213 PM CDT THU APR 17 2003

AREAS AFFECTED...PARTS OF MIDDLE/ERN TN ...NRN GA

CONCERNING...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL 

VALID 171913Z - 172145Z

THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY WILL INTENSIFY NEXT FEW HOURS...BUT WW IS
NOT CURRENTLY ANTICIPATED AS  ENVIRONMENT IS EXPECTED TO BECOME
ONLY MARGINALLY SUPPORTIVE OF SEVERE THREAT.

NORTHWESTERLY MID-LEVEL SPEED MAXIMUM...WEST OF NEGATIVELY TILTED
SHORT WAVE TROUGH AXIS OVER THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY...APPEARS TO BE
SHIFTING SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS WESTERN TENNESSEE...MUCH AS
SUGGESTED BY MODELS.  EXIT REGION OF JET STREAK IS PROGGED TO
NOSE INTO THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS BY 18/00Z...AND WILL BEGIN TO
ENHANCE FORCING FOR UPWARD VERTICAL MOTION AND VERTICAL SHEAR
PROFILES FROM PARTS OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INTO NORTHERN GEORGIA
WITHIN THE NEXT FEW HOURS.

BOUNDARY LAYER IS WARMING THROUGH THE 70S ALONG MOISTURE GRADIENT
WEST OF LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE AXIS EXTENDING FROM THE EASTERN GULF
COAST INTO GEORGIA...NORTHWEST OF ATLANTA...ON INTO THE VICINITY
OF CHATTANOOGA TN...WHERE CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT APPEARS TO BE
UNDERWAY.  AS LIFT ASSOCIATED WITH LOW-LEVEL WARM ADVECTION ALONG
THE WESTERN SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS BECOMES
ENHANCED...ONGOING ACTIVITY LIKELY WILL BEGIN TO INTENSIFY. 
VERTICAL SHEAR PROFILES WILL BECOME SUFFICIENT FOR UPDRAFT
ROTATION...WHICH WILL CONTRIBUTE TO POTENTIAL FOR HAIL/GUSTY
WINDS WITH CELLS DEVELOPING IN ENVIRONMENT WITH MEAN MIXED LAYER
CAPE OF 500 TO 1000 J/KG.

..KERR.. 04/17/2003

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...MRX...FFC...OHX...BMX...HUN...

35458559 35818510 35388485 34668466 34378401 33658434
33438483 33848547

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Georgia, 2003Mesoscale Discussions in Tennessee, 2003Every mesoscale discussion in 2003

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.