Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 63

March 20, 200344 counties in Georgia; 25 counties in South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Mar 20, 2003, 12:20 AM EST for 44 counties in Georgia; 25 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 4 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 20, 2003, 12:20 AM EST (05:20 UTC)
Expired
Mar 20, 2003, 4:00 AM EST
In force
4 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 69 counties

Banks County, GA, Barrow County, GA, Butts County, GA, Clarke County, GA, Clayton County, GA, Cobb County, GA, Columbia County, GA, Coweta County, GA, DeKalb County, GA, Douglas County, GA, Elbert County, GA, Fayette County, GA, Forsyth County, GA, Franklin County, GA, Fulton County, GA, Glascock County, GA, Greene County, GA, Gwinnett County, GA, Habersham County, GA, Hall County, GA, Hancock County, GA, Hart County, GA, Heard County, GA, Henry County, GA, Jackson County, GA, Jasper County, GA, Lincoln County, GA, Lumpkin County, GA, Madison County, GA, McDuffie County, GA, Morgan County, GA, Newton County, GA, Oconee County, GA, Oglethorpe County, GA, Putnam County, GA, Richmond County, GA, Rockdale County, GA, Spalding County, GA, Stephens County, GA, Taliaferro County, GA, Walton County, GA, Warren County, GA, White County, GA, Wilkes County, GA, Abbeville County, SC, Aiken County, SC, Anderson County, SC, Barnwell County, SC, Calhoun County, SC, Chester County, SC, Chesterfield County, SC, Darlington County, SC, Edgefield County, SC, Fairfield County, SC, Greenwood County, SC, Kershaw County, SC, Lancaster County, SC, Laurens County, SC, Lee County, SC, Lexington County, SC, Marlboro County, SC, McCormick County, SC, Newberry County, SC, Oconee County, SC, Orangeburg County, SC, Richland County, SC, Saluda County, SC, Sumter County, SC, Union County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 129 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:22 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.

Warnings issued inside it

7 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 20, 12:20 AM ESTTornado WarningFFCWalton25 min
Mar 20, 12:27 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEAiken, Barnwell33 min
Mar 20, 12:39 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEOrangeburg66 min
Mar 20, 1:10 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningFFCClayton, Coweta, Fayette, Henry, Spalding3 hr
Mar 20, 1:55 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningGSPFranklin, Stephens3 hr
Mar 20, 1:59 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGSPOconee, Pickens46 min
Mar 20, 3:19 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningFFCBanks, Barrow, Jackson, Walton116 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 162 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 00:00Z on 2003-03-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 753 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 2003-03-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 168 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
753 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-22 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
467 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
71 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
168 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
215 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.6
Supercell composite
2.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 19, 7:04 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Camden and 15 more116 min
Mar 19, 7:15 PM ESTTornado WatchSPCAppling, Bacon, Bryan, Bulloch, Candler, Chatham and 11 more4 hr
Mar 19, 8:58 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBurke, Columbia, Glascock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Lincoln and 6 more3 hr
Mar 19, 9:41 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClay, Early3 hr
Mar 19, 10:25 PM ESTTornado WatchSPCBaker, Baldwin, Bibb, Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay and 30 more6 hr
Mar 19, 11:16 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll and 50 more2 hr
Mar 20, 12:52 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb and 52 more2 hr
Mar 20, 3:06 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien and 46 more54 min
Mar 20, 3:40 AM ESTTornado WatchSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien and 50 more5 hr
Mar 20, 6:12 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks and 40 more2 hr
Mar 20, 8:40 AM ESTTornado WatchSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks and 20 more6 hr
Mar 20, 11:09 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtkinson, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Clinch, Colquitt and 6 more2 hr
Mar 20, 1:33 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks and 10 more117 min
Mar 20, 2:35 PM ESTTornado WatchSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley and 34 more6 hr
Mar 20, 4:21 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley and 36 more114 min
Mar 20, 6:57 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley and 37 more2 hr
Mar 20, 2:16 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGeorgetown, Horry, Marion, Williamsburg119 min
Mar 20, 5:48 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCalhoun, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Horry and 5 more117 min
Mar 20, 10:10 AM ESTTornado WatchSPCGeorgetown, Horry5 hr
Mar 20, 10:40 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHorry2 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Georgia, 2003Severe Thunderstorm Watches in South Carolina, 2003Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.