Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 248
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 5, 2003, 6:15 AM CDT for DeKalb County, Jackson County, Marshall County, Alabama; 25 counties in Georgia; Oconee County, South Carolina. It was in force for 3 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 5, 2003, 6:15 AM CDT (11:15 UTC)
- Expired
- May 5, 2003, 9:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 29 counties
DeKalb County, AL, Jackson County, AL, Marshall County, AL, Banks County, GA, Bartow County, GA, Catoosa County, GA, Chattooga County, GA, Cherokee County, GA, Dade County, GA, Dawson County, GA, Fannin County, GA, Floyd County, GA, Forsyth County, GA, Franklin County, GA, Gilmer County, GA, Gordon County, GA, Habersham County, GA, Hall County, GA, Lumpkin County, GA, Murray County, GA, Pickens County, GA, Rabun County, GA, Stephens County, GA, Towns County, GA, Union County, GA, Walker County, GA, White County, GA, Whitfield County, GA, Oconee County, SC
The radar
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 108 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:17 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.
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, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 133 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 772 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -14 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1162 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 46 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 57 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 162 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.3
- Supercell composite
- 2.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 051113
SEL8
SPC WW 051115
ALZ000-GAZ000-051400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 248
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
715 AM EDT MON MAY 5 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHEAST ALABAMA
NORTH GEORGIA
EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING FROM 715 AM UNTIL 1000 AM EDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 55 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 90 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 60 MILES NORTHEAST OF ROME GEORGIA TO 20 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF ROME GEORGIA.
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 245...WW 246...WW 247...
DISCUSSION...NE AL/SRN TN MCS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE MAINLY EWD...WITH
SOME SWD DEVELOPMENT POSSIBLE. LOW LEVEL SHEAR IS ENHANCED INVOF
WEAK WARM FRONT ORIENTED S/W OVER N GA...WHERE MODEST BOUNDARY LAYER
MOISTURE INFLOW WILL CONTINUE. THUS...POTENTIAL WILL EXIST FOR
ISOLATED TORNADOES IN ADDITION MARGINALLY SEVERE HAIL/LOCALLY
DAMAGING WIND AS SYSTEM MOVES ACROSS N GA.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 50 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26040.
...CORFIDI
345,0824 340,0832 340,0863 345,0860SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 4:18 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Colbert, Lauderdale | 57 min |
| May 5, 4:55 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison and 1 more | 6 hr |
| May 5, 6:07 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | DeKalb, Jackson, Marshall | 83 min |
| May 5, 7:11 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Colbert, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone and 2 more | 2 hr |
| May 5, 8:50 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton and 13 more | 6 hr |
| May 5, 9:05 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Colbert, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Hale and 13 more | 115 min |
| May 5, 9:35 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Colbert, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Lamar and 10 more | 5 hr |
| May 5, 10:38 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bibb, Blount, Colbert, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin and 15 more | 3 hr |
| May 5, 11:06 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bibb, Colbert, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin, Greene and 12 more | 114 min |
| May 5, 12:52 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bibb, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay and 11 more | 113 min |
| May 5, 2:13 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton and 32 more | 62 min |
| May 5, 2:35 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bibb, Blount, Colbert, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin and 15 more | 7 hr |
| May 5, 5:40 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Blount, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne and 26 more | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2003Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2003Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 2003Every tornado 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.