Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 250
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 5, 2003, 8:50 AM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 5, 2003, 8:50 AM CDT (13:50 UTC)
- Expired
- May 5, 2003, 3:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 62 counties
Bibb County, AL, Blount County, AL, Calhoun County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Cherokee County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Clay County, AL, Cleburne County, AL, Coosa County, AL, DeKalb County, AL, Etowah County, AL, Jackson County, AL, Marshall County, AL, Perry County, AL, Randolph County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Bartow County, GA, Carroll County, GA, Catoosa County, GA, Chattooga County, GA, Cherokee County, GA, Cobb County, GA, Dade County, GA, Dawson County, GA, Douglas County, GA, Fannin County, GA, Floyd County, GA, Gilmer County, GA, Gordon County, GA, Haralson County, GA, Heard County, GA, Lumpkin County, GA, Murray County, GA, Paulding County, GA, Pickens County, GA, Polk County, GA, Towns County, GA, Troup County, GA, Union County, GA, Walker County, GA, Whitfield County, GA, Cherokee County, NC, Clay County, NC, Graham County, NC, Swain County, NC, Bledsoe County, TN, Blount County, TN, Bradley County, TN, Grundy County, TN, Hamilton County, TN, Loudon County, TN, Marion County, TN, McMinn County, TN, Meigs County, TN, Monroe County, TN, Polk County, TN, Rhea County, TN, Sequatchie County, TN, Van Buren County, TN
The radar
The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 121 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:51 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
12 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 9:05 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MRX | Monroe | 40 min |
| May 5, 9:27 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Graham, Swain | 48 min |
| May 5, 12:31 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OHX | Coffee, Franklin, Grundy | 59 min |
| May 5, 1:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MRX | Marion, Sequatchie | 26 min |
| May 5, 1:22 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Blount | 23 min |
| May 5, 1:25 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HUN | Marshall | 25 min |
| May 5, 1:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Catoosa | 34 min |
| May 5, 1:35 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MRX | Sequatchie | 25 min |
| May 5, 1:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MRX | Hamilton | 32 min |
| May 5, 1:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN | DeKalb, Marshall | 35 min |
| May 5, 2:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MRX | Bradley | 35 min |
| May 5, 2:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MRX | McMinn, Polk | 35 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
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 121 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
- 1048 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -79 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 616 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 59 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 299 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 345 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.7
- Supercell composite
- 5.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 051351
SEL0
SPC WW 051350
ALZ000-GAZ000-TNZ000-052000-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 250
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
850 AM CDT MON MAY 5 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
EASTERN AND CENTRAL ALABAMA
NORTHWEST GEORGIA
SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE
EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 850 AM UNTIL 300
PM CDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 65 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 70 MILES NORTHEAST OF CHATTANOOGA TENNESSEE TO 55
MILES WEST OF AUBURN ALABAMA.
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.....TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 248. WATCH NUMBER
248 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 850 AM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 246...WW
247...WW 249...
DISCUSSION...LARGE PLUME OF STEEP LAPSE RATES AND STRONG WLY FLOW
ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO OVERSPREAD THE REGION THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.
THOUGH WARM SECTOR REMAINS CAPPED ATTM...HEATING AND WEAK ASCENT
WILL SUPPORT A CONTINUED THREAT OF TORNADIC SUPERCELLS OVER WW.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25035.
...EVANS
354,0830 323,0851 323,0872 354,0852SPC 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, 6:15 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | DeKalb, Jackson, Marshall | 3 hr |
| May 5, 7:11 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Colbert, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone and 2 more | 2 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 |
| May 5, 3:15 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Cherokee, Graham | 6 hr |
| May 4, 7:34 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer and 20 more | 116 min |
| May 4, 9:26 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer and 19 more | 2 hr |
| May 4, 11:37 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bedford, Cannon, Cheatham, Clay, Coffee, Davidson and 29 more | 23 min |
| May 4, 11:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bedford, Cannon, Cheatham, Clay, Coffee, Davidson and 30 more | 5 hr |
| May 5, 1:20 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer and 19 more | 6 hr |
| May 5, 2:31 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anderson, Bedford, Bledsoe, Blount, Campbell, Cannon and 42 more | 89 min |
| May 5, 11:59 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Pickett | 61 min |
| May 5, 5:18 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dyer, Lake, Lauderdale | 117 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2003Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2003Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 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.