Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 291
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 7, 2003, 7:50 PM CDT for 4 counties in Alabama; 29 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 7, 2003, 7:50 PM CDT (00:50 UTC)
- Expired
- May 8, 2003, 1:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 33 counties
Barbour County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Lee County, AL, Russell County, AL, Baldwin County, GA, Bibb County, GA, Bleckley County, GA, Chattahoochee County, GA, Crawford County, GA, Dodge County, GA, Dooly County, GA, Harris County, GA, Houston County, GA, Jones County, GA, Lamar County, GA, Macon County, GA, Marion County, GA, Meriwether County, GA, Monroe County, GA, Muscogee County, GA, Peach County, GA, Pike County, GA, Pulaski County, GA, Schley County, GA, Stewart County, GA, Sumter County, GA, Talbot County, GA, Taylor County, GA, Troup County, GA, Twiggs County, GA, Upson County, GA, Webster County, GA, Wilkinson County, GA
The radar
The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:52 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 9:21 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | FFC | Troup | 3 hr |
| May 7, 9:41 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FFC | Harris | 49 min |
| May 7, 9:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chambers, Lee | 48 min |
| May 7, 10:05 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FFC | Harris | 25 min |
| May 7, 10:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Harris, Talbot | 45 min |
| May 7, 11:52 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | FFC | Meriwether | 4 hr |
| May 8, 12:11 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | FFC | Troup | 3 hr |
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 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 210 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
- 2242 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -18 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 809 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 53 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 95 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 135 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 2.4
- Supercell composite
- 8.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 080045
SEL1
SPC WW 080050
ALZ000-GAZ000-080600-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 291
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
850 PM EDT WED MAY 7 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHEAST ALABAMA
CENTRAL GEORGIA
EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING FROM 850 PM
UNTIL 200 AM EDT.
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 40 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF AUBURN ALABAMA TO 35
MILES EAST OF MACON 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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO
WATCH NUMBER 287...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 288. WATCH NUMBER 287 288
WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 850 PM EDT. CONTINUE...WW 289...WW
290...
DISCUSSION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH EMBEDDED SUPERCELLS CONTINUE
TO DEVELOP E/SE ACROSS ERN AL AND W CENTRAL GA. 40-50 KT DEEP LAYER
SHEAR AND MODERATELY UNSTABLE AIRMASS AHEAD OF STORMS...SUPPORT A
THREAT OF ISOLATED TORNADOES FOR A FEW MORE HOURS ALONG WITH THE
DAMAGING WIND AND LARGE HAIL THREAT.
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 27030.
...HALES
325,0853 331,0830 320,0830 314,0853SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 7:32 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barbour, Bullock, Chambers, Coosa, Crenshaw, Elmore and 6 more | 58 min |
| May 7, 10:09 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barbour, Chambers, Lee, Russell | 96 min |
| May 8, 12:04 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barbour, Lee, Russell | 56 min |
| May 8, 1:18 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Autauga, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Chilton, Elmore and 7 more | 3 hr |
| May 8, 2:56 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Chambers, Clay, Randolph, Talladega | 3 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2003Tornado Watches in Alabama, 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.