Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 61
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 19, 2003, 7:15 PM EST for 17 counties in Georgia; Beaufort County, Jasper County, South Carolina. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 19, 2003, 7:15 PM EST (00:15 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 19, 2003, 11:00 PM EST
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Appling County, GA, Bacon County, GA, Bryan County, GA, Bulloch County, GA, Candler County, GA, Chatham County, GA, Effingham County, GA, Emanuel County, GA, Evans County, GA, Jenkins County, GA, Liberty County, GA, Long County, GA, McIntosh County, GA, Screven County, GA, Tattnall County, GA, Toombs County, GA, Wayne County, GA, Beaufort County, SC, Jasper County, SC
Warnings issued inside it
9 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 19, 7:47 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Appling | 43 min |
| Mar 19, 8:07 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Wayne | 23 min |
| Mar 19, 8:10 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Long | 65 min |
| Mar 19, 8:50 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Liberty | 40 min |
| Mar 19, 9:20 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Chatham | 25 min |
| Mar 19, 9:27 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Bryan | 33 min |
| Mar 19, 9:46 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Brantley, Wayne | 44 min |
| Mar 19, 10:04 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Long | 26 min |
| Mar 19, 10:33 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Liberty | 27 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
Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 171 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
- 7 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -255 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 516 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 61 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 257 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 364 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 2.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WWUS20 KWNS 200019 SEL1 SPC WW 200015 GAZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-200400- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 61 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 715 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST GEORGIA SOUTHERN SOUTH CAROLINA COASTAL WATERS EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 715 PM UNTIL 1100 PM EST. 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 50 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF A LINE FROM 70 MILES WEST OF SAVANNAH GEORGIA TO 45 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF SAVANNAH 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 58...WW 59...WW 60... DISCUSSION...SUPERCELL ALONG WARM FRONT NEAR AYS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE GENERALLY ENEWD. WHILE SHALLOW LAYER OF SOMEWHAT LESS UNSTABLE AIR IS PRESENT ALONG ITS PROJECTED PATH EWD INTO FAR SRN SC...COMBINATION OF INCREASING DEEP SHEAR OVER TIME...AND EXISTING STRONG STORM CIRCULATION...SUGGEST A CONTINUED THREAT FOR TORNADOES. OTHER STORMS MAY FORM ELSEWHERE ALONG AND N OF WARM FRONT OVER ERN GA/WRN SC LATER THIS EVENING...POSING A THREAT FOR HAIL. 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 25030. ...CORFIDI 310,0803 312,0823 325,0821 323,0802
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 19, 7:04 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Camden and 15 more | 116 min |
| Mar 19, 8:58 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Burke, Columbia, Glascock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Lincoln and 6 more | 3 hr |
| Mar 19, 9:41 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clay, Early | 3 hr |
| Mar 19, 10:25 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baker, Baldwin, Bibb, Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay and 30 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 19, 11:16 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll and 50 more | 2 hr |
| Mar 20, 12:20 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Banks, Barrow, Butts, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb and 38 more | 4 hr |
| Mar 20, 12:52 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb and 52 more | 2 hr |
| Mar 20, 3:06 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien and 46 more | 54 min |
| Mar 20, 3:40 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien and 50 more | 5 hr |
| Mar 20, 6:12 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks and 40 more | 2 hr |
| Mar 20, 8:40 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks and 20 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 20, 11:09 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atkinson, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Clinch, Colquitt and 6 more | 2 hr |
| Mar 20, 1:33 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks and 10 more | 117 min |
| Mar 20, 2:35 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley and 34 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 20, 4:21 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley and 36 more | 114 min |
| Mar 20, 6:57 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley and 37 more | 2 hr |
| Mar 20, 2:16 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Williamsburg | 119 min |
| Mar 20, 5:48 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Calhoun, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Horry and 5 more | 117 min |
| Mar 20, 10:10 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Georgetown, Horry | 5 hr |
| Mar 20, 10:40 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Horry | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 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.