Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 62
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 19, 2003, 9:25 PM CST for 14 counties in Alabama; 9 counties in Florida; 36 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 19, 2003, 9:25 PM CST (03:25 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 20, 2003, 3:00 AM CST
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 59 counties
Barbour County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dale County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Lee County, AL, Macon County, AL, Pike County, AL, Russell County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Baker County, GA, Baldwin County, GA, Bibb County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Chattahoochee County, GA, Clay County, GA, Crawford County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dooly County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Harris County, GA, Houston County, GA, Jones County, GA, Lamar County, GA, Lee County, GA, Macon County, GA, Marion County, GA, Meriwether County, GA, Miller County, GA, Monroe County, GA, Muscogee County, GA, Peach County, GA, Pike County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Schley County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Stewart County, GA, Sumter County, GA, Talbot County, GA, Taylor County, GA, Terrell County, GA, Troup County, GA, Upson County, GA, Webster County, GA
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, 10:00 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Okaloosa | 45 min |
| Mar 19, 11:12 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Meriwether | 33 min |
| Mar 19, 11:15 PM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Walton | 45 min |
| Mar 19, 11:42 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Troup | 33 min |
| Mar 19, 11:59 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Meriwether | 31 min |
| Mar 20, 12:04 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Geneva | 41 min |
| Mar 20, 1:37 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Bay | 38 min |
| Mar 20, 2:19 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Bay, Calhoun, Jackson | 41 min |
| Mar 20, 2:56 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Jackson | 49 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
Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 3.4 hours before the alert went out and 166 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
- 1137 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 511 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 61 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 140 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 162 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.9
- Supercell composite
- 4.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WWUS20 KWNS 200320 SEL2 SPC WW 200325 ALZ000-FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-200900- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 62 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 1025 PM EST WED MAR 19 2003 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN ALABAMA THE WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE WESTERN AND SOUTHERN GEORGIA COASTAL WATERS EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING FROM 1025 PM UNTIL 400 AM 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 70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 75 MILES SOUTHWEST OF PANAMA CITY FLORIDA TO 40 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF LA GRANGE 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 60. WATCH NUMBER 60 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 1025 PM EST. CONTINUE...WW 59...WW 61... DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS/SUPERCELLS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP/INTENSIFY ALONG STALLED DRYLINE ACROSS SE AL/WRN GA AND THE WRN FL PANHANDLE DURING THE OVERNIGHT AS EXIT REGION OF HIGH LEVEL SPEED MAX NOW OVER THE N CNTRL GULF OF MEX CONTINUES NEWD. OTHER STORMS MAY DEVELOP/INTENSIFY ALONG WARM FRONT OVER CNTRL GA. STRENGTH OF DEEP LARGELY UNIDIRECTIONAL SHEAR /ON THE ORDER OF 70 KTS/...PRESENCE OF STEEP MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES AND RICH GULF MOISTURE SUPPLY SUGGEST POTENTIAL FOR SPLITTING SUPERCELLS WITH HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. 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 22035. ...CORFIDI 331,0831 292,0852 292,0874 331,0853
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 19, 8:41 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Barbour, Butler, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington and 8 more | 3 hr |
| Mar 19, 11:52 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Henry, Houston | 2 hr |
| Mar 20, 2:06 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Calhoun, Gadsden, Jackson, Leon, Liberty | 54 min |
| Mar 20, 2:40 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton and 7 more | 5 hr |
| Mar 20, 5:12 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Jefferson and 5 more | 2 hr |
| Mar 20, 1:35 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Columbia, Gadsden, Hamilton, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty and 1 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 20, 3:21 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baker, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, Nassau | 114 min |
| Mar 20, 5:57 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baker, Columbia, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon and 5 more | 2 hr |
| Mar 19, 6:04 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Camden and 15 more | 116 min |
| Mar 19, 6:15 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Appling, Bacon, Bryan, Bulloch, Candler, Chatham and 11 more | 4 hr |
| Mar 19, 7:58 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Burke, Columbia, Glascock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Lincoln and 6 more | 3 hr |
| Mar 19, 10:16 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll and 50 more | 2 hr |
| Mar 19, 11:20 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Banks, Barrow, Butts, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb and 38 more | 4 hr |
| Mar 20, 7:40 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks and 20 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 20, 10:09 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atkinson, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Clinch, Colquitt and 6 more | 2 hr |
| Mar 20, 12:33 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks and 10 more | 117 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2003Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2003Tornado Watches in Florida, 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.