Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2003

Tornado Watch 964

November 18, 2003Henry County, Houston County, Russell County, Alabama; 12 counties in Florida; 46 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Nov 18, 2003, 9:45 PM CST for Henry County, Houston County, Russell County, Alabama; 12 counties in Florida; 46 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Nov 18, 2003, 9:45 PM CST (03:45 UTC)
Expired
Nov 19, 2003, 4:00 AM CST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 61 counties

Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Russell County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Washington County, FL, Baker County, GA, Ben Hill County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Bleckley County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Chattahoochee County, GA, Clay County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Cook County, GA, Crawford County, GA, Crisp County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dodge County, GA, Dooly County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Grady County, GA, Harris County, GA, Houston County, GA, Irwin County, GA, Laurens County, GA, Lee County, GA, Macon County, GA, Marion County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Muscogee County, GA, Peach County, GA, Pulaski 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, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Turner County, GA, Twiggs County, GA, Webster County, GA, Wilcox County, GA, Worth County, GA

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, 3.8 hours before the alert went out and 70 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 00:00Z on 2003-11-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 00:00Z on 2003-11-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 317 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1044 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
317 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
384 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 190346
SEL4  
SPC WW 190345
ALZ000-FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-191000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 964 
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 
1045 PM EST TUE NOV 18 2003

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       SOUTHEAST ALABAMA
       FLORIDA PANHANDLE
       SOUTHERN GEORGIA
       COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 1045 PM
UNTIL 500 AM EST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH 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 15 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF MACON GEORGIA TO 15
MILES EAST OF APALACHICOLA FLORIDA.

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 963. WATCH NUMBER 963 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER
1045 PM EST. 


DISCUSSION...BAND OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE EWD INTO SWRN GA
AND ACROSS FL PANHANDLE AHEAD OF APPROACHING STRONG UPPER LEVEL
TROUGH.  SHEAR PROFILES REMAINING VERY FAVORABLE FOR ROTATING STORMS
AND ISOLATED TORNADOES ASSOCIATED WITH BOWING LINE SEGMENTS.  LACK
OF STRONG  INSTABILITY CONTINUES TO BE THE LIMITING PARAMETER. 
HOWEVER VERY MOIST TROPICAL SLY FLOW SUFFICIENT TO MAINTAIN TORNADO
THREAT THROUGH MUCH OF THE NIGHT GIVEN THE STRONG SHEAR.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22040.


...HALES

324,0824 294,0833 294,0855 324,0850

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 18, 6:45 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarbour, Bullock, Chambers, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw and 11 more60 min
Nov 18, 6:46 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarbour, Bullock, Chambers, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw and 11 more59 min
Nov 18, 8:10 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarbour, Bullock, Chambers, Clay, Dale, Elmore and 8 more95 min
Nov 18, 11:22 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHenry, Houston, Russell83 min
Nov 19, 1:43 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Madison, Taylor, Wakulla92 min
Nov 19, 3:20 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCAlachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie and 12 more6 hr
Nov 19, 5:11 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCitrus, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lake, Levy and 9 more3 hr
Nov 19, 7:30 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCCharlotte, Citrus, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando and 9 more6 hr
Nov 19, 12:18 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bibb, Butts, Clarke and 42 more57 min
Nov 19, 1:20 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCBaldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bibb, Burke, Butts and 37 more6 hr
Nov 19, 4:14 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBurke, Columbia, Glascock, Jefferson, Lincoln, McDuffie and 3 more61 min
Nov 19, 10:29 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHabersham, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union61 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2003Tornado Watches in Florida, 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.