Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2003

Tornado Watch 966

November 19, 200318 counties in Florida; 47 counties in Georgia; Beaufort County, Hampton County, Jasper County, South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Nov 19, 2003, 4:20 AM EST for 18 counties in Florida; 47 counties in Georgia; Beaufort County, Hampton County, Jasper County, South Carolina. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Nov 19, 2003, 4:20 AM EST (09:20 UTC)
Expired
Nov 19, 2003, 10:00 AM EST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 68 counties

Alachua County, FL, Baker County, FL, Bradford County, FL, Clay County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Duval County, FL, Flagler County, FL, Gilchrist County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Madison County, FL, Nassau County, FL, Putnam County, FL, Saint Johns County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Union County, FL, Appling County, GA, Atkinson County, GA, Bacon County, GA, Ben Hill County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Bleckley County, GA, Brantley County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Bryan County, GA, Bulloch County, GA, Camden County, GA, Candler County, GA, Charlton County, GA, Chatham County, GA, Clinch County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Cook County, GA, Dodge County, GA, Echols County, GA, Effingham County, GA, Emanuel County, GA, Evans County, GA, Glynn County, GA, Irwin County, GA, Jeff Davis County, GA, Jenkins County, GA, Johnson County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Laurens County, GA, Liberty County, GA, Long County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, McIntosh County, GA, Montgomery County, GA, Pierce County, GA, Pulaski County, GA, Screven County, GA, Tattnall County, GA, Telfair County, GA, Tift County, GA, Toombs County, GA, Treutlen County, GA, Twiggs County, GA, Ware County, GA, Wayne County, GA, Wheeler County, GA, Wilcox County, GA, Beaufort County, SC, Hampton County, SC, Jasper County, SC

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), launched 00:00Z, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 93 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, Jacksonville, FL at 00:00Z on 2003-11-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Jacksonville, FL at 00:00Z on 2003-11-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 87 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
2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-125 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
931 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
87 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
147 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 190924
SEL6  
SPC WW 190920
FLZ000-GAZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-191500-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 966 
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 
420 AM EST WED NOV 19 2003

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

       NORTH FLORIDA
       SOUTHERN AND EASTERN GEORGIA
       SOUTHERN SOUTH CAROLINA
       COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 420 AM UNTIL 1000 AM EST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 0.5 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 85 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES NORTHWEST OF SAVANNAH GEORGIA TO 25 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF GAINESVILLE 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 964. WATCH NUMBER 964 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 420
AM EST. CONTINUE...WW 965...


DISCUSSION...CONVERGENCE ALONG CNTRL GA CONVECTIVE BAND HAS
INCREASED IN PAST COUPLE OF HOURS AS WLY FLOW IN WAKE OF BAND HAS
STRENGTHENED/DEEPENED. STRONG PRESSURE FALLS AHEAD OF LINE AND
SATELLITE DATA SUGGEST THAT ASCENT ASSOCIATED WITH STRONG NRN MS
UPPER VORT IS BEGINNING TO AFFECT REGION.  COUPLED WITH STRENGTH OF
DEEP SHEAR /AOA 50 KT/...SETUP APPEARS SUPPORTIVE OF A FEW
SUPERCELLS WITH HIGH WIND AND POSSIBLY ISOLATED TORNADOES ALONG
CONVECTIVE LINE.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 0.5 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.


...CORFIDI

324,0803 292,0810 292,0835 324,0832

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 18, 7:45 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty and 3 more60 min
Nov 18, 7:46 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty and 3 more59 min
Nov 18, 9:10 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes and 6 more95 min
Nov 18, 10:45 PM ESTTornado WatchSPCBay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Jefferson and 6 more6 hr
Nov 19, 12:22 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Jefferson and 6 more83 min
Nov 19, 2:43 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Madison, Taylor, Wakulla92 min
Nov 19, 6:11 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCitrus, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lake, Levy and 9 more3 hr
Nov 19, 8:30 AM ESTTornado WatchSPCCharlotte, Citrus, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando and 9 more6 hr
Nov 19, 1:18 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bibb, Butts, Clarke and 42 more57 min
Nov 19, 2:20 AM ESTTornado WatchSPCBaldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bibb, Burke, Butts and 37 more6 hr
Nov 19, 5:14 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBurke, Columbia, Glascock, Jefferson, Lincoln, McDuffie and 3 more61 min
Nov 19, 11:29 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHabersham, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union61 min
Nov 19, 6:31 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCherokee, Chester, Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Fairfield and 13 more119 min
Nov 19, 7:25 AM ESTTornado WatchSPCAiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Berkeley, Calhoun and 26 more6 hr

Nearby

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