Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 17, NWS Tallahassee, FL

March 20, 2003Worth County, Georgia

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Mar 20, 2003, 5:31 AM EST for Worth County, Georgia. It was in force for 44 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 20, 2003, 5:31 AM EST (10:31 UTC)
Expired
Mar 20, 2003, 6:15 AM EST
In force
44 min
Issued by
NWS Tallahassee, FL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Worth County, GA

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Mar 20, 3:40 AM ESTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 121 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 2003-03-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1137 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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 00:00Z on 2003-03-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 140 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

590 
WFUS52 KTAE 201031
TORTLH
GAC321-201115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
530 AM EST THU MAR 20 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WORTH COUNTY IN GEORGIA
  THIS INCLUDES SYLVESTER...

* UNTIL 615 AM EST

* AT 525 AM EST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  POSSIBLE TORNADO 17 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SYLVESTER...OR ABOUT 11
  MILES SOUTHEAST OF PUTNEY...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  SYLVESTER...POULAN BY 610 AM EST...

THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION. ACT QUICKLY IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF
THIS TORNADO...MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF AVAILABLE.
OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.

LAT...LON 3137 8406 3131 8401 3151 8369 3164 8383

$$

22-BARRY

The office that day

Everything else NWS Tallahassee, FL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 20, 3:56 AM ESTTornado WarningTAEDecatur, Seminole49 min
Mar 20, 4:47 AM ESTTornado WarningTAEBaker, Mitchell43 min
Mar 20, 11:37 AM ESTTornado WarningTAEColquitt, Cook23 min
Mar 20, 11:53 AM ESTTornado WarningTAEBerrien22 min
Mar 20, 12:17 PM ESTTornado WarningTAEBerrien28 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Georgia, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes 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.