Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 3
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 26, 2004, 9:30 AM CST for 4 counties in Alabama; 14 counties in Florida; 25 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jan 26, 2004, 9:30 AM CST (15:30 UTC)
- Expired
- Jan 26, 2004, 3:00 PM CST
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 43 counties
Dale County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Atkinson County, GA, Bacon County, GA, Baker County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Clay County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Cook County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Grady County, GA, Irwin County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Pierce County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Wayne County, GA, Worth County, GA
Warnings issued inside it
4 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 26, 10:44 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Bay | 61 min |
| Jan 26, 11:19 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Decatur, Grady | 41 min |
| Jan 26, 11:55 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Grady, Thomas | 35 min |
| Jan 26, 12:01 PM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Tift, Worth | 44 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 12:00Z, 3.5 hours before the alert went out and 120 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
- 549 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -12 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 470 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 52 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 219 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 281 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.7
- Supercell composite
- 4.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
420
WWUS20 KWNS 261528
SEL3
SPC WW 261530
ALZ000-FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-262100-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 3
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1030 AM EST MON JAN 26 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHEAST ALABAMA
FLORIDA PANHANDLE
SOUTHERN GEORGIA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 1030 AM UNTIL 400
PM 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 110 STATUTE MILES EAST AND
WEST OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF ALBANY GEORGIA TO
45 MILES SOUTHWEST OF PANAMA CITY 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 2. WATCH NUMBER 2 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 1030 AM
EST.
DISCUSSION...ACTIVE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS WRN PORTION OF WATCH AREA
WILL CONTINUE AND SLOWLY DEVELOP EWD THRU THE AFTERNOON. STRONG
DEEP LAYER SHEAR WITH HELICITIES OF 150-200 M2/S2 COUPLED WITH A
MOIST AND MARGINALLY UNSTABLE AIR MASS SUPPORTS A CONTINUED THREAT
OF ISOLATED SUPERCELLS/TORNADOES.
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 23035.
...HALES
314,0814 294,0842 294,0880 314,0853SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 26, 2:10 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Barbour, Butler, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington and 7 more | 3 hr |
| Jan 26, 4:15 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baldwin, Barbour, Butler, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington and 7 more | 6 hr |
| Jan 26, 7:00 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Barbour, Butler, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington and 7 more | 2 hr |
| Jan 26, 11:10 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bay, Gulf | 65 min |
| Jan 26, 2:00 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baker, Columbia, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Madison and 4 more | 60 min |
| Jan 26, 3:15 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clarke, Columbia, Elbert, Glascock, Greene, Hancock and 14 more | 6 hr |
| Jan 26, 4:57 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Franklin, Greene and 13 more | 5 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2004Tornado Watches in Florida, 2004Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2004Every tornado watch in 2004
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.