Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2004

Tornado Watch 350

May 31, 200423 counties in Alabama; 28 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 31, 2004, 3:45 AM CDT for 23 counties in Alabama; 28 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 31, 2004, 3:45 AM CDT (08:45 UTC)
Expired
May 31, 2004, 9:00 AM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 51 counties

Autauga County, AL, Bibb County, AL, Calhoun County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Clay County, AL, Cleburne County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Greene County, AL, Hale County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Lee County, AL, Perry County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Randolph County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Barrow County, GA, Butts County, GA, Carroll County, GA, Clayton County, GA, Cobb County, GA, Coweta County, GA, Crawford County, GA, DeKalb County, GA, Douglas County, GA, Fayette County, GA, Fulton County, GA, Gwinnett County, GA, Haralson County, GA, Harris County, GA, Heard County, GA, Henry County, GA, Lamar County, GA, Meriwether County, GA, Monroe County, GA, Newton County, GA, Paulding County, GA, Pike County, GA, Rockdale County, GA, Spalding County, GA, Talbot County, GA, Troup County, GA, Upson County, GA, Walton County, GA

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 29 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:45 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

Warnings issued inside it

9 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 31, 4:03 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXJefferson57 min
May 31, 4:39 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXShelby66 min
May 31, 4:50 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXSt. Clair40 min
May 31, 5:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChilton45 min
May 31, 5:07 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega53 min
May 31, 5:09 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega51 min
May 31, 5:10 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXTalladega50 min
May 31, 5:21 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCoosa54 min
May 31, 5:29 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXClay46 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

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 29 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, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2004-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1655 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, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2004-05-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 127 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
1655 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1411 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
127 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
192 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.7
Supercell composite
9.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 310844
SEL0  
SPC WW 310845
ALZ000-GAZ000-311400-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 350
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
345 AM CDT MON MAY 31 2004

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

       CENTRAL ALABAMA
       CENTRAL GEORGIA

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING FROM 345 AM UNTIL 900 AM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 50 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF TUSCALOOSA ALABAMA
TO 45 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF ATLANTA 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 345. WATCH NUMBER 345 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 345
AM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 346...WW 347...WW 348...WW 349...

DISCUSSION...SQUALL LINE CONTINUES MOVING SEWD ACROSS NRN AL/GA INTO
A VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS.  DEEP LAYER SHEAR OF 40-50 KT
ALONG WITH 0-1 KM HELICITY OF 150-200 M2/S2 FROM LOCAL VWPS SUPPORT
CONTINUED THREAT FOR DAMAGING WINDS AND BRIEF TORNADOES ASSOCIATED
WITH THE SQUALL LINE

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26035.


...HALES

334,0881 340,0834 323,0834 321,0881

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 30, 8:54 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCColbert, Franklin, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone and 2 more66 min
May 30, 9:15 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCBlount, Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Fayette and 13 more7 hr
May 30, 11:05 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCColbert, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone and 4 more55 min
May 31, 12:40 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCCherokee5 hr
May 31, 1:06 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlount, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin and 11 more84 min
May 31, 3:40 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCherokee95 min
May 31, 5:31 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Bibb, Calhoun, Chambers, Chilton, Clay and 17 more119 min
May 31, 9:21 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale and 8 more54 min
May 31, 10:00 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCBaldwin, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Dale, Escambia and 5 more6 hr
May 31, 1:06 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Dale, Escambia and 5 more54 min
May 31, 3:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCDale, Geneva, Henry, Houston4 hr
May 31, 8:10 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBurke, Columbia, Elbert, Glascock, Greene, Hancock and 12 more5 hr
May 31, 10:18 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch and 27 more27 min
May 31, 10:40 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch and 25 more6 hr
May 31, 1:27 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtkinson, Brantley, Chatham, Clinch, Echols, Lanier and 6 more63 min
May 31, 2:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCCamden, Charlton5 hr
May 31, 5:28 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCamden, Charlton92 min
May 31, 5:59 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBen Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Colquitt, Cook, Irwin and 5 more61 min
May 31, 6:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCCharlton, Echols4 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.