Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 358
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 31, 2004, 3:30 PM CDT for 4 counties in Alabama; 11 counties in Florida; 21 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 31, 2004, 3:30 PM CDT (20:30 UTC)
- Expired
- May 31, 2004, 7:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 36 counties
Dale County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Washington County, FL, Baker County, GA, Ben Hill County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Calhoun 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, Seminole County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Turner County, GA, Worth County, GA
The radar
The Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:34 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
8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 3:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Houston | 22 min |
| May 31, 4:42 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TAE | Decatur, Grady | 33 min |
| May 31, 5:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Grady, Thomas | 41 min |
| May 31, 5:46 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TAE | Jefferson | 29 min |
| May 31, 6:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Jefferson, Madison | 36 min |
| May 31, 6:14 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TAE | Jefferson, Madison | 31 min |
| May 31, 6:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Madison | 35 min |
| May 31, 6:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Hamilton, Suwannee | 52 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
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 261 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
- 858 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -21 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 630 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 46 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 192 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 208 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.9
- Supercell composite
- 3.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 312032
SEL8
SPC WW 312030
ALZ000-FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-010000-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 358
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
430 PM EDT MON MAY 31 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
EXTREME SOUTHEAST ALABAMA
PARTS OF THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE
SOUTHWEST GEORGIA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 430 PM UNTIL 800
PM EDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 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 30 MILES NORTHEAST OF VALDOSTA GEORGIA TO 40
MILES NORTH NORTHWEST 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 353. WATCH NUMBER 353 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 430
PM EDT. CONTINUE...WW 355...WW 356...WW 357...WW 358...
DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORM CLUSTER WITH EMBEDDED SUPERCELL NOW NEAR
DHN EXPECTED TO PERSIST FOR ANOTHER 2-3 HOURS. OTHER STORMS MAY
FORM SWD INTO THE CNTRL FL PANHANDLE. MODERATE UNIDIRECTIONAL WLY
FLOW AND RICH MOISTURE AVAILABILITY SHOULD SUPPORT ADDITIONAL THREAT
FOR ISOLATED TORNADOES / HIGH WIND AND HAIL UNIT EARLY EVENING.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
550. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27030.
...CORFIDI
302,0825 300,0855 312,0855 314,0825SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 8:54 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Colbert, Franklin, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone and 2 more | 66 min |
| May 30, 9:15 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Blount, Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Fayette and 13 more | 7 hr |
| May 30, 11:05 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Colbert, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone and 4 more | 55 min |
| May 31, 12:40 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Cherokee | 5 hr |
| May 31, 1:06 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Blount, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin and 11 more | 84 min |
| May 31, 3:40 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cherokee | 95 min |
| May 31, 3:45 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Autauga, Bibb, Calhoun, Chambers, Chilton, Clay and 17 more | 5 hr |
| May 31, 5:31 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Autauga, Bibb, Calhoun, Chambers, Chilton, Clay and 17 more | 119 min |
| May 31, 9:21 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale and 8 more | 54 min |
| May 31, 10:00 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baldwin, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Dale, Escambia and 5 more | 6 hr |
| May 31, 1:06 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Dale, Escambia and 5 more | 54 min |
| May 31, 10:18 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Nassau | 27 min |
| May 31, 10:40 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Hamilton | 6 hr |
| May 31, 1:27 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Hamilton | 63 min |
| May 31, 2:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval and 5 more | 5 hr |
| May 31, 5:28 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval and 3 more | 92 min |
| May 31, 5:59 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty and 1 more | 61 min |
| May 31, 6:30 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Hamilton and 5 more | 4 hr |
| May 31, 8:10 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Burke, Columbia, Elbert, Glascock, Greene, Hancock and 12 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.