Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2004

Tornado Watch 803

September 6, 200417 counties in Florida; 35 counties in Georgia; Beaufort County, Jasper County, South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Sep 6, 2004, 4:50 AM EDT for 17 counties in Florida; 35 counties in Georgia; Beaufort County, Jasper County, South Carolina. It was in force for 9 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Sep 6, 2004, 4:50 AM EDT (08:50 UTC)
Expired
Sep 6, 2004, 2:00 PM EDT
In force
9 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 54 counties

Alachua County, FL, Baker County, FL, Bradford County, FL, Clay County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Duval 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, Brantley 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, Echols County, GA, Effingham County, GA, Emanuel County, GA, Evans County, GA, Glynn County, GA, Jeff Davis 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, Tattnall County, GA, Telfair County, GA, Toombs County, GA, Treutlen County, GA, Ware County, GA, Wayne County, GA, Wheeler County, GA, Beaufort County, SC, Jasper County, SC

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 6, 7:29 AM EDTTornado WarningCHSChatham31 min
Sep 6, 8:49 AM EDTTornado WarningCHSLiberty26 min
Sep 6, 9:01 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSBeaufort29 min
Sep 6, 10:02 AM EDTTornado WarningJAXCamden58 min
Sep 6, 10:15 AM EDTTornado WarningCHSBryan30 min
Sep 6, 10:17 AM EDTTornado WarningJAXCharlton43 min
Sep 6, 10:36 AM EDTTornado WarningJAXCamden39 min
Sep 6, 10:56 AM EDTTornado WarningCHSChatham34 min
Sep 6, 12:01 PM EDTTornado WarningJAXBrantley44 min
Sep 6, 1:18 PM EDTTornado WarningJAXPierce57 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

Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), launched 00:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 78 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 2004-09-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 498 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 2004-09-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 95 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
498 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
529 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
95 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
110 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 060851
SEL3  
SPC WW 060850
FLZ000-GAZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-061800-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 803
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
450 AM EDT MON SEP 6 2004

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

       NORTHERN FLORIDA INCLUDING THE EASTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE
       SOUTHEAST GEORGIA
       FAR SOUTHERN SOUTH CAROLINA
       COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 450 AM UNTIL 200
PM EDT.

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

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 80 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF SAVANNAH GEORGIA TO 30
MILES SOUTHEAST OF CROSS 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 802. WATCH NUMBER 802 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 450
AM EDT. 

DISCUSSION...RAIN BANDS AND OCCASIONAL THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE
ROTATING GENERALLY EWD ACROSS WW THROUGH THE EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON
AS T.S. FRANCES LIFTS NNWWD TOWARDS THE FL PANHANDLE.  EXPECT
STRONGEST UPDRAFTS WILL REMAIN ACROSS WW DURING THAT TIME...WHERE
INSTABILITY AND ENHANCED LOW LEVEL SHEAR REMAIN SUPPORTIVE OF
MINI-SUPERCELLS AND POSSIBLE TORNADOES.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH EXTREME
TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI
WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 09035.


...EVANS

323,0800 291,0812 291,0840 323,0825

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 5, 8:35 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCAlachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie and 21 more9 hr
Sep 6, 12:12 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie and 21 more2 hr
Sep 6, 4:06 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie and 21 more84 min
Sep 6, 7:48 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrevard, Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Lake and 8 more87 min
Sep 6, 7:55 AM EDTTornado WatchSPCBrevard, Charlotte, Citrus, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee and 21 more6 hr
Sep 6, 12:28 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus and 36 more92 min
Sep 6, 1:20 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCAlachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Citrus, Clay and 38 more7 hr
Sep 6, 3:55 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval and 10 more2 hr
Sep 6, 7:12 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaker, Columbia, Duval, Nassau, Union2 hr
Sep 6, 7:45 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCBradford, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and 1 more9 hr
Sep 6, 1:21 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCRichmond84 min
Sep 6, 1:00 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bleckley and 49 more7 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2004Tornado Watches in Florida, 2004Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 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.