Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2004

Tornado Watch 827

September 16, 20048 counties in Florida; 15 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Sep 16, 2004, 6:00 AM EDT for 8 counties in Florida; 15 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Sep 16, 2004, 6:00 AM EDT (10:00 UTC)
Expired
Sep 16, 2004, 11:00 AM EDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 23 counties

Columbia County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Gilchrist County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Madison County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Atkinson County, GA, Ben Hill County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Clinch County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Cook County, GA, Echols County, GA, Irwin County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, Tift County, GA, Turner 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.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 16, 6:30 AM EDTTornado WarningTAEMadison, Taylor45 min
Sep 16, 7:19 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEDougherty, Mitchell, Worth41 min
Sep 16, 7:23 AM EDTTornado WarningTAEDougherty, Mitchell, Worth52 min
Sep 16, 9:59 AM EDTTornado WarningTAELafayette, Taylor31 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 00:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 127 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 2004-09-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1235 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 2004-09-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 241 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
1235 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
843 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
241 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
308 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.7
Supercell composite
11.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 160958
SEL7  
SPC WW 161000
FLZ000-GAZ000-161500-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 827
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
600 AM EDT THU SEP 16 2004

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

       NORTH FLORIDA
       SOUTH GEORGIA

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY MORNING FROM 600 AM UNTIL 1100 AM EDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 0.5 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 35 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 75 MILES NORTH OF VALDOSTA GEORGIA TO 10 MILES
SOUTH SOUTHWEST 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...CONTINUE...WW 826...

DISCUSSION...OUTER BAND OF CONVECTION WHICH EXTENDS FROM NEAR CTY TO
CSG WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD NORTH-NORTHEASTWARD THROUGH THE MORNING
HOURS. STRONG VERTICAL SHEAR PROFILES IN THIS REGION SUGGEST A RISK
OF ISOLATED TORNADOES IN THIS AREA.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 0.5 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 19035.


...HART

315,0824 292,0823 292,0834 315,0835

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 15, 9:09 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gadsden, Holmes, Jackson and 7 more2 hr
Sep 15, 11:35 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGadsden, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Wakulla115 min
Sep 16, 2:10 AM EDTTornado WatchSPCBay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes and 9 more9 hr
Sep 16, 3:57 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes and 9 more2 hr
Sep 16, 8:03 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf and 15 more117 min
Sep 16, 10:09 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Holmes and 11 more66 min
Sep 16, 10:50 AM EDTTornado WatchSPCBay, Calhoun, Columbia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist and 14 more10 hr
Sep 16, 2:16 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Hamilton, Jackson, Jefferson and 7 more119 min
Sep 16, 10:45 AM EDTTornado WatchSPCBaldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Bleckley and 84 more10 hr
Sep 16, 10:58 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBryan, Bulloch, Burke, Candler, Chatham, Columbia and 16 more2 hr
Sep 16, 12:20 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCBryan, Bulloch, Burke, Candler, Chatham, Columbia and 19 more9 hr
Sep 16, 3:31 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBulloch, Burke, Candler, Columbia, Effingham, Emanuel and 11 more119 min
Sep 16, 6:38 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Bleckley and 110 more2 hr

Nearby

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