Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2004

Tornado Watch 9

February 6, 200412 counties in Florida; 49 counties in Georgia; 4 counties in South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 6, 2004, 2:15 PM EST for 12 counties in Florida; 49 counties in Georgia; 4 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Feb 6, 2004, 2:15 PM EST (19:15 UTC)
Expired
Feb 6, 2004, 7:00 PM EST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 65 counties

Columbia County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Appling County, GA, Atkinson County, GA, Bacon County, GA, Ben Hill County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Brantley County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Bryan County, GA, Bulloch County, GA, Candler County, GA, Charlton County, GA, Chatham County, GA, Clinch County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Cook County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dodge County, GA, Echols County, GA, Effingham County, GA, Emanuel County, GA, Evans County, GA, Grady County, GA, Irwin County, GA, Jeff Davis County, GA, Jenkins County, GA, Johnson County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Laurens County, GA, Liberty County, GA, Long County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, McIntosh County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Montgomery County, GA, Pierce County, GA, Screven County, GA, Tattnall County, GA, Telfair County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Toombs County, GA, Treutlen County, GA, Turner County, GA, Ware County, GA, Wayne County, GA, Wheeler County, GA, Wilcox County, GA, Worth County, GA, Beaufort County, SC, Colleton County, SC, Hampton County, SC, Jasper County, SC

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 6, 3:49 PM ESTTornado WarningCHSJenkins26 min
Feb 6, 4:48 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSEvans, Tattnall12 min
Feb 6, 5:13 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSBryan, Effingham32 min
Feb 6, 5:34 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSChatham41 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, 7.3 hours before the alert went out and 116 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 12:00Z on 2004-02-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 81 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 12:00Z on 2004-02-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 311 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
81 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
514 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
311 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
335 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 061914
SEL9  
SPC WW 061915
FLZ000-GAZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-070000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 9
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
215 PM EST FRI FEB 6 2004

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

       NORTHWESTERN FLORIDA
       SOUTHERN AND EASTERN GEORGIA
       SOUTHERN SOUTH CAROLINA
       COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 215 PM UNTIL 700
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 80 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES SOUTH OF TALLAHASSEE FLORIDA TO 55 MILES
NORTH OF SAVANNAH 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.




DISCUSSION...LINE OF TSTMS SHOULD INTENSIFY AS IT ENTERS MORE
FAVORABLY UNSTABLE AIR MASS ACROSS WW AREA.  STRONG LOW-MIDLEVEL
SHEAR PROFILES INDICATE POTENTIAL FOR EMBEDDED BOWS/SUPERCELLS TO
PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND AND A COUPLE 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 24040.


...EDWARDS/HALES

294,0854 325,0823 325,0794 294,0830

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 6, 8:32 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBay, Calhoun, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and 2 more118 min
Feb 6, 1:51 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval and 8 more2 hr
Feb 6, 4:23 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaker, Columbia, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, Suwannee2 hr
Feb 6, 6:30 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCColumbia, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette and 6 more90 min
Feb 5, 11:55 PM ESTTornado WatchSPCHaralson5 hr
Feb 6, 6:00 PM ESTTornado WatchSPCBerkeley, Dorchester, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Williamsburg5 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.