Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 2008

Tornado Warning 38, NWS Columbia, SC

May 20, 2008Burke County, Georgia

NWS Columbia, SC issued this tornado warning at May 20, 2008, 6:31 PM EDT for Burke County, Georgia. It was in force for 44 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 20, 2008, 6:31 PM EDT (22:31 UTC)
Expired: May 20, 2008, 7:15 PM EDT
In force: 44 min
Issued by: NWS Columbia, SC
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Burke County, GA

The radar

The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 94 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:33 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 20, 6:35 PM EDT	HAIL 1.75	Girard, GA
May 20, 6:41 PM EDT	TORNADO 0	10 W Waynesboro, GA	NWS SURVEY TEAM DETERMINED AN EF0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN THE VICINITY OF VIDETTE IN BURKE COUNTY IN GEORGIA NEAR 641 PM TUESDAY MAY 20TH. THE TORNADO PATH WAS 11.75 MILES LONG AND 1/3 OF A MILE WIDE. NUMEROUS TREES WERE KNOCKED DOWN AND THERE WAS MINOR DAMAGE
May 20, 6:58 PM EDT	TSTM WND DMG	Waynesboro, GA	IN WAYNESBORO POSSIBLE TORNADO DAMAGE. TREES POWER LINES DOWN. WIDESPREAD DAMAGE.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 20, 2:59 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 182 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 621 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -224 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1344 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 100 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 94 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS52 KCAE 202232
TORCAE
GAC033-202315-
/O.NEW.KCAE.TO.W.0038.080520T2231Z-080520T2315Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC
631 PM EDT TUE MAY 20 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  BURKE COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA

* UNTIL 715 PM EDT

* AT 629 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 15 MILES WEST OF
  WAYNESBORO...MOVING EAST AT 50 MPH.

* OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO
  SARDIS

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM EDT TUESDAY EVENING
FOR CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH ALSO REMAINS
IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM EDT TUESDAY EVENING FOR EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA
AND CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA.

REPORT LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS OR FLOODING TO YOUR COUNTY
SHERIFF...OR CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA TOLL FREE
AT 1 800 7 7 5 7 1 9 9.

LAT...LON 3317 8226 3319 8177 3314 8174 3311 8166
      3305 8156 3290 8175 3295 8186 3291 8209
      3280 8216 3283 8232
TIME...MOT...LOC 2231Z 268DEG 49KT 3311 8218

$$

SJN

The office that day

Everything else NWS Columbia, SC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 20, 3:50 AM EDT	Lake Wind Advisory	CAE	Burke, Columbia, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond	16 hr
May 20, 3:08 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	McDuffie	52 min
May 20, 3:23 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Columbia	35 min
May 20, 3:39 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Richmond	35 min
May 20, 5:23 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	McDuffie	37 min
May 20, 5:33 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Columbia, Richmond	42 min
May 20, 5:44 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CAE	Burke, Richmond	46 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Georgia, 2008 Every tornado warning in 2008 Tornadoes in 2008

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.