Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 2008

Tornado Warning 12, NWS Tallahassee, FL

February 18, 2008Decatur County, Georgia

NWS Tallahassee, FL issued this tornado warning at Feb 18, 2008, 1:06 AM EST for Decatur County, Georgia. It was in force for 39 min. 2 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: Feb 18, 2008, 1:06 AM EST (06:06 UTC)
Expired: Feb 18, 2008, 1:45 AM EST
In force: 39 min
Issued by: NWS Tallahassee, FL
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Decatur County, GA

The radar

The Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 33 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:08 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
Feb 18, 1:38 AM EST	TORNADO 0	4 S Climax, GA	NUMEROUS TREES DOWN ACROSS SOUTHEAST DECATUR COUNTY. SEVERAL RESIDENCES DAMAGED BY TREES FALLING ON THEM. MAXIMUM WINDS WITH THE TONRADO OCCURRED BETWEEN ATTAPULGUS AND FOWLSTOWN AND WERE ESTIMATED TO BE 70 MPH.
Feb 18, 1:38 AM EST	TORNADO	4 S Climax, GA	NUMEROUS TREES DOWN ACROSS SOUTHEAST DECATUR COUNTY. TWO RESIDENCES DAMAGED. ONE TREE FELL ON A RESIDENCE.

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
Feb 17, 6:58 PM EST	Tornado Watch	SPC	8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 6.1 hours before the alert went out and 34 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: 593 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -23 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 478 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 274 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 290 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.9
Supercell composite: 6.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS52 KTAE 180606
TORTAE
4LC039-GAC087-180645-
/O.NEW.KTAE.TO.W.0012.080218T0606Z-080218T0645Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
106 AM EST MON FEB 18 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN GADSDEN COUNTY IN FLORIDA...
  SOUTHERN DECATUR COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST GEORGIA...

* UNTIL 145 AM EST

* AT 104 AM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO 13 MILES WEST OF QUINCY...OR 19 MILES NORTHEAST
  OF BLOUNTSTOWN...MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  6 MILES NORTH OF QUINCY BY 125 AM EST...

RELAY REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN
TALLAHASSEE AT (8 5 0) 9 4 2 8 8 3 3. OR...YOU MAY CONTACT THE
NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OR YOUR COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
THEY WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 300 AM EST MONDAY MORNING FOR
NORTHERN FLORIDA AND SOUTHWESTERN GEORGIA.

LAT...LON 3071 8436 3070 8437 3068 8436 3059 8435
      3058 8437 3052 8479 3070 8484 3085 8438
TIME...MOT...LOC 0606Z 251DEG 27KT 3063 8476

$$

22-BARRY

The office that day

Everything else NWS Tallahassee, FL issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 17, 7:32 PM EST	Tornado Warning	TAE	Clay	43 min
Feb 17, 9:06 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Decatur, Grady	39 min
Feb 17, 10:33 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TAE	Decatur, Seminole	57 min
Feb 18, 1:06 AM EST	Tornado Warning	TAE	Decatur	39 min
Feb 18, 1:33 AM EST	Tornado Warning	TAE	Grady	42 min
Feb 18, 2:01 AM EST	Tornado Warning	TAE	Colquitt, Grady, Mitchell, Thomas	44 min
Feb 18, 2:37 AM EST	Tornado Warning	TAE	Colquitt, Tift, Worth	38 min
Feb 18, 3:43 PM EST	Red Flag Warning	TAE	Baker, Ben Hill, Calhoun, Clay, Colquitt, Decatur and 15 more	27 hr

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.