Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Warnings in 2009

Tornado Warning 116, NWS Atlanta, GA

May 4, 2009Washington County, Georgia

NWS Atlanta, GA issued this tornado warning at May 4, 2009, 2:05 PM EDT for Washington County, Georgia. It was in force for 25 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 4, 2009, 2:05 PM EDT (18:05 UTC)
Expired: May 4, 2009, 2:30 PM EDT
In force: 25 min
Issued by: NWS Atlanta, GA
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Washington County, GA

The radar

The Robins AFB radar (KJGX), 65 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:07 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 6.1 hours before the alert went out and 160 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: 71 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -108 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 680 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 155 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 271 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS52 KFFC 041805
TORFFC
GAC303-041830-
/O.NEW.KFFC.TO.W.0116.090504T1805Z-090504T1830Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
205 PM EDT MON MAY 4 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN WASHINGTON COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA

* UNTIL 230 PM EDT

* AT 205 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 7 MILES WEST OF
  SANDERSVILLE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

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

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...MOVE INDOORS AND TO A
BASEMENT OR INTERIOR ROOM ON THE GROUND FLOOR. STAY AWAY FROM
WINDOWS. IF DRIVING...DO NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER A HIGHWAY OVERPASS.

IF YOU SEE WIND DAMAGE...LARGE HAIL OR SIGNIFICANT FLOODING...WAIT
UNTIL AFTER THE STORM HAS PASSED...AND THEN CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE TOLL FREE AT 1 8 6 6 7 6 3 4 4 6 6.

&&

LAT...LON 3316 8278 3303 8265 3292 8292 3298 8298
TIME...MOT...LOC 1805Z 231DEG 22KT 3296 8293

$$

1 follow-up statement

000 
WWUS52 KFFC 041823
SVSFFC

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
223 PM EDT MON MAY 4 2009

GAC303-041830-
/O.CON.KFFC.TO.W.0116.000000T0000Z-090504T1830Z/
WASHINGTON GA-
223 PM EDT MON MAY 4 2009

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 230 PM EDT FOR CENTRAL
WASHINGTON COUNTY...

AT 221 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO
INDICATE A TORNADO. THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR SANDERSVILLE...
MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL OTHERWISE REMAIN OVER AREAS NORTH AND EAST OF 
SANDERSVILLE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

IF YOU SEE WIND DAMAGE...LARGE HAIL OR SIGNIFICANT FLOODING...WAIT
UNTIL AFTER THE STORM HAS PASSED...AND THEN CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE TOLL FREE AT 1 8 6 6 7 6 3 4 4 6 6.


&&

LAT...LON 3296 8282 3303 8286 3313 8275 3303 8265
TIME...MOT...LOC 1822Z 248DEG 24KT 3300 8280

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Atlanta, GA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 3, 10:12 PM EDT	River Flood Warning	FFC	Whitfield	49 hr
May 4, 1:18 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Bleckley, Dodge, Laurens, Wilkinson	42 min
May 4, 2:26 PM EDT	Tornado Warning	FFC	Glascock, Jefferson, Washington	49 min
May 4, 2:30 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Emanuel	22 min
May 4, 3:02 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FFC	Jefferson	19 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Georgia, 2009 Every tornado warning in 2009 Tornadoes in 2009

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.