Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2009

Tornado Watch 25

February 18, 200912 counties in Alabama; 109 counties in Georgia; 8 counties in South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 18, 2009, 2:32 PM CST for 12 counties in Alabama; 109 counties in Georgia; 8 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Feb 18, 2009, 2:32 PM CST (20:32 UTC)
Expired
Feb 18, 2009, 10:00 PM CST
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2.5 in
Strongest gust expected
70 kt
All 129 counties

Barbour County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Dale County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Lee County, AL, Macon County, AL, Pike County, AL, Russell County, AL, Baker County, GA, Baldwin County, GA, Banks County, GA, Barrow County, GA, Ben Hill County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Bibb County, GA, Bleckley County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Burke County, GA, Butts County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Carroll County, GA, Chattahoochee County, GA, Cherokee County, GA, Clarke County, GA, Clay County, GA, Clayton County, GA, Cobb County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Columbia County, GA, Cook County, GA, Coweta County, GA, Crawford County, GA, Crisp County, GA, Decatur County, GA, DeKalb County, GA, Dodge County, GA, Dooly County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Douglas County, GA, Early County, GA, Elbert County, GA, Emanuel County, GA, Fayette County, GA, Forsyth County, GA, Fulton County, GA, Glascock County, GA, Grady County, GA, Greene County, GA, Gwinnett County, GA, Hall County, GA, Hancock County, GA, Harris County, GA, Hart County, GA, Heard County, GA, Henry County, GA, Houston County, GA, Irwin County, GA, Jackson County, GA, Jasper County, GA, Jefferson County, GA, Johnson County, GA, Jones County, GA, Lamar County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Laurens County, GA, Lee County, GA, Lincoln County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, Macon County, GA, Madison County, GA, Marion County, GA, McDuffie County, GA, Meriwether County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Monroe County, GA, Montgomery County, GA, Morgan County, GA, Muscogee County, GA, Newton County, GA, Oconee County, GA, Oglethorpe County, GA, Peach County, GA, Pike County, GA, Pulaski County, GA, Putnam County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Richmond County, GA, Rockdale County, GA, Schley County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Spalding County, GA, Stewart County, GA, Sumter County, GA, Talbot County, GA, Taliaferro County, GA, Taylor County, GA, Telfair County, GA, Terrell County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Toombs County, GA, Treutlen County, GA, Troup County, GA, Turner County, GA, Twiggs County, GA, Upson County, GA, Walton County, GA, Warren County, GA, Washington County, GA, Webster County, GA, Wheeler County, GA, Wilcox County, GA, Wilkes County, GA, Wilkinson County, GA, Worth County, GA, Abbeville County, SC, Aiken County, SC, Bamberg County, SC, Barnwell County, SC, Edgefield County, SC, Greenwood County, SC, McCormick County, SC, Orangeburg County, SC

The radar

The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:34 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 SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
40%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
60%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
30%
Ten or more severe hail reports
70%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
30%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
80%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 18, 3:11 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXRussell17 min
Feb 18, 3:19 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCChattahoochee, Marion, Muscogee41 min
Feb 18, 3:22 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCBartow, Cherokee38 min
Feb 18, 3:52 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCHarris, Talbot38 min
Feb 18, 3:53 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCCherokee, Forsyth, Fulton37 min
Feb 18, 4:02 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCCarroll43 min
Feb 18, 4:06 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCMarion, Schley, Taylor24 min
Feb 18, 4:31 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCCarroll, Coweta, Douglas, Fulton44 min
Feb 18, 4:32 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCTalbot, Taylor27 min
Feb 18, 4:33 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCMacon, Taylor22 min
Feb 18, 4:36 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett54 min
Feb 18, 4:43 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCDeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett34 min
Feb 18, 4:54 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCClayton, Coweta, Fayette, Fulton, Henry, Spalding51 min
Feb 18, 4:59 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCGwinnett, Walton46 min
Feb 18, 5:01 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCrawford, Houston, Peach44 min
Feb 18, 5:13 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCCarroll47 min
Feb 18, 5:19 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCHouston, Twiggs26 min
Feb 18, 5:21 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCClarke, Greene, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Walton54 min
Feb 18, 5:22 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCarroll, Haralson38 min
Feb 18, 5:33 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCButts, Henry, Jasper, Newton42 min
Feb 18, 5:44 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCBleckley, Laurens, Twiggs25 min
Feb 18, 5:48 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCWilkinson22 min
Feb 18, 5:50 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCJasper, Putnam55 min
Feb 18, 5:54 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCarroll, Coweta, Douglas, Fulton18 min
Feb 18, 5:58 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCGreene, Oglethorpe, Taliaferro, Warren, Wilkes77 min
Feb 18, 6:14 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXBullock, Macon, Montgomery46 min
Feb 18, 6:21 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCClayton, Fayette, Fulton21 min
Feb 18, 6:22 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCGreene, Hancock, Putnam53 min
Feb 18, 6:24 PM CSTTornado WarningCAEColumbia, Lincoln, McDuffie66 min
Feb 18, 6:38 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCDeKalb, Henry29 min
Feb 18, 6:40 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCarroll, Heard35 min
Feb 18, 6:53 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCGlascock, Hancock, Jefferson, Warren, Washington56 min
Feb 18, 6:56 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCCoweta, Heard29 min
Feb 18, 7:03 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHenry, Jasper, Morgan, Newton, Rockdale42 min
Feb 18, 7:11 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCJasper, Morgan, Newton33 min
Feb 18, 7:22 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCCoweta, Meriwether, Spalding38 min
Feb 18, 7:27 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCHeard, Troup34 min
Feb 18, 7:27 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCGreene, Jasper, Morgan, Putnam38 min
Feb 18, 7:43 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGreene, Morgan, Oconee30 min
Feb 18, 7:44 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEBurke, Richmond46 min
Feb 18, 7:49 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers, Clay, Cleburne, Randolph, Talladega, Tallapoosa41 min
Feb 18, 7:55 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCCoweta, Meriwether32 min
Feb 18, 7:56 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCFayette, Spalding29 min
Feb 18, 8:04 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMacon, Marion, Schley, Taylor27 min
Feb 18, 8:10 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXChambers, Coosa, Lee, Tallapoosa65 min
Feb 18, 8:15 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHeard31 min
Feb 18, 8:20 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCButts, Henry, Jasper40 min
Feb 18, 8:23 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCFayette, Lamar, Spalding52 min
Feb 18, 8:24 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCrawford, Houston, Macon, Peach, Taylor17 min
Feb 18, 8:38 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCoweta, Meriwether, Troup52 min
Feb 18, 8:58 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCButts, Jasper, Jones, Lamar, Monroe37 min
Feb 18, 9:06 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCButts, Jasper, Jones, Monroe, Putnam36 min
Feb 18, 9:10 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGreene, Hancock, Putnam28 min
Feb 18, 9:18 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCHarris, Meriwether, Troup42 min
Feb 18, 9:37 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBaldwin, Hancock, Jones, Putnam, Washington35 min
Feb 18, 9:41 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCBaldwin, Hancock, Jones, Putnam, Washington28 min
Feb 18, 9:42 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEGeneva48 min
Feb 18, 9:45 PM CSTTornado WarningTAEGeneva30 min
Feb 18, 9:46 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGlascock, Hancock, Jefferson, Warren, Washington44 min
Feb 18, 9:46 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCAEAiken, Lexington, Orangeburg44 min
Feb 18, 9:48 PM CSTTornado WarningFFCGlascock, Hancock, Jefferson, Warren, Washington42 min
Feb 18, 9:55 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCEmanuel23 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

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 55 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2009-02-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2009-02-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 605 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
588 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
66 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
605 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
895 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 18, 11:14 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCColbert, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Lamar, Lawrence and 6 more91 min
Feb 18, 12:42 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAutauga, Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton and 37 more7 hr
Feb 18, 1:57 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarbour, Bullock, Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry and 4 more93 min
Feb 18, 3:22 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee and 42 more83 min
Feb 18, 4:58 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington and 4 more92 min
Feb 18, 5:26 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarbour, Bullock, Chambers, Henry, Lee, Macon and 1 more94 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2009Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2009Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 2009Every tornado watch 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.