Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2009

Tornado Watch 5

January 6, 200914 counties in Alabama; 10 counties in Florida; 47 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 6, 2009, 10:51 PM CST for 14 counties in Alabama; 10 counties in Florida; 47 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jan 6, 2009, 10:51 PM CST (04:51 UTC)
Expired
Jan 7, 2009, 4:33 AM CST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 71 counties

Barbour County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dale County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Lee County, AL, Macon County, AL, Pike County, AL, Russell County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Escambia County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Baker County, GA, Baldwin County, GA, Bibb County, GA, Bleckley County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Chattahoochee County, GA, Clay County, GA, Crawford County, GA, Crisp County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dodge County, GA, Dooly County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Harris County, GA, Houston County, GA, Johnson County, GA, Jones County, GA, Lamar County, GA, Laurens County, GA, Lee County, GA, Macon County, GA, Marion County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Monroe County, GA, Muscogee County, GA, Peach County, GA, Pike County, GA, Pulaski County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Schley County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Stewart County, GA, Sumter County, GA, Talbot County, GA, Taylor County, GA, Terrell County, GA, Turner County, GA, Twiggs County, GA, Upson County, GA, Washington County, GA, Webster County, GA, Wilcox County, GA, Wilkinson County, GA, Worth County, GA

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
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
10%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
5%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
70%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 6, 11:14 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMOBCovington31 min
Jan 6, 11:29 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAECoffee, Dale35 min
Jan 6, 11:38 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXPike52 min
Jan 7, 12:04 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBarbour, Bullock, Pike56 min
Jan 7, 12:29 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXBarbour, Bullock, Russell46 min
Jan 7, 12:42 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCChattahoochee, Muscogee33 min
Jan 7, 12:54 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCChattahoochee, Stewart36 min
Jan 7, 1:11 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMarion34 min
Jan 7, 1:19 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCTalbot, Taylor, Upson26 min
Jan 7, 1:32 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCrawford, Taylor43 min
Jan 7, 2:16 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCMacon, Schley, Taylor29 min
Jan 7, 3:12 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEBaker, Dougherty, Mitchell, Worth33 min
Jan 7, 3:39 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEColquitt, Mitchell51 min
Jan 7, 3:49 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEIrwin, Tift, Worth41 min
Jan 7, 4:02 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEBerrien, Colquitt, Cook, Irwin, Tift, Turner and 1 more43 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 00:00Z, 4.9 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 00:00Z on 2009-01-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 41 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 2009-01-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 406 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
41 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1003 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
89 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
406 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
492 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.

632 
WWUS20 KWNS 070449
SEL5  
SPC WW 070449
ALZ000-FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-071200-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 5
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1050 PM CST TUE JAN 6 2009

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

       PART OF  SOUTHEAST ALABAMA
       WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE
       PARTS OF SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL GEORGIA
       COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 1050 PM
UNTIL 600 AM CST.

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 APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 75 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES NORTHWEST OF MACON
GEORGIA TO 40 MILES SOUTH OF CRESTVIEW FLORIDA.  FOR A COMPLETE
DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU5).

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...THUNDERSTORMS ARE INTENSIFYING ALONG COLD FRONT FROM
ERN AL TO E OF MOB AS STRONG ASCENT ASSOCIATED WITH UPPER TROUGH
APPROACHES.  ALTHOUGH INSTABILITY IS LIMITED...THE VERY STRONG SHEAR
PROFILES SUPPORTS EMBEDDED ROTATING UPDRAFTS/SUPERCELLS WITHIN THE
BAND OF INCREASING THUNDERSTORMS.  ALONG WITH WIND
DAMAGE...TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH ANY SUPERCELL AS ACTIVITY
SHIFT EWD 20-25KT... WHILE INDIVIDUAL STORMS TRACK RAPIDLY NEWD.

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 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23045.


...HALES

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 6, 7:02 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Bullock, Butler, Chambers, Conecuh, Crenshaw and 4 more118 min
Jan 6, 9:04 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarbour, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry and 1 more116 min
Jan 7, 3:29 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval and 10 more91 min
Jan 7, 1:32 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaker, Baldwin, Bibb, Bleckley, Calhoun, Clay and 42 more118 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2009Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2009Tornado Watches in Florida, 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.