Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 2011
Tornado Watch 11
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 1, 2011, 6:19 PM CST for 6 counties in Alabama; 11 counties in Florida; 7 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 1, 2011, 6:19 PM CST (00:19 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 1, 2011, 11:00 PM CST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 0.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 50 kt
All 24 counties
Coffee County, AL, Covington County, AL, Dale County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Baker County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Clay County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Early County, GA, Miller County, GA, Seminole County, GA
The radar
The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 40 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:23 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
- 30%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 10%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 20%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 5%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 5%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 5%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 30%
Warnings issued inside it
2 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1, 6:38 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Covington, Escambia | 52 min |
| Feb 1, 7:45 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Dale, Henry | 45 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
Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 176 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 64 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -20 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 453 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 71 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 326 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 355 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
660
WWUS20 KWNS 020023
SEL1
SPC WW 020023
ALZ000-FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-020500-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 11
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
620 PM CST TUE FEB 1 2011
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHEAST ALABAMA
WESTERN AND CENTRAL FLORIDA PANHANDLE
SOUTHWEST GEORGIA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY EVENING FROM 620 PM UNTIL 1100 PM CST.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 0.5 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 60 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 70 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF DOTHAN
ALABAMA TO 25 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF PANAMA CITY FLORIDA. FOR A
COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE
UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU1).
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.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 10...
DISCUSSION...SRN AL/FAR WRN FL PANHANDLE SQLN EXPECTED TO CONTINUE E
AT 40+ KTS...WHILE INDIVIDUAL STORMS/LEWPS MOVE NNE ALONG IT AT A
SOMEWHAT GREATER SPEED. AHEAD OF THE SQLN...MORE ISOLD STORMS HAVE
FORMED ALONG A CONFLUENCE AXIS EXTENDING FROM SE AL SSW INTO THE
GULF OF MEXICO /REF MCD 75/. WHILE SFC-BASED INSTABILITY WILL
REMAIN WEAK...KEVX VWP APPEARS FAVORABLE FOR SUSTAINED
SUPERCELLS...GIVEN EXISTING STORMS. COUPLED WITH GLANCING INFLUENCE
OF INTENSE MS VLY UPR VORT...SETUP MAY SUPPORT A CONTINUED RISK FOR
ISOLD TORNADOES AND LOCALLY DMGG WIND GUSTS.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 0.5 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 50 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
400. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23045.
...CORFIDISPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1, 7:50 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barbour, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lee and 1 more | 115 min |
| Feb 1, 10:47 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Houston | 88 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Florida, 2011Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2011Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2011Every tornado watch in 2011
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.