Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2011
Tornado Watch 64
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 26, 2011, 7:40 PM EDT for 9 counties in Georgia; 5 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 26, 2011, 7:40 PM EDT (23:40 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 26, 2011, 11:29 PM EDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 2 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
Counties Bryan County, GA, Bulloch County, GA, Candler County, GA, Chatham County, GA, Effingham County, GA, Evans County, GA, Jenkins County, GA, Screven County, GA, Tattnall County, GA, Allendale County, SC, Beaufort County, SC, Colleton County, SC, Hampton County, SC, Jasper County, SC
The radar
The Robins AFB radar (KJGX), 110 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:41 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
- 20%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 30%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 30%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 70%
Warnings issued inside it
1 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 8:14 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Effingham, Screven | 61 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
Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 212 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1585 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 54 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 86 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 133 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
165
WWUS20 KWNS 262341
SEL4
SPC WW 262341
GAZ000-SCZ000-270600-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 64
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
740 PM EDT SAT MAR 26 2011
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
EAST-CENTRAL GEORGIA
SOUTHERN SOUTH CAROLINA
EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING FROM 740 PM
UNTIL 200 AM EDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF
VIDALIA GEORGIA TO 45 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF VIDALIA GEORGIA.
FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU4).
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 62...WW 63...
DISCUSSION...SUPERCELLS OVER E-CNTRL GA HAVE RECENTLY INTENSIFIED
AND ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE EWD TOWARD THE ATLANTIC COAST TONIGHT.
STRENGTHENING SWLY LLJ /PER CHARLESTON VWP/ WILL NOT ONLY SERVE TO
ADVECT A MORE MOIST UNSTABLE AIR MASS INTO AREA AHEAD OF ONGOING
STORMS...BUT ALSO RESULT IN AN INCREASE IN LOW-LEVEL SHEAR. AS
SUCH...THE RISK FOR A COUPLE OF TORNADOES IN ADDITION TO DAMAGING
WINDS AND HAIL WILL EXIST.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27035.
...MEADSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 12:25 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Heard | 95 min |
| Mar 26, 12:33 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks and 18 more | 57 min |
| Mar 26, 1:15 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baker, Baldwin, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Bleckley and 74 more | 8 hr |
| Mar 26, 3:23 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Baldwin, Ben Hill, Berrien and 79 more | 97 min |
| Mar 26, 3:38 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Bacon, Bryan, Bulloch, Candler, Effingham and 11 more | 97 min |
| Mar 26, 7:59 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baker, Baldwin, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Bleckley and 75 more | 91 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2011Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 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.