Alert archive / Georgia / Mesoscale Discussions in 2012

Mesoscale Discussion 1863

September 2, 20124 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Sep 2, 2012, 5:13 PM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 62 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Sep 2, 2012, 5:13 PM CDT (22:13 UTC)
Expired
Sep 2, 2012, 6:15 PM CDT
In force
62 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Chance of a watch
80%
All 37 counties

Bibb County, AL, Calhoun County, AL, Cherokee County, AL, Clay County, AL, Cleburne County, AL, Etowah County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Randolph County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Bartow County, GA, Carroll County, GA, Catoosa County, GA, Chattooga County, GA, Cherokee County, GA, Dade County, GA, Fannin County, GA, Floyd County, GA, Gilmer County, GA, Gordon County, GA, Haralson County, GA, Murray County, GA, Paulding County, GA, Pickens County, GA, Polk County, GA, Walker County, GA, Whitfield County, GA, Cherokee County, NC, Bradley County, TN, Hamilton County, TN, Loudon County, TN, McMinn County, TN, Meigs County, TN, Monroe County, TN, Polk County, TN, Rhea County, TN

The radar

The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:13 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 watches that followed

Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.

The nearest sounding before it

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 154 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 2012-09-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 576 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 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 2012-09-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -2 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 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
576 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-34 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
879 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-2 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-1 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.

878 
ACUS11 KWNS 022214
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 022213
NCZ000-TNZ000-GAZ000-ALZ000-022315-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 1863
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0513 PM CDT SUN SEP 02 2012

AREAS AFFECTED...NWRN GA...SERN TN...EXTREME SWRN NC

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH LIKELY

VALID 022213Z - 022315Z

PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE...80 PERCENT

SUMMARY...TSTM ACTIVITY ACROSS NRN AL IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE
PROGRESSING EWD AND WILL LIKELY REACH THE MCD AREA AROUND 23Z.
INTENSITY OF THE ACTIVITY AT THAT POINT IS STILL IN QUESTION BUT
TRENDS ARE BEING MONITORED FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF A NEW WW
DOWNSTREAM OF TOR WATCHES 608 AND 609.

DISCUSSION...THE LATEST RADAR TRENDS INDICATED THE LINE OF TSTMS
ACROSS NRN AL IS GROWING UPSCALE AND POSSIBILITY ORGANIZATION INTO A
LINEAR MCS. THE ENVIRONMENT ACROSS THE MCD AREA IS CHARACTERIZED BY
AMPLE LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE /DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 60S TO LOW
70S/...MODEST INSTABILITY /MLCAPE AROUND 2000 J/KG/...AND ENHANCED
LOW-LEVEL SHEAR /0-3 KM SRH AROUND 100 TO 150 M2 PER S2/. GIVEN THIS
ENVIRONMENT AND THE CURRENT RADAR TRENDS...THE PRIMARY THREAT
APPEARS TO BE STRONG WIND GUSTS WITH A MUCH LOWER POTENTIAL FOR A
BRIEF TORNADO ALONG THE LEADING EDGE.

..MOSIER/MEAD.. 09/02/2012

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...GSP...MRX...FFC...BMX...HUN...

LAT...LON   35008553 35308526 35638501 35798479 35828443 35718411
            35478395 35208400 34768409 34478422 33948466 33288522
            32888645 32968727 33468731 33768702 34248587 34398556
            34718558 35008553

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 2, 2:20 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCLauderdale, Limestone115 min
Sep 2, 2:49 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCColbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale and 5 more7 hr
Sep 2, 3:42 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCFayette, Lamar, Marion, Walker, Winston7 hr
Sep 2, 5:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBlount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah, Jefferson and 1 more5 hr
Sep 2, 6:35 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCColbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison and 1 more85 min
Sep 1, 7:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCCarroll, Chester, Decatur, Fayette, Hardeman, Hardin and 4 more6 hr
Sep 1, 7:56 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarroll, Henry, Weakley94 min
Sep 1, 9:59 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCChester, Decatur, Hardeman, Henderson, McNairy91 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Georgia, 2012Mesoscale Discussions in Alabama, 2012Mesoscale Discussions in Tennessee, 2012Every mesoscale discussion in 2012

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.