Alert archive / Georgia / Mesoscale Discussions in 2012

Mesoscale Discussion 1955

September 18, 201223 counties in Georgia; 20 counties in North Carolina; 19 counties in South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Sep 18, 2012, 12:23 AM EDT for 23 counties in Georgia; 20 counties in North Carolina; 19 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 97 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Sep 18, 2012, 12:23 AM EDT (04:23 UTC)
Expired
Sep 18, 2012, 2:00 AM EDT
In force
97 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 62 counties

Burke County, GA, Candler County, GA, Columbia County, GA, Elbert County, GA, Emanuel County, GA, Glascock County, GA, Hancock County, GA, Hart County, GA, Jefferson County, GA, Jenkins County, GA, Johnson County, GA, Laurens County, GA, Lincoln County, GA, McDuffie County, GA, Montgomery County, GA, Oglethorpe County, GA, Richmond County, GA, Taliaferro County, GA, Toombs County, GA, Treutlen County, GA, Warren County, GA, Washington County, GA, Wilkes County, GA, Alexander County, NC, Buncombe County, NC, Burke County, NC, Cabarrus County, NC, Caldwell County, NC, Catawba County, NC, Cleveland County, NC, Davie County, NC, Gaston County, NC, Henderson County, NC, Iredell County, NC, Lincoln County, NC, McDowell County, NC, Mecklenburg County, NC, Polk County, NC, Rowan County, NC, Rutherford County, NC, Transylvania County, NC, Wilkes County, NC, Yadkin County, NC, Abbeville County, SC, Aiken County, SC, Anderson County, SC, Cherokee County, SC, Chester County, SC, Edgefield County, SC, Fairfield County, SC, Greenville County, SC, Greenwood County, SC, Laurens County, SC, Lexington County, SC, McCormick County, SC, Newberry County, SC, Oconee County, SC, Pickens County, SC, Saluda County, SC, Spartanburg County, SC, Union County, SC, York County, SC

The radar

The Greer radar (KGSP), 77 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:25 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 nearest sounding before it

Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 00:00Z, 4.4 hours before the alert went out and 235 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 00:00Z on 2012-09-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 434 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 00:00Z on 2012-09-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 106 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
434 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-23 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
846 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
106 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
108 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

534 
ACUS11 KWNS 180424
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 180423
NCZ000-SCZ000-GAZ000-180600-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 1955
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1123 PM CDT MON SEP 17 2012

AREAS AFFECTED...NERN GA...WRN CAROLINAS

CONCERNING...TORNADO WATCH 640...

VALID 180423Z - 180600Z

THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FOR TORNADO WATCH 640 CONTINUES.

SUMMARY...A MARGINAL/LOW-END TORNADO THREAT MAY GRADUALLY DEVELOP
E/NE OF WW 640. A DOWNSTREAM WW ISSUANCE IS NOT ANTICIPATED ATTM.

DISCUSSION...PRE-FRONTAL ARC OF N/S-ORIENTED CONVECTION HAS
STRUGGLED TO PRODUCE LIGHTNING IN NERN GA INTO THE WRN
CAROLINAS...WITH SOME LIGHTNING OBSERVED IN A CLUSTER ACROSS CNTRL
GA. LOW-LEVEL SHEAR CONTINUES TO INCREASE WITH 0-1 KM VALUES
APPROACHING 35 KT PER AREA VWP DATA. STILL...AMIDST A MEAGERLY
UNSTABLE AIR MASS CHARACTERIZED BY MLCAPE LARGELY AOB 500 J/KG PER
MODIFIED 00Z GSO RAOB AND ONLY MODEST SURFACE PRESSURE FALLS...THIS
ACTIVITY MAY STRUGGLE TO INTENSIFY. BUT A CONDITIONAL TORNADO RISK
DOES EXIST GIVEN THE STRENGTH OF THE LOW-LEVEL SHEAR...AND A
DOWNSTREAM WW ISSUANCE COULD BECOME NECESSARY IF LIGHTNING/ROTATION
TRENDS INCREASE.

..GRAMS.. 09/18/2012

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

ATTN...WFO...RAH...RNK...CHS...CAE...GSP...FFC...

LAT...LON   35528278 36408133 36398081 36198044 35858029 34768081
            33408142 32658176 32188211 32118231 32168274 32458299
            32878309 34038309 34938312 35528278

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 17, 8:14 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Bleckley and 85 more2 hr
Sep 17, 10:21 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Franklin and 21 more84 min
Sep 18, 3:44 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaker, Calhoun, Clay, Decatur, Dougherty, Early and 7 more2 hr
Sep 18, 9:39 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley and 39 more66 min
Sep 18, 11:35 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCEffingham, Screven85 min
Sep 18, 8:49 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlamance, Anson, Caswell, Chatham, Cumberland, Davidson and 31 more116 min
Sep 18, 9:45 AM EDTTornado WatchSPCAlamance, Anson, Chatham, Cumberland, Davidson, Durham and 25 more8 hr
Sep 18, 10:54 AM EDTTornado WatchSPCBertie, Camden, Caswell, Chowan, Currituck, Gates and 4 more9 hr
Sep 18, 11:19 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlamance, Caswell, Chatham, Cumberland, Durham, Edgecombe and 27 more86 min
Sep 18, 1:00 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCBeaufort, Carteret, Craven, Dare, Duplin, Greene and 9 more5 hr
Sep 18, 1:21 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlamance, Anson, Chatham, Cumberland, Davidson, Durham and 25 more84 min
Sep 18, 1:27 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCamden, Chowan, Currituck, Gates, Hertford, Northampton and 2 more63 min
Sep 18, 3:52 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBertie, Camden, Chowan, Gates, Hertford, Northampton and 2 more113 min
Sep 18, 4:11 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlamance, Anson, Beaufort, Carteret, Chatham, Craven and 40 more94 min
Sep 18, 6:15 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCamden, Carteret, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates and 5 more30 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Georgia, 2012Mesoscale Discussions in North Carolina, 2012Mesoscale Discussions in South Carolina, 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.