Alert archive / Georgia / Mesoscale Discussions in 2012

Mesoscale Discussion 229

March 3, 20126 counties in Alabama; 16 counties in Florida; 24 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Mar 3, 2012, 4:47 AM CST for 6 counties in Alabama; 16 counties in Florida; 24 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 58 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 3, 2012, 4:47 AM CST (10:47 UTC)
Expired
Mar 3, 2012, 5:45 AM CST
In force
58 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 46 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, Escambia County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Baker County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Clay County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Cook County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Grady County, GA, Lee County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Sumter County, GA, Terrell County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Turner County, GA, Webster County, GA, Worth County, GA

The radar

The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:49 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

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 105 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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 00:00Z on 2012-03-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 585 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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 00:00Z on 2012-03-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 141 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
585 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
549 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
141 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
174 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.5
Supercell composite
2.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

343 
ACUS11 KWNS 031048
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 031047
GAZ000-FLZ000-ALZ000-031145-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0229
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0447 AM CST SAT MAR 03 2012

AREAS AFFECTED...FL PANHANDLE...SRN AL...SW GA

CONCERNING...TORNADO WATCH 67...

VALID 031047Z - 031145Z

THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FOR TORNADO WATCH 67 CONTINUES.

AN ISOLATED TORNADO THREAT MAY DEVELOP ACROSS PARTS OF SW GA...SE AL
AND THE FL PANHANDLE TOWARD DAYBREAK. WW ISSUANCE MAY BE NEEDED
LATER THIS MORNING AS CELLS INCREASE IN COVERAGE. WW 67 WILL BE
ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT 11Z.

CONVECTION IS STARTING TO INCREASE IN COVERAGE FROM THE FL PANHANDLE
NEWD ACROSS SW GA ACROSS A WARM SECTOR WITH SFC DEWPOINTS IN THE MID
TO UPPER 60S F. THIS ACTIVITY IS WELL AHEAD OF COLD FRONT WHICH WILL
MOVE INTO THE FL PANHANDLE THIS MORNING. AS THE COLD FRONT
APPROACHES...A LINE OF CONVECTION SHOULD GRADUALLY ORGANIZE AS IS
SUGGESTED BY SHORT-TERM MODEL FORECASTS. IN ADDITION...A LOW-LEVEL
JET MAX IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP ACROSS NRN FL THIS MORNING HELPING
SHEAR PROFILES TO BECOME MORE FAVORABLE FOR STORM ROTATION. ALTHOUGH
THE MORE SUBSTANTIAL TORNADO THREAT SHOULD BE DELAYED UNTIL LATER
MORNING AS SFC TEMPS WARM...AN ISOLATED TORNADO THREAT CAN NOT BE
RULED OUT AROUND DAYBREAK DUE TO THE LOW-LEVEL SHEAR ENVIRONMENT
ALREADY IN PLACE.

..BROYLES.. 03/03/2012

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

ATTN...WFO...FFC...TAE...BMX...MOB...

LAT...LON   32128397 32008501 31338665 30738760 30338760 30208688
            30328618 30018556 29628531 29538496 29908437 30258365
            31248304 32128397

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 2, 7:18 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlount, Cullman, DeKalb, Fayette, Greene, Jackson and 12 more57 min
Mar 2, 10:07 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Bibb, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton and 25 more113 min
Mar 2, 10:56 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAutauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Butler and 31 more6 hr
Mar 3, 6:35 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCGeneva, Houston6 hr
Mar 3, 9:12 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Hamilton, Jefferson, Leon and 3 more93 min
Mar 3, 11:45 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval and 15 more60 min
Mar 3, 12:04 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAlachua, Baker, Bradford, Calhoun, Clay, Columbia and 17 more5 hr
Mar 3, 3:30 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaker, Columbia, Hamilton, Lafayette, Nassau, Suwannee and 2 more90 min
Mar 2, 7:15 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCatoosa, Dade, Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Rabun and 4 more90 min
Mar 2, 8:36 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaker, Calhoun, Colquitt, Cook, Decatur, Dougherty and 6 more54 min
Mar 2, 9:54 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCBanks, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa and 61 more6 hr
Mar 2, 11:40 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBanks, Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clarke and 30 more95 min
Mar 3, 2:58 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBurke, Columbia, Glascock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Lincoln and 6 more92 min
Mar 3, 3:39 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBurke, Columbia, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond4 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Georgia, 2012Mesoscale Discussions in Florida, 2012Mesoscale Discussions in Alabama, 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.