Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2014

Tornado Watch 1

January 11, 20148 counties in Alabama; 69 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 11, 2014, 7:07 AM CST for 8 counties in Alabama; 69 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jan 11, 2014, 7:07 AM CST (13:07 UTC)
Expired
Jan 11, 2014, 2:00 PM CST
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
0.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 77 counties

Barbour County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Lee County, AL, Macon County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Pike County, AL, Russell County, AL, Baldwin County, GA, Barrow County, GA, Bibb County, GA, Bleckley County, GA, Butts County, GA, Chattahoochee County, GA, Clarke County, GA, Clayton County, GA, Coweta County, GA, Crawford County, GA, Crisp County, GA, DeKalb County, GA, Dodge County, GA, Dooly County, GA, Emanuel County, GA, Fayette County, GA, Fulton County, GA, Glascock County, GA, Greene County, GA, Gwinnett County, GA, Hancock County, GA, Harris County, GA, Heard County, GA, Henry County, GA, Houston County, GA, Jackson County, GA, Jasper County, GA, Jefferson County, GA, Johnson County, GA, Jones County, GA, Lamar County, GA, Laurens County, GA, Macon County, GA, Madison County, GA, Marion County, GA, Meriwether County, GA, Monroe County, GA, Montgomery County, GA, Morgan County, GA, Muscogee County, GA, Newton County, GA, Oconee County, GA, Oglethorpe County, GA, Peach County, GA, Pike County, GA, Pulaski County, GA, Putnam County, GA, Rockdale County, GA, Schley County, GA, Spalding County, GA, Stewart County, GA, Sumter County, GA, Talbot County, GA, Taliaferro County, GA, Taylor County, GA, Telfair County, GA, Toombs County, GA, Treutlen County, GA, Troup County, GA, Twiggs County, GA, Upson County, GA, Walton County, GA, Warren County, GA, Washington County, GA, Webster County, GA, Wheeler County, GA, Wilcox County, GA, Wilkes County, GA, Wilkinson County, GA

The radar

The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 42 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:08 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
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
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
60%

Warnings issued inside it

12 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 11, 7:07 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCDawson, DeKalb, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall23 min
Jan 11, 7:09 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCarroll, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Heard36 min
Jan 11, 7:23 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCCoweta, Heard, Troup37 min
Jan 11, 7:29 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBanks, Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson16 min
Jan 11, 7:42 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBanks, Barrow, Gwinnett, Jackson, Madison48 min
Jan 11, 7:44 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCClarke, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and 4 more46 min
Jan 11, 7:45 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXElmore, Lee, Macon, Tallapoosa45 min
Jan 11, 7:50 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCClayton, Coweta, Fayette, Henry, Meriwether, Newton and 3 more40 min
Jan 11, 8:12 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningFFCDeKalb, Fulton6 hr
Jan 11, 11:08 AM CSTTornado WarningFFCTwiggs, Wilkinson37 min
Jan 11, 11:43 AM CSTTornado WarningFFCGlascock, Jefferson, Washington32 min
Jan 11, 1:15 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCToombs15 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

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 40 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 2014-01-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 214 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2014-01-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 452 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
214 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-28 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
471 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
64 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
452 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
501 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
4.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

073 
WWUS20 KWNS 111308
SEL1  
SPC WW 111308
ALZ000-GAZ000-112000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 1
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
710 AM CST SAT JAN 11 2014

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 
  EASTERN ALABAMA
  NORTHERN AND CENTRAL GEORGIA

* EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 710 AM UNTIL
  200 PM CST.

* PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE...
  SEVERAL TORNADOES POSSIBLE
  SEVERAL DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 65 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES NORTH OF MACON
GEORGIA TO 30 MILES SOUTH OF COLUMBUS GEORGIA.  FOR A COMPLETE
DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU1).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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.

&&

DISCUSSION...AN ONGOING LINEAR CONVECTIVE SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO
PROGRESS EWD ACROSS THE WATCH AREA THIS MORNING.  THIS SYSTEM WILL
INTERACT WITH A WARM FRONT LIFTING NWD WHICH WILL ENHANCE VERTICAL
SHEAR AND SUPPORT A RISK FOR A COUPLE TORNADOES AND DAMAGING WINDS.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 0.5 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
400. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24045.


...MEAD

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 10, 11:41 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCChoctaw, Washington2 hr
Jan 11, 3:18 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Baldwin, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh and 13 more117 min
Jan 11, 7:03 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarbour, Bullock, Butler, Chambers, Coffee, Conecuh and 12 more27 min
Jan 11, 10:04 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCDale, Geneva, Henry, Houston6 hr
Jan 11, 12:53 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHenry, Houston97 min
Jan 11, 8:22 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHart23 min
Jan 11, 8:30 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCColumbia, Elbert, Lincoln, McDuffie6 hr
Jan 11, 10:50 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCBurke, Richmond6 hr
Jan 11, 11:17 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Bacon, Baldwin, Ben Hill, Bleckley, Bryan and 32 more58 min
Jan 11, 12:51 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch and 20 more3 hr
Jan 11, 1:04 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCRichmond56 min
Jan 11, 2:35 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrantley, Bryan, Camden, Charlton, Chatham, Effingham and 8 more55 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2014Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2014Every tornado watch in 2014

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.