Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2014
Tornado Watch 552
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Nov 17, 2014, 1:32 AM CST for 17 counties in Alabama; 15 counties in Florida; 14 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Nov 17, 2014, 1:32 AM CST (07:32 UTC)
- Expired
- Nov 17, 2014, 9:00 AM CST
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 0.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 46 counties
Baldwin County, AL, Barbour County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Butler County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dale County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Monroe County, AL, Pike County, AL, Russell 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, 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, Calhoun County, GA, Clay 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, Terrell County, GA
The radar
The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:32 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
- 5%
- 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
- 40%
Warnings issued inside it
39 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 17, 1:41 AM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Clarke, Washington | 49 min |
| Nov 17, 2:08 AM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Clarke | 37 min |
| Nov 17, 2:09 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Baldwin, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Monroe, Washington | 66 min |
| Nov 17, 2:10 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Bay, Gulf | 35 min |
| Nov 17, 2:35 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Calhoun, Gulf | 25 min |
| Nov 17, 2:37 AM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Clarke, Monroe, Wilcox | 25 min |
| Nov 17, 2:43 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Bay, Walton | 47 min |
| Nov 17, 2:46 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Bay, Washington | 29 min |
| Nov 17, 2:56 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Geneva | 34 min |
| Nov 17, 3:07 AM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Conecuh, Monroe | 53 min |
| Nov 17, 3:14 AM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Butler, Conecuh, Monroe, Wilcox | 14 min |
| Nov 17, 3:15 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Bay, Washington | 30 min |
| Nov 17, 3:41 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Bay, Calhoun, Jackson, Washington | 49 min |
| Nov 17, 3:45 AM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Butler, Conecuh | 45 min |
| Nov 17, 3:46 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Calhoun | 44 min |
| Nov 17, 4:07 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Butler, Covington, Crenshaw | 53 min |
| Nov 17, 4:20 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Calhoun, Gadsden, Liberty | 40 min |
| Nov 17, 4:21 AM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Butler, Crenshaw | 39 min |
| Nov 17, 4:40 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Pike | 35 min |
| Nov 17, 4:41 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Baldwin, Conecuh, Escambia | 49 min |
| Nov 17, 4:42 AM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Crenshaw | 20 min |
| Nov 17, 4:45 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Gadsden | 45 min |
| Nov 17, 5:07 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Bay, Calhoun, Jackson, Washington | 38 min |
| Nov 17, 5:09 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Bullock | 24 min |
| Nov 17, 5:17 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Decatur, Grady | 43 min |
| Nov 17, 5:20 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Baker, Decatur, Miller, Mitchell | 40 min |
| Nov 17, 5:48 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Bullock, Russell | 22 min |
| Nov 17, 5:48 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Colquitt, Grady, Mitchell, Thomas | 27 min |
| Nov 17, 5:55 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Jackson | 50 min |
| Nov 17, 6:03 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Baker, Colquitt, Decatur, Grady, Mitchell, Thomas | 57 min |
| Nov 17, 6:18 AM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Russell | 27 min |
| Nov 17, 6:45 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Colquitt, Grady, Mitchell | 30 min |
| Nov 17, 6:47 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Decatur, Grady, Mitchell, Thomas | 28 min |
| Nov 17, 7:04 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Geneva, Houston | 26 min |
| Nov 17, 7:08 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Colquitt, Grady, Mitchell, Thomas | 52 min |
| Nov 17, 7:17 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Bay, Walton, Washington | 28 min |
| Nov 17, 7:39 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Bay, Calhoun, Holmes, Jackson, Washington | 51 min |
| Nov 17, 7:41 AM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Franklin | 49 min |
| Nov 17, 8:00 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Jackson | 45 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
Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 00:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 209 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
- 15 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -18 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 649 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 44 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 138 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 183 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
861 WWUS20 KWNS 170733 SEL2 SPC WW 170733 ALZ000-FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-171500- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 552 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 135 AM CST MON NOV 17 2014 THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ALABAMA FLORIDA PANHANDLE SOUTHWESTERN GEORGIA COASTAL WATERS * EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING FROM 135 AM UNTIL 900 AM CST. * PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE... A COUPLE TORNADOES POSSIBLE ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES NORTHWEST OF PENSACOLA FLORIDA TO 35 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF TALLAHASSEE FLORIDA. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU2). 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. && OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 551... DISCUSSION...LOW-CAPE/HIGH-SHEAR REGIME IS EXPECTED TO SPREAD INLAND AND EWD ALONG GULF COASTAL PLAIN AND ACROSS WW AREA WITH TIME...SUPPORTING POTENTIAL FOR EMBEDDED SUPERCELLS IN PRIMARY CONVECTIVE BAND NEAR COLD FRONT...AND ALSO MORE DISCRETE SUPERCELLS MOVING ASHORE FROM GULF. REF SPC MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 1915 FOR MORE METEOROLOGICAL DETAILS. 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 450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23030. ...EDWARDS
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 16, 8:43 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Washington | 62 min |
| Nov 16, 9:49 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Mobile, Washington | 7 hr |
| Nov 16, 11:50 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Choctaw, Clarke, Escambia, Monroe, Washington | 55 min |
| Nov 17, 1:13 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Barbour, Butler, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington and 8 more | 32 min |
| Nov 17, 2:21 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Mobile, Washington | 114 min |
| Nov 17, 4:39 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Coffee, Conecuh and 9 more | 66 min |
| Nov 17, 7:43 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barbour, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston | 92 min |
| Nov 17, 5:11 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Columbia, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Hamilton, Jefferson and 7 more | 8 hr |
| Nov 17, 9:57 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Duval, Flagler and 5 more | 4 hr |
| Nov 17, 11:14 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Brevard, Citrus, Dixie, Flagler, Hernando, Hillsborough and 11 more | 2 hr |
| Nov 17, 11:30 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando and 16 more | 6 hr |
| Nov 17, 2:10 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Manatee and 5 more | 65 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2014Tornado Watches in Florida, 2014Tornado Watches in Georgia, 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.