Alert archive / Georgia / Mesoscale Discussions in 2015

Mesoscale Discussion 1981

November 18, 201524 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Nov 18, 2015, 1:17 PM EST for 24 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 88 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Nov 18, 2015, 1:17 PM EST (18:17 UTC)
Expired
Nov 18, 2015, 2:45 PM EST
In force
88 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Chance of a watch
60%
All 24 counties

Bartow County, GA, Butts County, GA, Carroll County, GA, Clayton County, GA, Cobb County, GA, Coweta County, GA, DeKalb County, GA, Douglas County, GA, Fayette County, GA, Fulton County, GA, Haralson County, GA, Harris County, GA, Heard County, GA, Henry County, GA, Lamar County, GA, Meriwether County, GA, Newton County, GA, Paulding County, GA, Pike County, GA, Polk County, GA, Rockdale County, GA, Spalding County, GA, Troup County, GA, Upson County, GA

The radar

The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 2 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:19 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, 6.3 hours before the alert went out and 9 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 2015-11-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 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 2015-11-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 399 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
548 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
399 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
497 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.

762 
ACUS11 KWNS 181818
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 181817 
GAZ000-ALZ000-181945-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 1981
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1217 PM CST WED NOV 18 2015

AREAS AFFECTED...NORTHWESTERN/WEST-CENTRAL GEORGIA

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH POSSIBLE 

VALID 181817Z - 181945Z

PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE...60 PERCENT

SUMMARY...CONVECTION ENTERING WESTERN PARTS OF THE DISCUSSION AREA
WILL POSE AN ISOLATED TORNADO/WIND DAMAGE THREAT THIS AFTERNOON AND
EARLY EVENING.  CONVECTIVE TRENDS ARE BEING MONITORED FOR A POSSIBLE
WW ISSUANCE.

DISCUSSION...A LINE OF CONVECTION HAS MOVED STEADILY EAST ACROSS
EAST-CENTRAL/NORTHEAST ALABAMA THIS MORNING...WITH MORE CELLULAR
ACTIVITY IN A SMALL PART OF EAST-CENTRAL ALABAMA NEAR CLAY/COOSA
COUNTIES.  THE ENVIRONMENT FOSTERING THIS CONVECTION IS
CHARACTERIZED BY VERY WEAK INSTABILITY /LESS THAN 500 J/KG MUCAPE/
BUT STRONG LOW AND DEEP SHEAR FAVORING STORM ORGANIZATION AND
OCCASIONAL ROTATION WITHIN INDIVIDUAL CELLS. 
ADDITIONALLY...LEWP-TYPE STRUCTURES HAVE DEVELOPED WITHIN THE
AFOREMENTIONED LINE IN THE PAST HOUR OR SO...ESPECIALLY IN
DEKALB/CALHOUN COUNTIES IN ALABAMA.

WITH TIME... CONTINUED WARM/MOIST LOW-LEVEL ADVECTION AND POCKETS OF
INSOLATION AHEAD OF THE CONVECTIVE BAND BENEATH A WIDESPREAD CIRRUS
DECK WILL LEAD TO GRADUALLY INCREASING INSTABILITY ACROSS THE
DISCUSSION AREA.  ADDITIONALLY...A WEAK SHORTWAVE ACROSS EAST
TEXAS/LOUISIANA WILL MOVE TOWARD THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND
POSSIBLY PROVIDE IMPETUS FOR A WEAK MESO-LOW/FRONTAL WAVE ACROSS
ALABAMA.  AS THIS OCCURS...STRENGTHENING LOW-LEVEL WARM ADVECTION
WILL HELP ERODE THE WEDGE FRONT CURRENTLY OVER NORTH-CENTRAL GEORGIA
AND RESULT IN AN ATTENDANT INCREASE IN RISK OF ISOLATED SEVERE
WIND/TORNADO THREAT IN PARTS OF THAT AREA...INCLUDING THE ATLANTA
METRO.  

THE REGION WILL BE MONITORED FOR A POSSIBLE TORNADO WATCH THIS
AFTERNOON.

..COOK/MEAD.. 11/18/2015

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

ATTN...WFO...FFC...BMX...

LAT...LON   32758432 32728451 32718501 32898527 33188541 33498547
            33818543 34128528 34268489 34128426 33868391 33568381
            33408377 33268379 32968402 32758432

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 18, 11:51 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaker, Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay, Decatur, Dougherty and 16 more114 min
Nov 18, 2:39 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaker, Calhoun, Clay, Decatur, Dougherty, Early and 8 more2 hr
Nov 18, 3:16 PM ESTTornado WatchSPCBaker, Bibb, Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay, Crawford and 31 more6 hr
Nov 18, 6:35 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaker, Baldwin, Bibb, Bleckley, Brooks, Butts and 55 more115 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Georgia, 2015Every mesoscale discussion in 2015

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.