Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2016

Tornado Watch 16

February 15, 201610 counties in Florida; 26 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 15, 2016, 8:07 PM EST for 10 counties in Florida; 26 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Feb 15, 2016, 8:07 PM EST (01:07 UTC)
Expired
Feb 16, 2016, 1:35 AM EST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 36 counties

Dixie County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Baker County, GA, Ben Hill 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, Irwin County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Lee County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Terrell County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Turner County, GA, Worth County, GA

The radar

The Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 50 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:10 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
20%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
5%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
60%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 15, 8:14 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEClay, Quitman, Randolph31 min
Feb 15, 8:28 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAESeminole62 min
Feb 15, 8:36 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEBaker, Calhoun, Clay, Decatur, Early, Miller and 4 more54 min
Feb 15, 9:18 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEGadsden, Jackson42 min
Feb 15, 10:13 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEFranklin, Gulf, Liberty, Wakulla47 min
Feb 15, 10:45 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEFranklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Taylor and 1 more45 min
Feb 15, 11:23 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEJefferson, Leon, Madison, Taylor, Wakulla32 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, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 49 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 2016-02-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 42 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 00:00Z on 2016-02-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 366 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
42 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-128 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
940 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
65 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
366 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
383 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

701 
WWUS20 KWNS 160104
SEL6  
SPC WW 160104
FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-160600-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 16
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
805 PM EST MON FEB 15 2016

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 
  THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE
  SOUTHWESTERN GEORGIA
  COASTAL WATERS

* EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING FROM 805 PM
  UNTIL 100 AM EST.

* PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE...
  A COUPLE TORNADOES POSSIBLE
  ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE
  ISOLATED LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE

SUMMARY...A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE MOVING QUICKLY
EASTWARD ACROSS SOUTHEAST ALABAMA AND THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE...AND
INTO SOUTHWEST GEORGIA.  THE STRONGEST STORMS WITHIN THE BAND WILL
BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS AND POSSIBLY A TORNADO OR TWO
OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF
ALBANY GEORGIA TO 60 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF CROSS CITY FLORIDA. 
FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU6).

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 15...

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 350.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26040.


...GOSS

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 15, 7:55 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes and 7 more2 hr
Feb 15, 10:32 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon and 5 more58 min
Feb 16, 1:54 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCharlotte, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough and 5 more2 hr
Feb 16, 2:19 AM ESTTornado WatchSPCBrevard, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee and 15 more5 hr
Feb 16, 4:59 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHendry, Palm Beach61 min
Feb 16, 7:36 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCMiami-Dade, Monroe54 min
Feb 16, 1:41 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBryan, Chatham, Effingham, Liberty64 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2016Tornado Watches in Florida, 2016Every tornado watch in 2016

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.