Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2016

Tornado Watch 516

December 5, 2016Geneva County, Houston County, Alabama; 19 counties in Florida; 30 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 5, 2016, 8:00 PM CST for Geneva County, Houston County, Alabama; 19 counties in Florida; 30 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 8 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Dec 5, 2016, 8:00 PM CST (02:00 UTC)
Expired: Dec 6, 2016, 4:00 AM CST
In force: 8 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected: 1 in
Strongest gust expected: 55 kt

All 51 counties

Geneva County, AL, Houston County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Atkinson County, GA, Baker County, GA, Ben Hill County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Clinch County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Cook County, GA, Crisp County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dodge County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Echols County, GA, Grady County, GA, Irwin County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Lee County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Telfair County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Turner County, GA, Wilcox County, GA, Worth County, GA

The radar

The Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 66 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:04 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: 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%

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, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 68 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 729 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 497 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 266 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 281 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.2
Supercell composite: 7.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

239 
WWUS20 KWNS 060157
SEL6  
SPC WW 060157
ALZ000-FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-061000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 516
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
900 PM EST MON DEC 5 2016

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 
  SOUTHEAST ALABAMA
  PARTS OF NORTHERN FLORIDA AND THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE
  SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL GEORGIA
  COASTAL WATERS

* EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING FROM 900 PM
  UNTIL 500 AM EST.

* PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE...
  A COUPLE TORNADOES POSSIBLE
  ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 65 MPH POSSIBLE

SUMMARY...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH
THE OVERNIGHT HOURS ACROSS THE WATCH AREA...WITH A FEW OF THE
STRONGER STORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY DAMAGING WINDS AND/OR
TORNADOES.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 65 STATUTE MILES
NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF PANAMA
CITY FL TO 40 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF VALDOSTA GA. 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 515...

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 55 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. MEAN
STORM MOTION VECTOR 24040.

...GOSS

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 5, 7:21 PM CST	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston	114 min
Dec 5, 11:35 PM CST	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Geneva, Houston	115 min
Dec 6, 2:31 AM CST	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Bay, Calhoun, Columbia, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden and 13 more	119 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2016 Tornado Watches in Florida, 2016 Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2016 Every 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.