Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2017
Tornado Watch 129
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 5, 2017, 8:58 PM CDT for 7 counties in Alabama; 33 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 3 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 5, 2017, 8:58 PM CDT (01:58 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 6, 2017, 12:20 AM CDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 2 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 40 counties
Barbour County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Lee County, AL, Macon County, AL, Pike County, AL, Russell County, AL, Bibb County, GA, Butts County, GA, Chattahoochee County, GA, Clayton County, GA, Coweta County, GA, Crawford County, GA, DeKalb County, GA, Fayette County, GA, Gwinnett County, GA, Harris County, GA, Heard County, GA, Henry County, GA, Jasper County, GA, Jones County, GA, Lamar County, GA, Marion County, GA, Meriwether County, GA, Monroe County, GA, Morgan County, GA, Muscogee County, GA, Newton County, GA, Pike County, GA, Putnam County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Rockdale County, GA, Spalding County, GA, Stewart County, GA, Talbot County, GA, Taylor County, GA, Troup County, GA, Upson County, GA, Walton County, GA, Webster County, GA
The radar
The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 40 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:00 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
- 50%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 40%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 20%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 30%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 30%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 80%
Warnings issued inside it
5 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 9:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Carroll, Coweta, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton | 46 min |
| Apr 5, 9:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lee | 37 min |
| Apr 5, 9:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Harris, Meriwether, Troup | 50 min |
| Apr 5, 9:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Harris, Marion, Meriwether, Muscogee, Talbot | 52 min |
| Apr 5, 10:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Greene, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Walton | 20 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 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 41 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
- 723 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -120 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 594 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 93 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 354 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 356 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.9
- Supercell composite
- 9.8
The text
As transmitted.
060 WWUS20 KWNS 060155 SEL9 SPC WW 060155 ALZ000-GAZ000-060600- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 129 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 955 PM EDT Wed Apr 5 2017 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Far eastern Alabama Western and central Georgia * Effective this Wednesday night and Thursday morning from 955 PM until 200 AM EDT. * Primary threats include... A few tornadoes possible Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible Isolated very large hail events to 2 inches in diameter possible SUMMARY...Storms should continue to increase near an eastward-accelerating cold front as it moves from Alabama into Georgia. Especially given that low-level shear will be increasing this evening, a tornado or two will be possible aside from what should be a more prevalent risk for damaging winds and some severe hail. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 45 statute miles east and west of a line from 45 miles east northeast of Atlanta GA to 30 miles east southeast of Troy AL. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU9). 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 127... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 2 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector 24035. ...Guyer
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 10:15 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Charlton, Echols | 2 hr |
| Apr 5, 10:34 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Elbert, Lincoln, Wilkes | 56 min |
| Apr 5, 10:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Baldwin, Bleckley, Burke, Clarke, Columbia, Elbert and 24 more | 6 hr |
| Apr 5, 11:15 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Brantley, Camden, Charlton, Clinch, Echols, Glynn and 1 more | 6 hr |
| Apr 6, 1:54 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Burke, Columbia, Dodge, Emanuel, Jefferson, Jenkins and 4 more | 96 min |
| Apr 6, 2:12 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks and 12 more | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2017Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2017Every tornado watch in 2017
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.