Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2017
Tornado Watch 13
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 21, 2017, 1:51 PM EST for 25 counties in Georgia; 14 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jan 21, 2017, 1:51 PM EST (18:51 UTC)
- Expired
- Jan 21, 2017, 5:43 PM EST
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 65 kt
All 39 counties
Appling County, GA, Atkinson County, GA, Bacon County, GA, Bryan County, GA, Bulloch County, GA, Burke County, GA, Candler County, GA, Chatham County, GA, Clinch County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Columbia County, GA, Echols County, GA, Effingham County, GA, Evans County, GA, Jeff Davis County, GA, Jenkins County, GA, Liberty County, GA, Long County, GA, McDuffie County, GA, Pierce County, GA, Richmond County, GA, Screven County, GA, Tattnall County, GA, Ware County, GA, Wayne County, GA, Aiken County, SC, Allendale County, SC, Bamberg County, SC, Barnwell County, SC, Beaufort County, SC, Berkeley County, SC, Calhoun County, SC, Charleston County, SC, Colleton County, SC, Dorchester County, SC, Edgefield County, SC, Hampton County, SC, Jasper County, SC, Orangeburg County, SC
The radar
The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 84 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:52 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
- 70%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 30%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 70%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 30%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 30%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 10%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 90%
Warnings issued inside it
18 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 21, 2:13 PM EST | Tornado Warning | CAE | Burke | 21 min |
| Jan 21, 2:13 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Bulloch, Candler, Evans, Jenkins, Screven, Tattnall | 62 min |
| Jan 21, 2:15 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Atkinson, Bacon, Coffee | 45 min |
| Jan 21, 2:21 PM EST | Tornado Warning | CHS | Jenkins, Screven | 24 min |
| Jan 21, 2:22 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Appling | 23 min |
| Jan 21, 2:23 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Burke, Richmond | 56 min |
| Jan 21, 2:32 PM EST | Tornado Warning | JAX | Appling | 13 min |
| Jan 21, 2:44 PM EST | Tornado Warning | CHS | Long, Tattnall | 31 min |
| Jan 21, 2:57 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Appling, Bacon, Coffee | 19 min |
| Jan 21, 2:58 PM EST | Tornado Warning | CHS | Screven | 32 min |
| Jan 21, 3:06 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Bryan, Bulloch, Effingham, Evans, Liberty, Long and 2 more | 54 min |
| Jan 21, 3:16 PM EST | Tornado Warning | CHS | Hampton, Jasper | 29 min |
| Jan 21, 3:38 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Bryan, Chatham, Liberty | 67 min |
| Jan 21, 3:43 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Bamberg, Barnwell, Orangeburg | 62 min |
| Jan 21, 3:50 PM EST | Tornado Warning | CAE | Bamberg, Barnwell, Orangeburg | 25 min |
| Jan 21, 3:56 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Jasper | 49 min |
| Jan 21, 4:15 PM EST | Tornado Warning | CAE | Orangeburg | 17 min |
| Jan 21, 4:38 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Calhoun, Clarendon, Orangeburg | 67 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
Charleston AFB, SC (KCHS), launched 12:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 184 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
- 138 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -38 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 581 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 25 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 22 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 37 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
406
WWUS20 KWNS 211850
SEL3
SPC WW 211850
GAZ000-SCZ000-220000-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 13
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
155 PM EST Sat Jan 21 2017
The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a
* Tornado Watch for portions of
Eastern Georgia
Southern South Carolina
* Effective this Saturday afternoon and evening from 155 PM until
700 PM EST.
* Primary threats include...
A few tornadoes likely with a couple intense tornadoes possible
Scattered damaging winds likely with isolated significant gusts
to 75 mph possible
Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible
SUMMARY...A fast-moving squall line over Georgia will track eastward
across the watch this afternoon. Damaging winds and a few tornadoes
are expected along the leading edge of these storms.
The tornado watch area is approximately along and 60 statute miles
east and west of a line from 35 miles northwest of Orangeburg SC to
25 miles south of Waycross GA. For a complete depiction of the watch
see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU3).
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 12...
AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 65 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean
storm motion vector 25040.
...HartSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 21, 8:41 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baker, Baldwin, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Bleckley and 53 more | 94 min |
| Jan 21, 9:04 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baker, Baldwin, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Bleckley and 70 more | 6 hr |
| Jan 21, 10:19 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baker, Baldwin, Ben Hill, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts and 50 more | 86 min |
| Jan 21, 1:06 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Baldwin, Ben Hill and 73 more | 114 min |
| Jan 21, 2:12 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Berrien, Brooks, Colquitt, Cook, Grady, Lanier and 2 more | 5 hr |
| Jan 21, 3:06 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch and 20 more | 84 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2017Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 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.