Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 2017
Tornado Watch 14
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 21, 2017, 1:12 PM CST for 9 counties in Florida; 8 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jan 21, 2017, 1:12 PM CST (19:12 UTC)
- Expired
- Jan 21, 2017, 6:00 PM CST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
Counties Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Berrien County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Cook County, GA, Grady County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, Thomas County, GA
The radar
The Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 33 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:13 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
- 30%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 10%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
1 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 21, 2:10 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Calhoun, Gadsden, Gulf, Liberty | 50 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 12:00Z, 7.2 hours before the alert went out and 36 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
- 352 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -14 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 613 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 56 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 139 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 217 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.3
- Supercell composite
- 2.0
The text
As transmitted.
424 WWUS20 KWNS 211910 SEL4 SPC WW 211910 FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-220000- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 14 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 210 PM EST Sat Jan 21 2017 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Florida Panhandle South Central Georgia Coastal Waters * Effective this Saturday afternoon and evening from 210 PM until 700 PM EST. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible SUMMARY...A line of strong to severe thunderstorms will sag southward across the watch area this afternoon. Strong winds aloft and sufficient instability suggest a risk of locally gusty or damaging winds and isolated tornadoes. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 40 statute miles north and south of a line from 40 miles west northwest of Apalachicola FL to 25 miles north northeast of Valdosta GA. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU4). 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...WW 13... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean storm motion vector 26030. ...Hart
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 21, 3:00 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton | 90 min |
| Jan 21, 3:56 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Escambia, Holmes, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton | 8 hr |
| Jan 21, 7:41 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Escambia, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and 1 more | 94 min |
| Jan 21, 8:04 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Liberty and 1 more | 6 hr |
| Jan 21, 9:19 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty and 3 more | 86 min |
| Jan 21, 12:06 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Jackson and 6 more | 114 min |
| Jan 21, 3:03 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baker, Columbia, Franklin, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton and 9 more | 57 min |
| Jan 21, 5:05 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gulf, Jefferson, Leon and 4 more | 55 min |
| Jan 21, 12:51 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke and 19 more | 4 hr |
| Jan 21, 2:06 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch and 20 more | 84 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Florida, 2017Tornado Watches in Georgia, 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.