Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2017

Tornado Watch 22

January 22, 201716 counties in Georgia; 14 counties in South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 22, 2017, 4:25 PM EST for 16 counties in Georgia; 14 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jan 22, 2017, 4:25 PM EST (21:25 UTC)
Expired
Jan 22, 2017, 7:52 PM EST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Particularly dangerous situation
Yes
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
65 kt
All 30 counties

Bryan County, GA, Bulloch County, GA, Burke County, GA, Candler County, GA, Chatham County, GA, Columbia County, GA, Effingham County, GA, Evans County, GA, Jenkins County, GA, Liberty County, GA, Long County, GA, McDuffie County, GA, McIntosh County, GA, Richmond County, GA, Screven County, GA, Tattnall 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, Clarendon County, SC, Colleton County, SC, Dorchester County, SC, Hampton County, SC, Jasper County, SC, Orangeburg County, SC

The radar

The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 8 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:25 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
80%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
80%
Ten or more severe wind reports
70%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
40%
Ten or more severe hail reports
40%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
5%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
90%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 22, 6:36 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCHSLong, McIntosh24 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, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 106 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, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 2017-01-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Charleston AFB, SC at 12:00Z on 2017-01-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 253 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
762 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
61 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
253 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
438 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

535 
WWUS20 KWNS 222121
SEL2  
SPC WW 222121
GAZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-230300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 22
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
425 PM EST Sun Jan 22 2017

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Southeast Georgia
  Central and Southern South Carolina
  Coastal Waters

* Effective this Sunday afternoon and evening from 425 PM until
  1000 PM EST.

...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...

* Primary threats include...
  Several tornadoes and a few intense tornadoes likely
  Scattered damaging winds likely with isolated significant gusts
    to 75 mph possible
  Scattered large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible

SUMMARY...Intense supercell thunderstorms over central Georgia will
track eastward across the watch area late this afternoon and
evening.  strong tornadoes are damaging winds are possible with the
strongest cells.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 80 statute miles
north and south of a line from 55 miles west of Savannah GA to 35
miles east southeast of Charleston SC. For a complete depiction of
the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS
WOU2).

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 21...

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 24040.

...Hart

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 21, 7:51 PM ESTTornado Watch PDSSPCBaker, Ben Hill, Calhoun, Clay, Colquitt, Decatur and 15 more8 hr
Jan 21, 9:30 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClay, Early, Quitman, Seminole90 min
Jan 21, 10:57 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaker, Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay, Decatur, Dougherty and 10 more93 min
Jan 22, 12:06 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Bacon, Ben Hill, Bibb, Bleckley, Brantley and 34 more54 min
Jan 22, 12:49 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaker, Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay, Decatur, Dougherty and 10 more116 min
Jan 22, 2:55 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien and 47 more65 min
Jan 22, 3:20 AM ESTTornado WatchSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien and 56 more9 hr
Jan 22, 3:46 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Barrow, Bibb, Butts, Carroll, Chattahoochee and 38 more119 min
Jan 22, 6:34 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien and 57 more86 min
Jan 22, 7:11 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien and 49 more2 hr
Jan 22, 9:11 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrantley, Brooks, Camden, Charlton, Clinch, Decatur and 7 more64 min
Jan 22, 10:16 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrooks, Camden, Charlton, Clinch, Decatur, Echols and 5 more59 min
Jan 22, 10:41 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Crawford, Dodge and 27 more94 min
Jan 22, 11:25 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien and 31 more95 min
Jan 22, 12:02 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDecatur, Seminole58 min
Jan 22, 12:47 PM ESTTornado Watch PDSSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Baldwin, Ben Hill and 100 more7 hr
Jan 22, 1:31 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCChattahoochee, Harris, Meriwether, Muscogee, Troup59 min
Jan 22, 1:36 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDecatur, Grady, Miller, Seminole, Thomas54 min
Jan 22, 3:02 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaker, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Calhoun, Colquitt and 15 more58 min
Jan 22, 3:28 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarroll, Chattahoochee, Clayton, Coweta, Douglas, Fayette and 10 more92 min
Jan 22, 4:02 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBryan, Bulloch, Burke, Candler, Chatham, Effingham and 8 more88 min
Jan 22, 4:19 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Charlton, Clinch and 12 more86 min
Jan 22, 6:58 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Candler, Chatham and 11 more92 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.