Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2017
Tornado Watch 5
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 2, 2017, 10:27 PM EST for 36 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 3 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jan 2, 2017, 10:27 PM EST (03:27 UTC)
- Expired
- Jan 3, 2017, 1:47 AM EST
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 36 counties
Appling County, GA, Atkinson County, GA, Bacon County, GA, Ben Hill County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Brantley County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Candler County, GA, Charlton County, GA, Clinch County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Cook County, GA, Crisp County, GA, Dodge County, GA, Dooly County, GA, Echols County, GA, Emanuel County, GA, Evans County, GA, Irwin County, GA, Jeff Davis County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Long County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, Montgomery County, GA, Pierce County, GA, Pulaski County, GA, Tattnall County, GA, Telfair County, GA, Tift County, GA, Toombs County, GA, Treutlen County, GA, Turner County, GA, Ware County, GA, Wayne County, GA, Wheeler County, GA, Wilcox County, GA
The radar
The Moody AFB radar (KVAX), 81 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:28 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
- 70%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- 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
- 90%
Warnings issued inside it
9 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2, 10:33 PM EST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Dougherty, Lee, Turner, Worth | 27 min |
| Jan 2, 10:51 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Crisp, Wilcox | 39 min |
| Jan 2, 10:54 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Ben Hill, Berrien, Cook, Irwin, Tift | 66 min |
| Jan 2, 10:59 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Brooks, Lanier, Lowndes | 61 min |
| Jan 2, 11:13 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Dodge, Pulaski, Telfair, Wilcox | 47 min |
| Jan 2, 11:15 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Clinch, Coffee, Jeff Davis and 1 more | 60 min |
| Jan 2, 11:31 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Dodge, Laurens, Telfair, Wheeler | 44 min |
| Jan 3, 12:15 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Emanuel, Johnson, Laurens, Montgomery, Treutlen, Wheeler | 45 min |
| Jan 3, 12:30 AM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Emanuel, Laurens, Montgomery, Toombs, Treutlen, Wheeler | 45 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
Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), launched 00:00Z, 3.5 hours before the alert went out and 178 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
- 1191 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -35 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 953 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 98 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 122 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.6
- Supercell composite
- 4.2
The text
As transmitted.
612 WWUS20 KWNS 030324 SEL5 SPC WW 030324 FLZ000-GAZ000-030800- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 5 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 1025 PM EST Mon Jan 2 2017 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Northern Florida Southern Georgia * Effective this Monday night and Tuesday morning from 1025 PM until 300 AM EST. * Primary threats include... A few tornadoes possible Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely SUMMARY...A fast-moving line of severe storms over southwest GA and the FL Panhandle will track eastward across the watch area for the next few hours. Damaging winds are the main threat, but a few tornadoes are also possible. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 55 statute miles north and south of a line from 20 miles north northwest of Moultrie GA to 55 miles southeast of Vidalia GA. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5). 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 4... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector 25040. ...Hart
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2, 9:15 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baker, Brooks, Calhoun, Clay, Colquitt, Cook and 11 more | 60 min |
| Jan 3, 12:10 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch and 25 more | 2 hr |
| Jan 3, 12:12 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Charlton | 2 hr |
Nearby
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.