Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2018

Tornado Watch 436

December 2, 20185 counties in Alabama; 38 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 2, 2018, 2:48 AM CST for 5 counties in Alabama; 38 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Dec 2, 2018, 2:48 AM CST (08:48 UTC)
Expired
Dec 2, 2018, 10:00 AM CST
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 43 counties

Coffee County, AL, Dale County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Baker County, GA, Ben Hill County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Clay County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Cook County, GA, Crisp County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dodge County, GA, Dooly County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Grady County, GA, Irwin County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Laurens County, GA, Lee County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Montgomery County, GA, Pulaski County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Sumter County, GA, Telfair County, GA, Terrell County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Toombs County, GA, Treutlen County, GA, Turner County, GA, Wheeler County, GA, Wilcox County, GA, Worth County, GA

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
20%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
5%
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
30%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 2, 3:01 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEBaker, Calhoun, Dougherty, Early, Lee, Mitchell and 3 more44 min
Dec 2, 3:14 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningTAECalhoun, Dougherty, Lee, Randolph, Terrell, Worth3 hr
Dec 2, 3:27 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEDougherty, Lee, Turner, Worth33 min
Dec 2, 3:43 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEGeneva, Houston47 min
Dec 2, 3:50 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEBen Hill, Irwin, Tift, Turner, Worth40 min
Dec 2, 4:02 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEDale, Geneva, Henry, Houston28 min
Dec 2, 4:08 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEBaker, Dougherty, Mitchell, Tift, Turner, Worth31 min
Dec 2, 4:20 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEDale, Geneva, Henry, Houston40 min
Dec 2, 7:03 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEHouston42 min
Dec 2, 7:33 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEDecatur, Miller, Seminole27 min
Dec 2, 7:36 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEColquitt, Mitchell, Tift, Worth39 min
Dec 2, 7:49 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEDecatur, Miller, Seminole16 min
Dec 2, 7:57 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEBaker, Dougherty, Miller, Mitchell33 min
Dec 2, 8:12 AM CSTTornado WarningTAEBerrien, Colquitt, Cook, Tift, Worth35 min
Dec 2, 8:24 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEDecatur, Grady, Mitchell, Seminole51 min
Dec 2, 8:27 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEBaker, Colquitt, Dougherty, Mitchell, Tift, Turner and 1 more36 min
Dec 2, 8:50 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEColquitt, Decatur, Grady, Mitchell, Thomas40 min
Dec 2, 8:59 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEBerrien, Irwin, Tift46 min
Dec 2, 9:07 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAEBrooks, Lowndes, Thomas23 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 00:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 141 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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 00:00Z on 2018-12-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 262 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 00:00Z on 2018-12-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 394 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
262 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-110 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
507 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
394 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
472 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
2.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

428 
WWUS20 KWNS 020846
SEL6  
SPC WW 020846
ALZ000-GAZ000-021600-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 436
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
345 AM EST Sun Dec 2 2018

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Southeastern Alabama
  Southwestern and south-central Georgia

* Effective this Sunday morning from 345 AM until 1100 AM EST.

* Primary threats include...
  A couple tornadoes possible
  Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible

SUMMARY...A persistent band of strong-severe thunderstorms is
expected to move little through midmorning local time, in a moist
environment with favorable instability and vertical shear.  Episodic
supercell formation and intensification is possible within this
belt, offering brief tornado threats as well as a risk of damaging
nontornadic gusts.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 25 statute miles
either side of a line from 25 miles west southwest of Dothan AL to
Vidalia GA. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated
watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU6).

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.

&&

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 25030.

...Edwards

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 1, 9:18 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCoffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston87 min
Dec 1, 11:27 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDale, Geneva, Henry, Houston93 min
Dec 2, 2:03 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGeneva, Henry, Houston2 hr
Dec 2, 6:00 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien and 29 more2 hr
Dec 2, 9:00 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley and 38 more8 hr
Dec 2, 11:32 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien and 35 more88 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2018Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2018Every tornado watch in 2018

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.