Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2020
Tornado Watch 62
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 24, 2020, 7:44 PM CDT for 5 counties in Alabama; 10 counties in Georgia; Bradley County, Hamilton County, Polk County, Tennessee. It was in force for 3 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 24, 2020, 7:44 PM CDT (00:44 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 24, 2020, 10:55 PM CDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 0.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 55 kt
Counties Blount County, AL, Cherokee County, AL, Etowah County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Walker County, AL, Bartow County, GA, Catoosa County, GA, Chattooga County, GA, Dade County, GA, Floyd County, GA, Gordon County, GA, Murray County, GA, Polk County, GA, Walker County, GA, Whitfield County, GA, Bradley County, TN, Hamilton County, TN, Polk County, TN
The radar
The Northeast Alabama radar (KHTX), 70 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:46 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
- 20%
- 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
- 40%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 24, 9:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Floyd, Paulding, Polk | 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
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 158 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
- 93 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -88 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1542 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 61 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 138 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 271 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.0
The text
As transmitted.
678 WWUS20 KWNS 250040 SEL2 SPC WW 250040 ALZ000-GAZ000-TNZ000-250500- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 62 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 845 PM EDT Tue Mar 24 2020 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Northeast Alabama Northwest Georgia Far southeast Tennessee * Effective this Tuesday night and Wednesday morning from 845 PM until 100 AM EDT. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Isolated damaging wind gusts to 65 mph possible SUMMARY...A cluster of strong to severe storms should spread east across northeast Alabama into far southeast Tennessee, including northwest Georgia. Isolated damaging winds and a couple tornadoes are possible before storms likely weaken later this evening. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 55 statute miles east and west of a line from 20 miles east southeast of Gadsden AL to 10 miles north northeast of Chattanooga TN. 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 61... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 0.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 55 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 400. Mean storm motion vector 27045. ...Grams
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 24, 7:05 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cherokee, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson, Lawrence and 5 more | 55 min |
| Mar 24, 9:45 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Calhoun, Cherokee | 60 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2020Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2020Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 2020Every tornado watch in 2020
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.