Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2020
Tornado Watch 78
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 31, 2020, 2:22 PM EDT for 20 counties in Florida; 38 counties in Georgia; 8 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 31, 2020, 2:22 PM EDT (18:22 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 31, 2020, 7:54 PM EDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 0.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 66 counties
Baker County, FL, Bradford County, FL, Clay County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Duval County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Nassau County, FL, Saint Johns County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Union County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Appling County, GA, Atkinson County, GA, Bacon County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Brantley County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Bryan County, GA, Bulloch County, GA, Camden County, GA, Candler County, GA, Charlton County, GA, Chatham County, GA, Clinch County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Cook County, GA, Echols County, GA, Effingham County, GA, Emanuel County, GA, Evans County, GA, Glynn County, GA, Jeff Davis County, GA, Jenkins County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Liberty County, GA, Long County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, McIntosh County, GA, Montgomery County, GA, Pierce County, GA, Screven County, GA, Tattnall County, GA, Telfair County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Toombs County, GA, Treutlen County, GA, Ware County, GA, Wayne County, GA, Wheeler County, GA, Allendale County, SC, Beaufort County, SC, Berkeley County, SC, Charleston County, SC, Colleton County, SC, Dorchester County, SC, Hampton County, SC, Jasper County, SC
The radar
The Charleston,SC radar (KCLX), 103 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:22 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
- 60%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 40%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 20%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 10%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 5%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
20 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2:31 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Ben Hill, Berrien, Colquitt, Cook, Irwin, Tift | 44 min |
| Mar 31, 2:40 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Dodge, Telfair, Wheeler, Wilcox | 50 min |
| Mar 31, 2:49 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TAE | Berrien, Brooks, Cook, Lanier, Lowndes | 21 min |
| Mar 31, 3:20 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Atkinson, Coffee, Ware | 11 min |
| Mar 31, 3:46 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Screven | 59 min |
| Mar 31, 3:52 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Emanuel | 22 min |
| Mar 31, 3:59 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TAE | Franklin, Gulf | 31 min |
| Mar 31, 4:03 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Bulloch, Jenkins, Screven | 42 min |
| Mar 31, 4:10 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TAE | Jefferson, Madison, Taylor | 35 min |
| Mar 31, 4:16 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TAE | Madison | 29 min |
| Mar 31, 4:17 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Colleton | 58 min |
| Mar 31, 4:29 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Effingham, Screven | 61 min |
| Mar 31, 4:39 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | TAE | Lafayette, Madison, Taylor | 23 min |
| Mar 31, 4:43 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | JAX | Hamilton, Suwannee | 32 min |
| Mar 31, 5:09 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CHS | Beaufort, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Hampton, Jasper | 55 min |
| Mar 31, 5:27 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Duval, Nassau | 48 min |
| Mar 31, 6:14 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Baker, Bradford, Union | 31 min |
| Mar 31, 6:28 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Baker, Bradford, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Saint Johns and 1 more | 47 min |
| Mar 31, 7:07 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | JAX | Duval, Saint Johns | 9 min |
| Mar 31, 7:29 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | JAX | Saint Johns | 4 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 12:00Z, 6.4 hours before the alert went out and 155 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
- 77 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -63 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 577 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 52 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 122 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 184 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
As transmitted.
449 WWUS20 KWNS 311819 SEL8 SPC WW 311819 FLZ000-GAZ000-SCZ000-CWZ000-010100- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 78 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 220 PM EDT Tue Mar 31 2020 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of North Florida Southeast Georgia Southern South Carolina Coastal Waters * Effective this Tuesday afternoon and evening from 220 PM until 900 PM EDT. * Primary threats include... A few tornadoes likely Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible SUMMARY...Severe thunderstorms over southwest Georgia and the Florida Panhandle will track eastward this afternoon and early evening. Damaging winds and a few tornadoes will continue to be possible in the stronger cells. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 70 statute miles east and west of a line from 35 miles northwest of Charleston SC to 40 miles south southeast of Tallahassee FL. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU8). 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 77... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 0.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean storm motion vector 27040. ...Hart
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 9:51 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes and 7 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 31, 11:42 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Calhoun, Escambia, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and 2 more | 93 min |
| Mar 31, 1:09 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Calhoun, Gadsden, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon and 4 more | 96 min |
| Mar 31, 4:40 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baker, Columbia, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee and 1 more | 65 min |
| Mar 31, 6:38 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alachua, Clay, Putnam, Saint Johns | 67 min |
| Mar 31, 12:20 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Burke, Columbia, Glascock, Jefferson, Lincoln, McDuffie and 4 more | 85 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2020Tornado Watches in Florida, 2020Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 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.