Alert archive / Georgia / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 130

May 3, 202161 counties in Georgia

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 3, 2021, 3:23 PM EDT for 61 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 3, 2021, 3:23 PM EDT (19:23 UTC)
Expired
May 3, 2021, 9:00 PM EDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
55 kt
All 61 counties

Baldwin County, GA, Barrow County, GA, Bibb County, GA, Butts County, GA, Carroll County, GA, Chattahoochee County, GA, Clarke County, GA, Clayton County, GA, Cobb County, GA, Coweta County, GA, Crawford County, GA, DeKalb County, GA, Dooly County, GA, Douglas County, GA, Fayette County, GA, Fulton County, GA, Glascock County, GA, Greene County, GA, Gwinnett County, GA, Hancock County, GA, Haralson County, GA, Harris County, GA, Heard County, GA, Henry County, GA, Houston County, GA, Jasper County, GA, Jefferson County, GA, Johnson County, GA, Jones County, GA, Lamar County, GA, Macon County, GA, Marion County, GA, Meriwether County, GA, Monroe County, GA, Morgan County, GA, Muscogee County, GA, Newton County, GA, Oconee County, GA, Oglethorpe County, GA, Paulding County, GA, Peach County, GA, Pike County, GA, Polk County, GA, Putnam County, GA, Rockdale County, GA, Schley County, GA, Spalding County, GA, Stewart County, GA, Sumter County, GA, Talbot County, GA, Taliaferro County, GA, Taylor County, GA, Troup County, GA, Twiggs County, GA, Upson County, GA, Walton County, GA, Warren County, GA, Washington County, GA, Webster County, GA, Wilkes County, GA, Wilkinson County, GA

The radar

The Robins AFB radar (KJGX), 78 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:27 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
20%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
5%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
Ten or more severe hail reports
20%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
10%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
50%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 3, 3:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGlascock, Jefferson, Washington34 min
May 3, 3:47 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCWilkes13 min
May 3, 4:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCJefferson24 min
May 3, 4:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCTwiggs, Wilkinson46 min
May 3, 4:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGlascock, Hancock, Warren, Washington29 min
May 3, 5:21 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCBaldwin, Washington, Wilkinson24 min
May 3, 5:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFFCGlascock, Jefferson, Washington44 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 12:00Z, 7.4 hours before the alert went out and 83 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2021-05-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 674 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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2021-05-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 207 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
674 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-54 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
671 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
207 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
272 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.8
Supercell composite
4.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

593 
WWUS20 KWNS 031919
SEL0  
SPC WW 031919
GAZ000-040100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 130
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
320 PM EDT Mon May 3 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  Western and central Georgia

* Effective this Monday afternoon and evening from 320 PM until
  900 PM EDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Isolated damaging wind gusts to 65 mph possible
  Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible
  A tornado or two possible

SUMMARY...Leading supercell in east-central Georgia will pose the
greatest near-term severe threat. A few severe storms may yet
develop farther west with a primary threat for isolated damaging
winds and large hail.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 70
statute miles east and west of a line from 20 miles west northwest
of Athens GA to 40 miles southwest of Macon GA. For a complete
depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU0).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
favorable for 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. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
tornadoes.

&&

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...This severe thunderstorm watch replaces
tornado watch number 127. Watch number 127 will not be in effect
after 320 PM EDT. CONTINUE...WW 128...WW 129...

AVIATION...A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 55 knots. A
few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean storm motion vector
26025.

...Grams

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 3, 12:45 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCColbert, Franklin, Marion2 hr
May 3, 10:29 AM EDTTornado WatchSPCBullock, Chambers, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Elmore and 6 more5 hr
May 3, 11:38 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCButler, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Dallas and 7 more97 min
May 3, 12:47 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAutauga, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Butler and 46 more10 hr
May 3, 5:00 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun and 38 more90 min
May 3, 10:04 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarrow, Butts, Carroll, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta and 15 more86 min
May 3, 11:20 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClayton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Rockdale55 min
May 3, 1:03 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarrow, Butts, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Columbia and 30 more87 min
May 3, 1:25 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCBurke, Columbia, Elbert, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond6 hr
May 3, 3:05 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Barrow, Bibb, Butts, Carroll, Chattahoochee and 36 more55 min
May 3, 4:26 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCRichmond94 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Georgia, 2021Every severe thunderstorm watch in 2021

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.