Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2021

Tornado Watch 1

January 1, 202125 counties in Georgia; 5 counties in South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 1, 2021, 3:27 PM EST for 25 counties in Georgia; 5 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Jan 1, 2021, 3:27 PM EST (20:27 UTC)
Expired: Jan 1, 2021, 8:00 PM EST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected: 0.5 in
Strongest gust expected: 60 kt

All 30 counties

Baldwin County, GA, Bibb County, GA, Bleckley County, GA, Columbia County, GA, Crawford County, GA, Dooly County, GA, Glascock County, GA, Greene County, GA, Hancock County, GA, Houston County, GA, Jefferson County, GA, Jones County, GA, Lincoln County, GA, Macon County, GA, McDuffie County, GA, Peach County, GA, Pulaski County, GA, Putnam County, GA, Richmond County, GA, Taliaferro County, GA, Twiggs County, GA, Warren County, GA, Washington County, GA, Wilkes County, GA, Wilkinson County, GA, Aiken County, SC, Edgefield County, SC, Greenwood County, SC, McCormick County, SC, Saluda County, SC

The radar

The Robins AFB radar (KJGX), 49 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:31 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: 40%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes: 20%
Ten or more severe wind reports: 30%
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: 40%

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 1, 3:28 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Taliaferro, Warren, Wilkes	32 min
Jan 1, 3:36 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Greene, Hancock, Putnam	24 min
Jan 1, 3:39 PM EST	Tornado Warning	FFC	Baldwin, Hancock, Putnam	22 min
Jan 1, 4:59 PM EST	Tornado Warning	CAE	Columbia, Lincoln, McDuffie	31 min
Jan 1, 5:28 PM EST	Tornado Warning	CAE	Columbia, Lincoln	32 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, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 129 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 7 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -202 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 573 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 389 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 491 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

208 
WWUS20 KWNS 012025
SEL1  
SPC WW 012025
GAZ000-SCZ000-020100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 1
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
330 PM EST Fri Jan 1 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Central Georgia
  Western South Carolina

* Effective this Friday afternoon and evening from 330 PM until
  800 PM EST.

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

SUMMARY...A few intense thunderstorms are ongoing over central
Georgia.  These storms have resulted in isolated tornadoes, and may
continue to do so for another few hours.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 35 statute miles
either side of a line from 30 miles southwest of Macon GA to 40
miles north northeast of Augusta GA. For a complete depiction of the
watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU1).

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 0.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 300. Mean
storm motion vector 23035.

...Hart

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 1, 12:42 PM EST	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Baldwin, Butts, Columbia, Glascock, Greene, Hancock and 16 more	2 hr
Jan 1, 4:27 PM EST	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Bleckley, Burke, Columbia, Glascock, Hancock, Jefferson and 9 more	2 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2021 Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 2021 Every tornado 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.