Alert archive / Florida / Tornado Watches in 2021
Tornado Watch 10
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 18, 2021, 1:49 AM CST for Geneva County, Houston County, Alabama; 13 counties in Florida; 8 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 18, 2021, 1:49 AM CST (07:49 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 18, 2021, 7:47 AM CST
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 23 counties
Geneva County, AL, Houston County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Baker County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Early County, GA, Grady County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Seminole County, GA
The radar
The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 47 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:51 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
- 10%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 5%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 50%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 18, 1:49 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Okaloosa, Santa Rosa | 41 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, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 110 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1835 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 63 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 238 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 546 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
762 WWUS20 KWNS 180747 SEL0 SPC WW 180747 ALZ000-FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-181400- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 10 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 150 AM CST Thu Feb 18 2021 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Extreme southeastern Alabama Florida Panhandle Southwestern Georgia Coastal Waters * Effective this Thursday morning from 150 AM until 800 AM CST. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible SUMMARY...A severe-thunderstorm threat, including damaging gusts and a couple tornadoes possible, will spread inland across the watch area near and south of a warm front, through early morning. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 55 statute miles either side of a line from 25 miles southwest of Panama City FL to 50 miles north of Tallahassee FL. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU0). 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 450. Mean storm motion vector 23030. ...Edwards
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 17, 10:18 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gulf, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and 2 more | 2 hr |
| Feb 18, 4:54 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bay, Gulf | 2 hr |
| Feb 18, 7:09 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson and 4 more | 2 hr |
| Feb 18, 7:45 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson and 6 more | 7 hr |
| Feb 18, 10:35 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Wakulla | 115 min |
| Feb 18, 12:43 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Jefferson, Madison, Taylor | 92 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Florida, 2021Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2021Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2021Every 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.