Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2021
Tornado Watch 11
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 18, 2021, 7:45 AM CST for 12 counties in Florida; 36 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 18, 2021, 7:45 AM CST (13:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 18, 2021, 3:00 PM CST
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 48 counties
Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Atkinson County, GA, Baker County, GA, Ben Hill County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Cook County, GA, Crisp County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dodge County, GA, Dooly County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Grady County, GA, Irwin County, GA, Jeff Davis County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Lee County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, Miller County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Montgomery County, GA, Pulaski County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Sumter County, GA, Telfair County, GA, Terrell County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Toombs County, GA, Turner County, GA, Wheeler County, GA, Wilcox County, GA, Worth County, GA
The radar
The Moody AFB radar (KVAX), 85 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:47 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
- 20%
- 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
- 30%
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 12:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 89 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
- 104 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -77 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 497 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 387 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 410 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 2.3
The text
As transmitted.
236 WWUS20 KWNS 181343 SEL1 SPC WW 181343 FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-182100- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 11 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 845 AM EST Thu Feb 18 2021 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Florida Panhandle Southern Georgia Coastal Waters * Effective this Thursday morning and afternoon from 845 AM until 400 PM EST. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible SUMMARY...Thunderstorms are forecast to intensify today with some of the stronger storms potentially capable of an isolated risk for damaging gusts and possibly a couple of tornadoes. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 60 statute miles east and west of a line from 75 miles northeast of Albany GA to 30 miles south southwest of Apalachicola FL. 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. && OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 10... 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. ...Smith/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, 1:49 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes and 7 more | 6 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, 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 Georgia, 2021Tornado Watches in Florida, 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.