Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2021
Tornado Watch 56
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 26, 2021, 1:55 AM EDT for 37 counties in Georgia; 4 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 3 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 26, 2021, 1:55 AM EDT (05:55 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 26, 2021, 5:02 AM EDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 41 counties
Banks County, GA, Barrow County, GA, Butts County, GA, Clarke County, GA, Clayton County, GA, Coweta County, GA, DeKalb County, GA, Elbert County, GA, Fayette County, GA, Forsyth County, GA, Franklin County, GA, Fulton County, GA, Greene County, GA, Gwinnett County, GA, Hall County, GA, Harris County, GA, Hart County, GA, Heard County, GA, Henry County, GA, Jackson County, GA, Jasper County, GA, Lamar County, GA, Madison County, GA, Meriwether County, GA, Morgan County, GA, Newton County, GA, Oconee County, GA, Oglethorpe County, GA, Pike County, GA, Putnam County, GA, Rockdale County, GA, Spalding County, GA, Stephens County, GA, Taliaferro County, GA, Troup County, GA, Walton County, GA, Wilkes County, GA, Abbeville County, SC, Anderson County, SC, Oconee County, SC, Pickens County, SC
The radar
The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 105 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:54 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
- 30%
- 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
3 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 1:55 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Oconee, Pickens | 35 min |
| Mar 26, 2:38 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett | 37 min |
| Mar 26, 3:23 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GSP | Elbert, Hart | 24 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 00:00Z, 5.9 hours before the alert went out and 99 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
- 344 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -14 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1291 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 76 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 328 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 476 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.6
- Supercell composite
- 6.8
The text
As transmitted.
420 WWUS20 KWNS 260552 SEL6 SPC WW 260552 GAZ000-SCZ000-261100- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 56 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 155 AM EDT Fri Mar 26 2021 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of West-central and Northern Georgia Western South Carolina * Effective this Friday morning from 155 AM until 700 AM EDT. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible SUMMARY...While the overall severe/tornado risk has somewhat diminished into the overnight, a residual moist and unstable air mass coincident with very strong low-level shear could still support isolated supercells capable of a tornado aside from isolated hail and damaging winds through the early morning hours. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 40 statute miles north and south of a line from 15 miles east southeast of Anderson SC to 5 miles northwest of La Grange GA. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU6). 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 52... 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 23035. ...Guyer
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 25, 11:26 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Coweta, Fayette, Heard | 64 min |
| Mar 26, 12:34 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barrow, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta and 11 more | 56 min |
| Mar 26, 4:21 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barrow, Clarke, Clayton, Coweta, DeKalb, Elbert and 11 more | 54 min |
| Mar 26, 1:56 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Bibb, Bleckley, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke and 44 more | 94 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2021Tornado Watches in South Carolina, 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.