Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2021
Tornado Watch 571
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 29, 2021, 9:16 PM CST for 10 counties in Alabama; 57 counties in Georgia; 4 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Dec 29, 2021, 9:16 PM CST (03:16 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 30, 2021, 4:00 AM CST
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 71 counties
Calhoun County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Clay County, AL, Cleburne County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Randolph County, AL, Shelby County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Banks County, GA, Barrow County, GA, Bartow County, GA, Butts County, GA, Carroll County, GA, Cherokee County, GA, Clarke County, GA, Clayton County, GA, Cobb County, GA, Coweta County, GA, Dawson County, GA, DeKalb County, GA, Douglas County, GA, Elbert County, GA, Fannin County, GA, Fayette County, GA, Forsyth County, GA, Franklin County, GA, Fulton County, GA, Gilmer County, GA, Gordon County, GA, Greene County, GA, Gwinnett County, GA, Habersham County, GA, Hall County, GA, Haralson County, GA, Hart County, GA, Heard County, GA, Henry County, GA, Jackson County, GA, Jasper County, GA, Jones County, GA, Lamar County, GA, Lumpkin County, GA, Madison County, GA, Meriwether County, GA, Monroe County, GA, Morgan County, GA, Murray County, GA, Newton County, GA, Oconee County, GA, Oglethorpe County, GA, Paulding County, GA, Pickens County, GA, Pike County, GA, Polk County, GA, Putnam County, GA, Rabun County, GA, Rockdale County, GA, Spalding County, GA, Stephens County, GA, Towns County, GA, Troup County, GA, Union County, GA, Walton County, GA, White County, GA, Whitfield County, GA, Anderson County, SC, Greenville County, SC, Oconee County, SC, Pickens County, SC
The radar
The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 128 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:17 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
- 50%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 30%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 60%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 20%
- 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
- 80%
Warnings issued inside it
8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 29, 9:25 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne | 35 min |
| Dec 29, 9:31 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Floyd, Paulding, Polk | 44 min |
| Dec 29, 9:37 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Bartow, Dawson, Gilmer, Gordon, Pickens | 38 min |
| Dec 29, 10:01 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Chilton, Shelby | 32 min |
| Dec 29, 10:08 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Dawson, Forsyth, Fulton and 3 more | 52 min |
| Dec 29, 10:12 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC | Carroll, Cobb, Douglas, Haralson, Paulding, Polk | 48 min |
| Dec 29, 10:18 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Coosa, Talladega | 24 min |
| Dec 29, 10:39 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Bibb, Chilton, Coosa, Shelby, Talladega | 2 hr |
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, 3.3 hours before the alert went out and 123 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
- 251 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -52 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 790 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 53 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 228 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 240 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.3
- Supercell composite
- 3.0
The text
As transmitted.
841 WWUS20 KWNS 300312 SEL1 SPC WW 300312 ALZ000-GAZ000-NCZ000-SCZ000-301000- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 571 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 1010 PM EST Wed Dec 29 2021 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of East-central Alabama Northern Georgia Southwest North Carolina Northwest South Carolina * Effective this Wednesday night and Thursday morning from 1010 PM until 500 AM EST. * Primary threats include... A few tornadoes and a couple intense tornadoes possible Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible SUMMARY...A line of severe thunderstorms will move rapidly east across the watch area with a risk for damaging winds, a few tornadoes, and isolated hail. More isolated severe storms may develop ahead of the line and also pose a risk for a tornado and damaging wind gusts. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 70 statute miles east and west of a line from 55 miles northwest of Anderson SC to 25 miles east of La Grange 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. && OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 570... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector 25040. ...Bunting
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 29, 7:27 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay and 15 more | 2 hr |
| Dec 29, 8:44 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Calhoun, Cherokee, Etowah | 2 hr |
| Dec 29, 10:56 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clay, Randolph | 2 hr |
| Dec 30, 1:15 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bibb, Chambers, Chilton, Clay, Coosa, Randolph and 3 more | 90 min |
| Dec 30, 4:02 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bibb, Chambers, Chilton, Clay, Coosa, Greene and 10 more | 2 hr |
| Dec 30, 10:34 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Autauga, Bullock, Chambers, Chilton, Coosa, Dallas and 9 more | 116 min |
| Dec 30, 1:05 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Autauga, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Chambers, Clarke and 13 more | 7 hr |
| Dec 30, 2:54 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barbour, Bullock, Crenshaw, Lee, Lowndes, Macon and 3 more | 2 hr |
| Dec 30, 1:00 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien and 29 more | 2 hr |
| Dec 30, 5:35 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley and 32 more | 115 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2021Tornado Watches in Alabama, 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.