Alert archive / Georgia / Mesoscale Discussions in 2026

Mesoscale Discussion 270

March 16, 202615 counties in Florida; 45 counties in Georgia; 21 counties in South Carolina

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Mar 16, 2026, 10:36 AM EDT for 15 counties in Florida; 45 counties in Georgia; 21 counties in South Carolina. It was in force for 84 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 16, 2026, 10:36 AM EDT (14:36 UTC)
Expired
Mar 16, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT
In force
84 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Concerning
Tornado watch 63...65
All 81 counties

Baker County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Dixie County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Jefferson County, FL, Lafayette County, FL, Leon County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Madison County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Taylor County, FL, Wakulla County, FL, Appling County, GA, Atkinson County, GA, Bacon County, GA, Ben Hill County, GA, Berrien County, GA, Brantley County, GA, Brooks County, GA, Bryan County, GA, Bulloch County, GA, Burke County, GA, Candler County, GA, Charlton County, GA, Clinch County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Colquitt County, GA, Cook County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Echols County, GA, Effingham County, GA, Emanuel County, GA, Evans County, GA, Grady County, GA, Irwin County, GA, Jeff Davis County, GA, Jenkins County, GA, Lanier County, GA, Liberty County, GA, Long County, GA, Lowndes County, GA, Mitchell County, GA, Montgomery County, GA, Pierce County, GA, Screven County, GA, Tattnall County, GA, Telfair County, GA, Thomas County, GA, Tift County, GA, Toombs County, GA, Treutlen County, GA, Turner County, GA, Ware County, GA, Wayne County, GA, Wheeler County, GA, Wilcox County, GA, Worth County, GA, Aiken County, SC, Allendale County, SC, Bamberg County, SC, Barnwell County, SC, Calhoun County, SC, Chesterfield County, SC, Clarendon County, SC, Colleton County, SC, Darlington County, SC, Dillon County, SC, Dorchester County, SC, Florence County, SC, Hampton County, SC, Jasper County, SC, Kershaw County, SC, Lee County, SC, Lexington County, SC, Marlboro County, SC, Orangeburg County, SC, Richland County, SC, Sumter County, SC

The radar

The Moody AFB radar (KVAX), 114 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:40 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.

The watches that followed

Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.

The nearest sounding before it

Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), launched 12:00Z, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 160 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Jacksonville, FL at 12:00Z on 2026-03-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 554 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Jacksonville, FL at 12:00Z on 2026-03-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 194 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
554 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-98 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
839 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
194 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
203 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
5.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

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SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 16, 3:37 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHolmes, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton, Washington113 min
Mar 16, 4:10 AM EDTTornado WatchSPCBay, Calhoun, Escambia, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa and 3 more8 hr
Mar 16, 7:54 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jefferson and 4 more96 min
Mar 16, 7:59 AM EDTTornado WatchSPCColumbia, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf and 9 more7 hr
Mar 16, 12:49 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie and 14 more86 min
Mar 16, 1:33 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCAlachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Duval and 10 more4 hr
Mar 16, 1:58 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrevard, Broward, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry and 13 more62 min
Mar 15, 9:22 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCBartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Fannin, Floyd and 6 more9 hr
Mar 15, 11:54 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDade2 hr
Mar 16, 4:21 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCRabun, Towns, Union114 min
Mar 16, 4:36 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCElbert, Franklin, Habersham, Hart, Lincoln, Rabun and 1 more6 hr
Mar 16, 6:01 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien and 41 more89 min
Mar 16, 7:23 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaldwin, Bibb, Butts, Chattahoochee, Clarke, Crawford and 28 more97 min
Mar 16, 11:15 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBerkeley, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Williamsburg90 min
Mar 16, 1:18 PM EDTTornado WatchSPCDillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Williamsburg7 hr
Mar 16, 3:19 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGeorgetown, Horry116 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Georgia, 2026Mesoscale Discussions in South Carolina, 2026Mesoscale Discussions in Florida, 2026Every mesoscale discussion in 2026

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.