Alert archive / Georgia / Tornado Watches in 2026
Tornado Watch 9
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 15, 2026, 12:59 PM EST for 16 counties in Florida; 21 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 15, 2026, 12:59 PM EST (17:59 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 15, 2026, 7:29 PM EST
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 37 counties
Alachua County, FL, Baker County, FL, Bradford County, FL, Clay County, FL, Columbia County, FL, Duval County, FL, Flagler County, FL, Gilchrist County, FL, Hamilton County, FL, Levy County, FL, Marion County, FL, Nassau County, FL, Putnam County, FL, Saint Johns County, FL, Suwannee County, FL, Union County, FL, Appling County, GA, Atkinson County, GA, Bacon County, GA, Brantley County, GA, Camden County, GA, Charlton County, GA, Clinch County, GA, Coffee County, GA, Echols County, GA, Glynn County, GA, Jeff Davis County, GA, Long County, GA, McIntosh County, GA, Montgomery County, GA, Pierce County, GA, Tattnall County, GA, Telfair County, GA, Toombs County, GA, Ware County, GA, Wayne County, GA, Wheeler County, GA
The radar
The Jacksonville radar (KJAX), 69 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:02 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
- 10%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 50%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 20%
- 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
- 70%
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 15, 3:47 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX | Columbia, Hamilton, Suwannee | 28 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
Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), launched 12:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 68 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
- 13 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -30 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 758 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 60 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 250 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 254 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
927 WWUS20 KWNS 151757 SEL9 SPC WW 151757 FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-160100- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 9 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 100 PM EST Sun Feb 15 2026 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Northern Florida Southern Georgia Coastal Waters * Effective this Sunday afternoon and evening from 100 PM until 800 PM EST. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible SUMMARY...A broken line of thunderstorms will continue to move quickly east-northeastward across parts of northern Florida and southern Georgia this afternoon and evening. Scattered damaging winds with peak gusts up to 60-70 mph should be the main threat, but a couple of brief line-embedded tornadoes also appear possible. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 55 statute miles east and west of a line from 60 miles north of Waycross GA to 30 miles south of Gainesville FL. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU9). 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 8... 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 400. Mean storm motion vector 26040. ...Gleason
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 15, 12:17 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa | 6 hr |
| Feb 15, 4:04 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa | 116 min |
| Feb 15, 7:45 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes and 7 more | 2 hr |
| Feb 15, 8:35 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bay, Calhoun, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf and 11 more | 8 hr |
| Feb 15, 11:12 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty and 3 more | 93 min |
| Feb 15, 12:09 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia and 11 more | 96 min |
| Feb 15, 4:11 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia and 11 more | 94 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Georgia, 2026Tornado Watches in Florida, 2026Every tornado watch 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.