Georgia Drought Update September 10 2011 - Impact from Tropical Storm Lee

Impacts from Tropical Storm Lee around the local area were minimal to say the least. Rain amounts were projected to be 1-3 inches with higher amounts possible for the local area depending on where the feeder bands set up. Those feeder bands really never set up in the local area, but did find their way to our west in Alabama and North Georgia as Lee moved to the north. We did however experience severe weather in the form of tornadoes across much of the state, with only one tornado being confirmed at this time in Cherokee County

As far as rain form tropical storm Lee, it was a none event in my eyes. After forecast mentioning 1 to 3 inches, the 0.45 inches of rain I received here at the house over the 3 day period was quite disappointing. Columbus officialy had 0.60 inches over the same period.

So what did the recent rain do for the drought ? Not much for most of the state with the exception being as mentioned above, North Georgia. As you can see from this map provided by the U.S. Drought Monitor, you can see most of the state of Georgia is still dealing with Extreme Drought conditions, while North Georgia has been removed form any drought all together. This map covers the period August 30 through September 6, 2011.

As mentioned, areas to our west picked up quite a bit of rain from tropical storm Lee, as well as areas to our north causing flooding. Here is a map showing rainfall amounts for the last 7 days ending September 10^th.

From what I have looked at, we will have little relief from drought in the coming weeks. I'm still watching the tropics for a system to come our way, but as we have now reached the half way point of Hurricane season it's not looking favorable. It's all down hill from here.

Cherokee County Georgia Tornado Track Images

Tornado Details

Location: Cherokee County
Rating: EF-1
Wind Speed: 90MPH
Path Length: 24 miles
Path Width: 1/4 mile
Injuries: 1
Deaths: 0
Additional Information: The initial touchdown was just south of Dixie Speedway near Woodstock in south Central Cherokee County. The tornado moved north to northeast and then lifted completely near Nelson in north central Cherokee County. Brookshire and Towne Lake Hills South subdivisions were the hardest hit with 400 homes damaged or destroyed.

Path of EF-1 tornado that struck Cherokee County.

Storm Report

0311 PM     TORNADO          3 WSW WOODSTOCK         34.08N 84.57W
09/05/2011  F1               CHEROKEE           GA   NWS STORM SURVEY

            *** 1 INJ *** MAX WIND SPEED 90 MPH...PATH LENGTH 24
            MILES SEMI-CONTINUOUS...MAX PATH WIDTH 1/4 MILE. INITIAL
            TOUCH DOWN JUST SOUTH OF DIXIE SPEEDWAY NEAR WOODSTOCK IN
            SOUTH CENTRAL CHEROKEE COUNTY...MOVED NORTH TO NORTHEAST
            THEN LIFTED COMPLETELY NEAR NELSON IN NORTH CENTRAL
            CHEROKEE COUNTY. BROOKSHIRE AND TOWNE LAKE HILLS SOUTH
            SUBDIVISIONS HARDEST HIT WITH 400 HOMES DAMAGED OR
            DESTROYED. 1 CONFIRMED INJURY.

Reflectivity image of Cherokee County tornado.

Storm Relative Velocity of Cherokee County tornado.

Damage to a house in Holly Springs, GA (Cherokee County).

Damage from the EF-1 tornado in Cherokee County.

Trees snapped by the EF-1 tornado in Holly Springs, GA (Cherokee County).

Information provided by National Weather Service - Peachtree City, GA

See related: Tornadoes in Georgia on September 5 2011 published September 6, 2011

Tornadoes in Georgia on September 5 2011

Numerous reports of Tornadoes, Funnel Clouds, Wind Damage and Flooding in Georgia due to Tropical Storm Lee and it's interaction with a Cold Front that moved toward the area from the northwest. Combined, these two features probably caused more severe weather than TSLee would have alone.

While the local area was spared from most of the severe weather [more on this below], others were not. Here area confirmed as well as unconfirmed reports on tornadoes in Georgia as of 9/06/11 :

Confirmed

0311 PM     TORNADO          3 WSW WOODSTOCK         34.08N 84.57W
09/05/2011  F1               CHEROKEE           GA   NWS STORM SURVEY

            *** 1 INJ *** MAX WIND SPEED 90 MPH...PATH LENGTH 24
            MILES SEMI-CONTINUOUS...MAX PATH WIDTH 1/4 MILE. INITIAL
            TOUCH DOWN JUST SOUTH OF DIXIE SPEEDWAY NEAR WOODSTOCK IN
            SOUTH CENTRAL CHEROKEE COUNTY...MOVED NORTH TO NORTHEAST
            THEN LIFTED COMPLETELY NEAR NELSON IN NORTH CENTRAL
            CHEROKEE COUNTY. BROOKSHIRE AND TOWNE LAKE HILLS SOUTH
            SUBDIVISIONS HARDEST HIT WITH 400 HOMES DAMAGED OR
            DESTROYED. 1 CONFIRMED INJURY.

Unconfirmed

0235 PM     TORNADO          WINSTON                 33.73N 84.83W
09/05/2011                   DOUGLAS            GA   TRAINED SPOTTER

            AMATEUR RADIO RELAYED A REPORT FROM A TRAINED SPOTTER OF
            A TORNADO NEAR WINSTON.

0245 PM     TORNADO          POWDER SPRINGS          33.86N 84.68W
09/05/2011                   COBB               GA   TRAINED SPOTTER

            AMATEUR RADIO RELAYED TRAINED SPOTTER REPORT OF TORNADO
            IN THE MACKLIN WOODS AREA OF POWDER SPRINGS.

0313 PM     TORNADO          1 W WOODSTOCK           34.10N 84.54W
09/05/2011                   CHEROKEE           GA   EMERGENCY MNGR

            *** 1 INJ *** CHEROKEE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
            RELAYED REPORTS DAMAGE ALONG A LINE FROM THE
            COBB-CHEROKEE LINE WEST OF WOODSTOCK NORTHEAST ACROSS THE
            ENTIRE COUNTY ENTERING PICKENS COUNTY. 1 CONFIRMED INJURY
            AND DAMAGE TO MULTIPLE STRUCTURES ALONG ITS PATH. SEVERAL
            ROADS ARE STILL CLOSED DUE TO DEBRIS BLOCKAGE.

0313 PM     TORNADO          1 W WOODSTOCK           34.10N 84.54W
09/05/2011                   CHEROKEE           GA   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            CHEROKEE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT RELAYED A LAW

            ENFORCEMENT REPORT OF A TORNADO 1 MILE WEST OF WOODSTOCK.

0315 PM     TORNADO          WOODSTOCK               34.10N 84.52W
09/05/2011                   CHEROKEE           GA   PUBLIC

            PUBLIC REPORTS TORNADO TOUCHDOWN IN WOODSTOCK. TREES WERE
            DOWNED ONTO 2 HOUSES...SHINGLES TAKEN OFF ROOFS...AND
            TOWNLAKE PARKWAY WAS BLOCKED BY NUMEROUS TREES.

As mentioned, the local area was spared from Tornado Damage. I do not know of any Tornadoes touching down, or being reported in the local area at this time. This may change as the National Weather Service continues to survey storm damage in Georgia caused by possible tornadoes and high winds. High winds at this time are believed to be the cause of damage reported in Columbus and Mulberry Grove in Harris County.

Click all images below to enlarge, then use your back button to return here.

Here is my account of the Storm that may have caused the damage in Columbus and Mulberry Grove in Harris County, as Tweeted and posted on Facebook.

https://twitter.com/#!/CataulaGaWX/status/110767244526616576
Watching a cell in Barbour Co. Alabama for development heading into Russel Co. , About an hour away from Columbus #gawx #cataulagawx #alwx

https://twitter.com/#!/CataulaGaWX/status/110773665045561344
Not liking the looks of cell in central Russell County Alabama #gawx #alwx #cataulagawx

https://twitter.com/#!/CataulaGaWX/status/110774681082142720
NWS has issued a Tornado Warning for Lee & Russell Counties until 01:30 PM CDT #alwx #gawx

https://twitter.com/#!/CataulaGaWX/status/110777184309886976
Tornado Warning for Lee And Russell County Alabama until 2:30 EDT. This storm is moving in the direction of North... http://fb.me/U6fnadve
And the post the link above goes to on Facebook
Tornado Warning for Lee And Russell County Alabama until 2:30 EDT. This storm is moving in the direction of North West Columbus and Harris County. Muscogee and Harris counties are not under a warning. Just a heads up.
Which included this image-
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1363364&l=2256890dc2&id=220151324667478

https://twitter.com/#!/CataulaGaWX/status/110777892195151872
This Storm has the possibility of impacting Muscogee and Harris County http://goo.gl/nA2wc #gawx #alwx

https://twitter.com/#!/CataulaGaWX/status/110779494490570752
TORNADO WARNING FOR CENTRAL HARRIS COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA NORTHWESTERN MUSCOGEE COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA UNTIL 300 PM EDT

https://twitter.com/#!/CataulaGaWX/status/110783128146165760
Heres an Idea of where the possible Tornado will pass in Muscogee and Harris counties GA http://goo.gl/BBGMh #gawx
And the post the link above goes to on Facebook which included this image
https://www.facebook.com/CataulaGaWeatherAlerts/posts/187090364698053

https://twitter.com/#!/CataulaGaWX/status/110785142271909889
THE TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTHWESTERN MUSCOGEE COUNTY IS CANCELLED #gawx

https://twitter.com/#!/CataulaGaWX/status/110785577418375168
THE TORNADO WARNING FOR Western and Central Harris County GA still active until 3:00 PM EDT #gawx

https://twitter.com/#!/CataulaGaWX/status/110789247069466624
TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTH CENTRAL HARRIS COUNTY SOUTHERN MERIWETHER SOUTHEASTERN TROUP IN WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA UNTIL 345 PM EDT #gawx


Here area a couple of images showing velocity data taken during the same time period as the images above.

Here are Georgia Tornado Warnings that were issued on September 5 2011 from 6 AM thru 10 PM EDT

Risk Of Severe Weather In Alabama and Georgia Today - September 5 2011

*Previously post on Facebook

The Storm Prediction Center has placed parts of our area in a MODERATE RISK today from 9 AM extending to tomorrow morning at 8 Am. A tornado watch is already in effect until 4 PM to our west in Alabama; This watch may be extended in to our area later today. A 'moderate' risk shows where there is an enhanced threat for severe storms that may produce tornadoes. There is no way to predict in advance which storms will be severe. If a storm should spawn a tornado it will be very quick and short lived. A warning may not be issued in such a case so stay vigilant today.

For easy access to information and graphics like below, you can check the blog here http://cataulagawx.blogspot.com/p/spc-maps-and-graphics.html and the links in the left sidebar.

An interesting tidbit about today's possibility of severe storms... Local meteorologist [ David Reese Facebook Page ] at WRBL News 3 posted this Visible Satellite Image below and had this to day -

"I want to point out something that isn't really a good thing.... The image above is the Visible Satellite. It shows CLEAR skies between the two rain bands, that's not good because it will warm things up and make the storms in the second rain band stronger..."

Also of interest ... Tropical Storm Lee left behind a small piece of energy in the Gulf of Mexico that could develop in 2-3 days. I mentioned this yesterday in this blog post - Tropical Storm Lee - Georgia Alabama Local Impacts September 4 2011

Image credit Brad Panovich

When severe weather is in the area, you can find me on Facebook Here and Twitter Here where I post updates on the situation at hand.

Tropical Storm Lee - Georgia Alabama Local Impacts September 4 2011

I will be keeping an eye on any severe weather, watches and warnings, and will be posting them as they happen to the best of my ability on my Facebook and Twitter page. Follow along there for any breaking events.

At 8 AM EDT Tropical Storm Lee made landfall just inland over south-central Louisiana around the
Vermilion Bay area. Lee still has winds of 45mph and is slowly drifting to the northeast at 3 mph. This northeast motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days with an increase in forward speed. As Lee continues on this track scattered to numerous showers with a few embedded thunderstorms are expected to spread northeast across portions of West Central Georgia this afternoon and tonight. There is the possibility a few short lived tornadoes could spin up in some of the more intense thunderstorms embedded within the feeder bands that will make their way through the area. This has been the case in areas to our west and south today.

The biggest concern from what will eventually become tropical depression Lee and then a low pressure system will be the rain associated with it. I, as well as others have mentioned over the past days of the heavy rains that will be moving into the area. While this is a welcomed rain event due to drought conditions, to much of a good thing can be bad. While much of the rain will be absorbed, depending on hourly rainfall amounts there may be localized flooding. The potential is there for areas prone to flooding from even heavy summertime downpours to become flooded for extended periods of time throughout this event over the coming days. If you live in one of these areas you should be prepared at this time for this possibility.

Not to freak anyone out, but computer models are hinting of the possibility of yet another tropical system forming in the Gulf of Mexico by this coming weekend and lifting north. This is not definite to happen but is something to keep in mind next weekend. If this were to occur, this could bring more high rain amounts in areas that will already be saturated from Lee possibly causing more flooding.

The track of Lee is expected to take it north through central Alabama to our west in the local area. On this track, Lee will continue to pull moisture form the Gulf of Mexico. At the same time, there is a cold front moving in form the north that will interact with the warm moist air form the south. This may increase the risk of severe storms for Monday and Monday night. Again, an isolated tornado can not be ruled out during this time.

Rain amounts are still projected to be 1-3 inches with higher amounts possible for the local area depending on where the feeder bands set up and continue to move over the same areas [ training - usually associated with thunderstorms ]. You can see the amounts forecast for our area on my Temps / Precip Page. You can also check out the potential for severe weather on the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) Products Page and see what the tropical systems are doing and where they are heading on the Tropical Weather Page. Be sure to hit the other links in the sidebar for Radar, Satellite and other data.

Georgia Drought Update September 1 2011

Drought conditions have worsened for much of Georgia, in the way of coverage. Here at the homestead I have had no appreciable rain since early August. I did have a quick rain shower yesterday Aug. 31 in the form of 0.11 inches, which wasn't enough to do a thing for the drought. Before this my last rain was on Aug. 11 and amounted to 0.29 inches. I finished the month of August below the average of 3.79 inches for my area with 3.52 inches. Columbus Ga to my south finished with over 5 inches. I missed reporting last week as all eyes were glued to Hurricane Irene. This graph below shows how bad things have gotten for Georgia since August 16 through August 30 2011. The area of extreme drought now covers most of the state.

I wont bore you with further details except to say, we need rain. We are watching an area in the Gulf of Mexico which is expected to become a tropical depression or tropical storm this weekend that may, may, bring some much needed rain to Georgia. It is to early still to tell if this will happen. Needless to say, some areas of the south and southeast are expected to receive a lot of rain from this system should it develop the way models are predicting. While we watch all of this unfold, we are still keeping an eye on Hurricane Katia which is still in open waters of the Atlantic. Models are thinking she will not make landfall in the U.S., but as before, it's early and things can and will change.

Invest AL93 Gulf of Mexico - Where is it going ? August 31 2011

The early computer models dont have a clue at this time. Just a little eye candy...