Tornado Watch Issued for Gwinnett

At 10:37 a.m., the National Weather Service extended the tornado watch until 4 p.m. this afternoon to include 11 counties, including Gwinnett.

According to wikipedia.org, a tornado watch is issued when conditions are right for a tornado to form.  Since any thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado is defined as severe, a tornado watch is also automatically a severe thunderstorm watch. In most cases, the potential exists for large hail and/or damaging winds in addition to tornadoes.

A tornado watch must not be confused with a tornado warning. A watch does not imply that the severe weather is actually occurring, only that conditions have created a significant risk for it.