Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 11, NWS Springfield, MO

May 12, 2000Christian County, Missouri

NWS Springfield, MO issued this tornado warning at May 12, 2000, 4:13 PM CDT for Christian County, Missouri. It was in force for 32 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 12, 2000, 4:13 PM CDT (21:13 UTC)
Expired: May 12, 2000, 4:45 PM CDT
In force: 32 min
Issued by: NWS Springfield, MO
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Christian County, MO

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 35 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:17 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 was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where
May 12, 4:20 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Ozark, MO
May 12, 4:33 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Sparta, MO
May 12, 4:51 PM CDT	Hail 1.75	Bruner, MO

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 52 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 2122 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -431 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1130 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 384 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 409 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WFUS53 KSGF 122117
TORSGF
MOC043-122145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
413 PM CDT FRI MAY 12 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SPRINGFIELD HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CHRISTIAN COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST MISSOURI

* UNTIL 445 PM CDT

* AT 411 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A DEVELOPING TORNADO 5 MILES NORTH OF     
  PONCE DE LEON OR...OR 15 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF OZARK...MOVING    
  EAST AT 40 MPH.

* THE STORM WILL BE LOCATED NEAR HIGHLANDVILLE BY 430 PM...AND NEAR  
  SPARTA AND CHADWICK BY 440 PM. 

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IN IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY
OR CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY.

ASIDE FROM THE TORNADO THREAT...LARGE HAIL IN EXCESS OF GOLFBALL 
SIZE AND DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED. 

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 3704 9340 3684 9339 3683 9294 3703 9297

TERRY

The office that day

Everything else NWS Springfield, MO issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 12, 3:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Barry, Stone	36 min
May 12, 4:00 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	SGF	Stone	30 min
May 12, 4:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Christian, Douglas, Webster	45 min
May 12, 6:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Howell, Ozark	51 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Missouri, 2000 Every tornado warning in 2000 Tornadoes in 2000

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.