Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Watches in 2001
Tornado Watch 259
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 20, 2001, 7:45 PM CDT for Fulton County, Arkansas; 28 counties in Missouri. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 20, 2001, 7:45 PM CDT (00:45 UTC)
- Expired
- May 21, 2001, 1:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 29 counties
Fulton County, AR, Barry County, MO, Barton County, MO, Cedar County, MO, Christian County, MO, Dade County, MO, Dallas County, MO, Dent County, MO, Douglas County, MO, Greene County, MO, Hickory County, MO, Howell County, MO, Jasper County, MO, Laclede County, MO, Lawrence County, MO, McDonald County, MO, Newton County, MO, Oregon County, MO, Ozark County, MO, Phelps County, MO, Polk County, MO, Pulaski County, MO, Shannon County, MO, Stone County, MO, Taney County, MO, Texas County, MO, Vernon County, MO, Webster County, MO, Wright County, MO
Warnings issued inside it
22 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 7:57 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SGF | Newton | 48 min |
| May 20, 8:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Howell | 50 min |
| May 20, 8:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Jasper | 47 min |
| May 20, 8:16 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Benton, Hickory | 44 min |
| May 20, 8:20 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SGF | Stone | 40 min |
| May 20, 8:30 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SGF | Howell | 30 min |
| May 20, 8:40 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SGF | Christian, Taney | 50 min |
| May 20, 8:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Shannon | 51 min |
| May 20, 9:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Lawrence | 50 min |
| May 20, 9:17 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | SGF | Newton | 4 hr |
| May 20, 9:24 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SGF | Shannon | 51 min |
| May 20, 9:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Dade | 48 min |
| May 20, 9:33 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | SGF | Shannon | 4 hr |
| May 20, 9:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Barry | 42 min |
| May 20, 9:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Dent, Texas | 54 min |
| May 20, 9:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Greene, Polk | 45 min |
| May 20, 9:49 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | SGF | Texas | 4 hr |
| May 20, 9:52 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Cedar, St. Clair, Vernon | 38 min |
| May 20, 10:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Christian, Lawrence, Stone | 44 min |
| May 20, 10:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Greene | 34 min |
| May 20, 10:43 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | SGF | Greene | 4 hr |
| May 20, 10:50 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | SGF | Dent | 4 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 64 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
- 1724 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 670 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 178 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 232 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.7
- Supercell composite
- 8.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WWUS9 KMKC 210030 SEL9 SEL9 MKC WW 210026 MOZ000-210600- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 259 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 726 PM CDT SUN MAY 20 2001 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL MISSOURI EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING FROM 745 PM UNTIL 100 AM CDT. TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 55 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 10 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF JOPLIN MISSOURI TO 40 MILES NORTHEAST OF WEST PLAINS MISSOURI. 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 255...WW 256...WW 257...WW 258... DISCUSSION...STRONG/SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING NEWD FROM NERN OK AND NWRN AR IN ADVANCE OF SHORT WAVE TROUHG MOVING EWD ACROSS THE CENTRAL/SRN PLAINS REGION. AIR MASS IS MODERATELY UNSTABLE WITH SBCAPE TO 2500 J/KG...AND VAD WINDS SHOW VEERING/INCREASE WITH HEIGHT SUGGESTING POTENTIAL FOR SUPERCELLS AND POSSIBLE TORNADOES. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24030. ...WEISS ;380,0944 375,0912 362,0912 362,0944;
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 9:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Greene, Jackson and 6 more | 6 hr |
| May 20, 11:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Arkansas, Benton, Carroll, Clark, Cleburne, Cleveland and 38 more | 4 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Missouri, 2001Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 2001Every tornado watch in 2001
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.