Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Watches in 2006

Tornado Watch 385

May 24, 20065 counties in Illinois; 17 counties in Missouri

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 24, 2006, 12:25 PM CDT for 5 counties in Illinois; 17 counties in Missouri. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 24, 2006, 12:25 PM CDT (17:25 UTC)
Expired
May 24, 2006, 7:30 PM CDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
3 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 22 counties

Adams County, IL, Brown County, IL, Calhoun County, IL, Greene County, IL, Pike County, IL, Audrain County, MO, Boone County, MO, Callaway County, MO, Cole County, MO, Gasconade County, MO, Knox County, MO, Lewis County, MO, Lincoln County, MO, Marion County, MO, Moniteau County, MO, Monroe County, MO, Montgomery County, MO, Osage County, MO, Pike County, MO, Ralls County, MO, Shelby County, MO, Warren County, MO

The radar

The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 148 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:25 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
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
50%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
40%
Ten or more severe hail reports
70%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
50%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
90%

Warnings issued inside it

8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 24, 1:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXMonroe, Ralls49 min
May 24, 1:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXPike46 min
May 24, 2:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXLincoln, Montgomery46 min
May 24, 3:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXGreene, Jersey, Macoupin52 min
May 24, 3:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXLincoln, Saint Charles, Warren44 min
May 24, 4:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXCalhoun, Jersey, Madison42 min
May 24, 4:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXBoone38 min
May 24, 4:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXBoone, Callaway36 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

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 261 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2006-05-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1061 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2006-05-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 335 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
1061 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-170 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
965 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
335 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
324 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
2.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 241726
SEL5  
SPC WW 241726
ILZ000-MOZ000-250100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 385...RESENT
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1225 PM CDT WED MAY 24 2006

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS
       CENTRAL AND NORTHEASTERN MISSOURI

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 1225 PM UNTIL
800 PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 95 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF
JEFFERSON CITY MISSOURI TO 45 MILES NORTH OF QUINCY ILLINOIS. 
FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5).

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.

DISCUSSION...TAIL END OF SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL CONTINUE INCREASING
THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND AHEAD OF SURFACE TROUGH NOW MOVING INTO NWRN
MO.  AIR MASS  IS ALREADY VERY UNSTABLE WITH MLCAPE AROUND 2000 J/KG
AND WEAKLY CAPPED.  SHEAR IS MARGINAL FOR SUPERCELLS ATTM...BUT DEEP
LAYER SHEAR SHOULD IMPROVE THROUGH THE DAY AS 40+ KT NWLY MID LEVEL
JET NOSES INTO NRN MO. LARGE HAIL...SOME OF WHICH COULD BECOME
QUITE LARGE...AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE PRIMARY SEVERE THREATS. 
HOWEVER...LOW LEVEL SHEAR WILL ALSO SUPPORT A THREAT OF A FEW
TORNADOES WITH THE MORE PERSISTENT SUPERCELLS INTO THE EARLY
EVENING.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27030.


...EVANS

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 24, 11:27 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Hancock2 hr
May 24, 1:37 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarroll, Jo Daviess, Rock Island, Stephenson, Whiteside83 min
May 24, 2:23 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Bond, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Champaign and 37 more97 min
May 24, 2:46 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCBond, Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Cass, Champaign and 63 more7 hr
May 24, 4:26 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCChampaign, Christian, Clark, Clay, Coles, Cook and 24 more94 min
May 24, 4:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCCook, DuPage, Iroquois, Kankakee, Will5 hr
May 24, 6:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAlexander, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin and 15 more7 hr
May 24, 6:24 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCMcHenry96 min
May 24, 6:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCKane, Lake, McHenry4 hr
May 23, 10:06 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtchison114 min
May 24, 1:56 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAndrew, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Cass, Clay and 15 more94 min
May 24, 1:29 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarry, Barton, Benton, Camden, Carter, Cedar and 39 more2 hr
May 24, 5:45 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarry, Barton, Bollinger, Butler, Camden, Cape Girardeau and 36 more2 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Missouri, 2006Tornado Watches in Illinois, 2006Every tornado watch in 2006

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.