Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Watches in 2008
Tornado Watch 147
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 31, 2008, 1:45 PM CDT for 8 counties in Illinois; 23 counties in Missouri. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 31, 2008, 1:45 PM CDT (18:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 31, 2008, 7:44 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 2 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 31 counties
Calhoun County, IL, Greene County, IL, Jersey County, IL, Macoupin County, IL, Madison County, IL, Monroe County, IL, Randolph County, IL, Saint Clair County, IL, Audrain County, MO, Boone County, MO, Callaway County, MO, City of Saint Louis, MO, Cole County, MO, Crawford County, MO, Franklin County, MO, Gasconade County, MO, Iron County, MO, Jefferson County, MO, Lincoln County, MO, Madison County, MO, Moniteau County, MO, Montgomery County, MO, Osage County, MO, Pike County, MO, Reynolds County, MO, Saint Charles County, MO, Saint Francois County, MO, Saint Louis County, MO, Sainte Genevieve County, MO, Warren County, MO, Washington County, MO
The radar
The St Louis radar (KLSX), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:45 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
- 40%
- 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LSX | Franklin, Gasconade, Warren | 48 min |
| Mar 31, 2:50 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | LSX | Cole, Gasconade, Osage | 4 hr |
| Mar 31, 3:48 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | LSX | Franklin, Saint Charles, Warren | 5 hr |
| Mar 31, 4:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LSX | Monroe, Saint Clair | 50 min |
| Mar 31, 4:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LSX | Monroe, Randolph | 32 min |
| Mar 31, 4:50 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | LSX | Crawford | 4 hr |
| Mar 31, 4:57 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LSX | Clinton, Monroe, Randolph, Saint Clair, Washington | 48 min |
| Mar 31, 6:44 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | LSX | Cole, Gasconade, Osage | 5 hr |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 287 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
- 6 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -165 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 485 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 197 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 259 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 311841
SEL7
SPC WW 311841
ILZ000-MOZ000-010200-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 147
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
145 PM CDT MON MAR 31 2008
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS
EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI
EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 145 PM UNTIL 900
PM 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 APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 70 STATUTE
MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES WEST OF JEFFERSON
CITY MISSOURI TO 20 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF SCOTT AFB ILLINOIS.
FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU7).
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 146...
DISCUSSION...CLUSTER OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL MO WILL
TRACK EAST-NORTHEASTWARD INTO WATCH AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
INCREASINGLY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS...COUPLED WITH
STRENGTHENING WIND FIELDS ALOFT WILL PROMOTE A RISK OF SUPERCELL
THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND ISOLATED
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 25030.
...HARTSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 8:53 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bureau, Cass, DeKalb, DeWitt, DuPage, Ford and 24 more | 2 hr |
| Mar 31, 1:09 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Brown, Cass, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson and 11 more | 2 hr |
| Mar 31, 1:10 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin and 6 more | 35 min |
| Mar 31, 3:31 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Andrew, Bates, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Cass and 23 more | 59 min |
| Mar 31, 4:09 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Caldwell, Clinton, Daviess and 9 more | 3 hr |
| Mar 31, 5:59 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Clinton and 14 more | 91 min |
| Mar 31, 7:50 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barton, Bates, Cedar, Dade, Jasper, Newton and 1 more | 85 min |
| Mar 31, 8:44 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Barry, Barton, Benton, Camden, Cedar, Christian and 23 more | 7 hr |
| Mar 31, 10:30 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barry, Barton, Bates, Benton, Camden, Cedar and 24 more | 60 min |
| Mar 31, 3:04 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barry, Christian, Dent, Douglas, Greene, Howell and 11 more | 26 min |
| Mar 31, 3:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Barry, Christian, Dent, Douglas, Howell, Laclede and 10 more | 7 hr |
| Mar 31, 5:28 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Butler, Dunklin, Ripley, Wayne | 62 min |
| Mar 31, 6:12 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Dunklin, New Madrid and 6 more | 7 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Missouri, 2008Tornado Watches in Illinois, 2008Every tornado watch in 2008
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.