Tornado Watch 61

Issued

Feb 17, 2008, 2:45 AM CST (08:45 UTC)

Expired

Feb 17, 2008, 7:41 AM CST

In force

5 hr

Issued by

the Storm Prediction Center

Largest hail expected

0.5 in

Strongest gust expected

60 kt

Two or more tornadoes

30%

One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes

20%

Ten or more severe wind reports

30%

One or more gusts of 65 knots or more

5%

Ten or more severe hail reports

10%

One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more

5%

Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports

50%

• Mesoscale Discussion 251Feb 17, 2:13 AM CST
• Mesoscale Discussion 253Feb 17, 5:05 AM CST
• Mesoscale Discussion 255Feb 17, 7:13 AM CST

000
WWUS20 KWNS 170851
SEL1  
SPC WW 170851
LAZ000-MSZ000-CWZ000-171500-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 61
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
245 AM CST SUN FEB 17 2008

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

       SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA
       SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI
       COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY MORNING FROM 245 AM UNTIL 900 AM CST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 0.5 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 55 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF
PINE BELT MISSISSIPPI TO 35 MILES SOUTH OF HOUMA LOUISIANA.  FOR
A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU1).

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 60...

DISCUSSION...IN THE PAST 90 MINUTES OR SO...SEMI-DISCRETE STRUCTURES
HAVE FORMED WITHIN WRN MS/S CNTRL LA SQLN.  THIS MAY REFLECT
WEAKENING OF STRONG LOW-LEVEL LINEAR FORCING AS LARGE SCALE UPR
TROUGH LIFTS NE TOWARD MO.  AT THE SAME TIME...RECENT DEVELOPMENT OF
SHOWERS AHEAD OF SQLN SUGGESTS WEAKENING OF EXISTING CIN...POSSIBLY
REFLECTING DIMINISHING EML WITH INCREASING DISTANCE FROM THE PLAINS.
COUPLED WITH SFC DEWPOINTS THAT ARE RISING INTO THE MID 60S IN SE
LA...AND INTENSE LOW TO MID-LEVEL SHEAR...SETUP MAY SUPPORT A COUPLE
TORNADOES IN ADDITION TO LOCALLY DAMAGING WIND.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 0.5 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
400. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23050.


...CORFIDI

Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2008Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2008Every tornado watch in 2008

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.