Tornado Watch 55

Issued

Mar 23, 2009, 3:50 PM CDT (20:50 UTC)

Expired

Mar 23, 2009, 10:00 PM CDT

In force

6 hr

Issued by

the Storm Prediction Center

Largest hail expected

2 in

Strongest gust expected

60 kt

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 101 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:51 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.

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

30%

Ten or more severe hail reports

60%

One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more

30%

Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports

80%

• Mesoscale Discussion 241Mar 23, 3:11 PM CDT
• Mesoscale Discussion 243Mar 23, 6:04 PM CDT
• Mesoscale Discussion 244Mar 23, 6:56 PM CDT

100 
WWUS20 KWNS 232051
SEL5  
SPC WW 232051
IAZ000-MOZ000-NEZ000-SDZ000-240300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 55
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
350 PM CDT MON MAR 23 2009

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

       PARTS OF WESTERN IOWA
       SMALL PART OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI
       PARTS OF EASTERN NEBRASKA
       PARTS OF SOUTHERN SOUTH DAKOTA

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 350 PM UNTIL
1000 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 90 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 10 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF
FALLS CITY NEBRASKA TO 35 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF HURON SOUTH
DAKOTA.  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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO
WATCH NUMBER 53. WATCH NUMBER 53 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 350
PM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 54...

DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS ARE RAPIDLY DEVELOPING NEWD AHEAD OF
VIGOROUS UPPER TROUGH AND SURFACE LOW MOVING ACROSS CENTRAL NEB. 
WITH VERY STRONG SHEAR AND ADEQUATE INSTABILITY...SUPERCELLS ARE
LIKELY WITH LARGE HAIL/DAMAGING WINDS AND POTENTIAL TORNADOS.

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
450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 21045.


...HALES

Tornado Watches in South Dakota, 2009Tornado Watches in Nebraska, 2009Tornado Watches in Iowa, 2009Every tornado watch in 2009

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.