Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 2012
Tornado Warning 11, NWS Paducah, KY
NWS Paducah, KY issued this tornado warning at Feb 29, 2012, 4:43 AM CST for Gallatin County, Saline County, Williamson County, Illinois. It was in force for 32 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 29, 2012, 4:43 AM CST (10:43 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 29, 2012, 5:15 AM CST
- In force
- 32 min
- Issued by
- NWS Paducah, KY
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
Counties Gallatin County, IL, Saline County, IL, Williamson County, IL
The radar
The Paducah radar (KPAH), 79 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:43 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 was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 29, 4:56 AM CST | TSTM WND DMG | 4 W Harrisburg, IL | ELECTRICAL TRANSFORMERS FLASHING WEST OF HARRISBURG. POSSIBLE TORNADO. |
| Feb 29, 4:56 AM CST | TORNADO | 2 Sw Harrisburg, IL | CONFIRMED TORNADO BY TRAINED SPOTTER. APPROACHING THE SOUTH SIDE OF HARRISBURG. |
| Feb 29, 5:18 AM CST | TSTM WND DMG | Harrisburg, IL | HIGHWAY 45 IS CLOSED SOUTH OF THE COMMUNITY. |
Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.
The watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 29, 1:14 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | 11 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 250 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1873 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 49 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 171 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 309 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
096 WFUS53 KPAH 291043 TORPAH ILC059-165-199-291115- /O.NEW.KPAH.TO.W.0011.120229T1043Z-120229T1115Z/ BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 443 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PADUCAH HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... WESTERN GALLATIN COUNTY IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS... SALINE COUNTY IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS... SOUTHEASTERN WILLIAMSON COUNTY IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS... * UNTIL 515 AM CST. * AT 438 AM CST...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO NEAR CREAL SPRINGS...OR 6 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MARION. DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED THIS TORNADO MOVING EAST AT 60 MPH. * LOCATIONS IN THE WARNED AREA INCLUDE... HARRISBURG...ELDORADO...CARRIERS MILLS...EQUALITY...STONEFORT... MUDDY AND RALEIGH. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... TO REPEAT...A TORNADO IS ON THE GROUND. TAKE COVER NOW. MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF IN A MOBILE HOME...A VEHICLE OR OUTDOORS...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS. TORNADOES ARE DIFFICULT TO SEE AND CONFIRM AT NIGHT. TAKE COVER NOW. && LAT...LON 3789 8834 3766 8824 3760 8888 3775 8893 TIME...MOT...LOC 1043Z 255DEG 52KT 3769 8878 $$
1 follow-up statement
544 WWUS53 KPAH 291055 SVSPAH SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 455 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012 ILC199-291105- /O.CAN.KPAH.TO.W.0011.000000T0000Z-120229T1115Z/ WILLIAMSON IL- 455 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012 ...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR SOUTHEASTERN WILLIAMSON COUNTY IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS IS CANCELLED... THE STORM WHICH PROMPTED THE WARNING HAS MOVED OUT OF THE WARNED AREA. LAT...LON 3766 8863 3780 8864 3789 8834 3766 8824 TIME...MOT...LOC 1055Z 257DEG 53KT 3773 8856 $$ ILC059-165-291115- /O.CON.KPAH.TO.W.0011.000000T0000Z-120229T1115Z/ SALINE IL-GALLATIN IL- 455 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012 ...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR WESTERN GALLATIN AND CENTRAL SALINE COUNTIES IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNTIL 515 AM CST... AT 452 AM CST...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO. THIS TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR CARRIERS MILLS...OR NEAR HARRISBURG...MOVING EAST AT 60 MPH. PEOPLE IN HARRISBURG NEED TO TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY! PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... TO REPEAT...A TORNADO IS ON THE GROUND. TAKE COVER NOW. MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF IN A MOBILE HOME...A VEHICLE OR OUTDOORS...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS. TORNADOES ARE DIFFICULT TO SEE AT NIGHT. TAKE COVER NOW. && LAT...LON 3766 8863 3780 8864 3789 8834 3766 8824 TIME...MOT...LOC 1055Z 257DEG 53KT 3773 8856 $$
The office that day
Everything else NWS Paducah, KY issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 28, 10:36 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Gallatin, White | 24 min |
| Feb 29, 3:43 AM CST | Tornado Warning | PAH | Union | 32 min |
| Feb 29, 4:08 AM CST | Tornado Warning | PAH | Jackson, Johnson, Union, Williamson | 22 min |
| Feb 29, 4:25 AM CST | Tornado Warning | PAH | Jackson, Johnson, Saline, Union, Williamson | 35 min |
| Feb 29, 4:46 AM CST | Tornado Warning | PAH | Alexander, Pulaski | 29 min |
| Feb 29, 5:04 AM CST | Tornado Warning | PAH | Gallatin, Saline, White | 26 min |
| Feb 29, 5:14 AM CST | Tornado Warning | PAH | Massac, Pulaski | 31 min |
| Feb 29, 5:16 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Alexander | 29 min |
| Feb 29, 5:46 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Massac, Pope | 29 min |
| Feb 29, 5:50 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Massac, Pope | 16 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 2012Every tornado warning in 2012Tornadoes in 2012
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.