Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 2012

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Paducah, KY

February 29, 20125 counties in Illinois

NWS Paducah, KY issued this tornado warning at Feb 29, 2012, 4:25 AM CST for 5 counties in Illinois. It was in force for 35 min. 4 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, 4:25 AM CST (10:25 UTC)
Expired: Feb 29, 2012, 5:00 AM CST
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS Paducah, KY
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties Jackson County, IL, Johnson County, IL, Saline County, IL, Union County, IL, Williamson County, IL

The radar

The Paducah radar (KPAH), 69 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:29 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, 4:30 AM CST	TSTM WND DMG	Marion, IL	MARKET STREET HAS SOLID GARAGE DESTORYED. TREES DOWN. DAMAGE IS IN A PATH ALONG THE STREET. LATE REPORT.
Feb 29, 4:36 AM CST	TSTM WND DMG	2 S Marion, IL	WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES REPORTED.
Feb 29, 4:40 AM CST	HAIL 0.75	6 S Marion, IL	DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED SOUTH OF MARION ILLINOIS.
Feb 29, 4:43 AM CST	TSTM WND DMG	2 S Marion, IL	POSSIBLE TORNADO. POWER FLASHES SOUTH OF MARION ILLINOIS APPEARS TO BE ELECTRICAL TRANSFORMERS BLOWING UP.

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, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 267 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 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

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

533 
WFUS53 KPAH 291025
TORPAH
ILC077-087-165-181-199-291100-
/O.NEW.KPAH.TO.W.0009.120229T1025Z-120229T1100Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
425 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PADUCAH HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN JACKSON COUNTY IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...
  NORTHERN JOHNSON COUNTY IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...
  SOUTHWESTERN SALINE COUNTY IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...
  NORTHEASTERN UNION COUNTY IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...
  SOUTHERN WILLIAMSON COUNTY IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...

* UNTIL 500 AM CST.

* AT 420 AM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS
  STORM WAS LOCATED 6 MILES NORTHEAST OF COBDEN...OR 8 MILES SOUTH OF
  CARBONDALE...AND MOVING EAST AT 55 MPH.  THIS STORM HAS PRODUCED   
  STRUCTURAL DAMAGE.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNED AREA INCLUDE...
  MARION...LAKE OF EGYPT AREA...CREAL SPRINGS AND STONEFORT.

THIS INCLUDES INTERSTATE 57 BETWEEN EXITS 44 AND 54.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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 3780 8870 3760 8863 3755 8921 3766 8925
TIME...MOT...LOC 1025Z 257DEG 47KT 3762 8912

$$

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, 4:43 AM CST	Tornado Warning	PAH	Gallatin, Saline, Williamson	32 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, 2012 Every tornado warning in 2012 Tornadoes 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.