Alert archive / North Carolina / Mesoscale Discussions in 2012
Mesoscale Discussion 189
The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Feb 29, 2012, 5:36 PM EST for 4 states. It was in force for 54 min.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 29, 2012, 5:36 PM EST (22:36 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 29, 2012, 6:30 PM EST
- In force
- 54 min
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 36 counties
Catoosa County, GA, Fannin County, GA, Murray County, GA, Rabun County, GA, Towns County, GA, Union County, GA, Whitfield County, GA, Avery County, NC, Buncombe County, NC, Cherokee County, NC, Clay County, NC, Graham County, NC, Haywood County, NC, Henderson County, NC, Jackson County, NC, Macon County, NC, Madison County, NC, McDowell County, NC, Mitchell County, NC, Swain County, NC, Transylvania County, NC, Watauga County, NC, Yancey County, NC, Oconee County, SC, Blount County, TN, Bradley County, TN, Carter County, TN, Cocke County, TN, Greene County, TN, Hamilton County, TN, Johnson County, TN, McMinn County, TN, Monroe County, TN, Polk County, TN, Sevier County, TN, Unicoi County, TN
The radar
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 84 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:38 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.
The watches that followed
Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.
The nearest sounding before it
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 243 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
- 5 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -277 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 451 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 48 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 177 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 184 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
055
ACUS11 KWNS 292236
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 292236
NCZ000-TNZ000-SCZ000-GAZ000-292330-
MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0189
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0436 PM CST WED FEB 29 2012
AREAS AFFECTED...FAR EASTERN TN/NORTH GA/WESTERN NC/WESTERN SC
CONCERNING...TORNADO WATCH 48...
VALID 292236Z - 292330Z
THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FOR TORNADO WATCH 48 CONTINUES.
A NEW TORNADO WATCH IS BEING CONSIDERED SHORTLY FOR REMAINING
PORTIONS OF EASTERN TN AS WELL AS FAR NORTH GA INTO WESTERN
NC/PERHAPS SC. AT THE VERY LEAST...A SPATIAL EXTENSION OF TORNADO
WATCH 48 WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED ACROSS EASTERN TN.
A MODESTLY BROKEN LINE OF SEVERE STORMS WITH EMBEDDED SUPERCELLS
WILL CONTINUE TO STEADILY PROGRESS EAST-NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE
EASTERN THIRD OF TN OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. WHILE UPDRAFT
INTENSITIES HAVE TRENDED A BIT DOWNWARD IN THE SHORT TERM AND
DOWNSTREAM BUOYANCY IN VICINITY OF THE APPALACHIANS IS WEAKER /ONLY
SEVERAL HUNDRED J PER KG SBCAPE/...A CONTINUED WEST-SOUTHWESTERLY
MOISTURE INFLUX AND PROBABLE DOWNSTREAM/PRE-LINE
DESTABILIZATION...ALONG WITH A HIGHLY SHEARED ENVIRONMENT...WILL
CONTINUE TO FAVOR A HIGHLY-ORGANIZED STORM MODE INCLUDING EMBEDDED
SUPERCELLS/BOWS CAPABLE OF A FEW TORNADOES AND WIND DAMAGE.
SHORT-TERM TRENDS ARE BEING MONITORED FOR A NEW TORNADO WATCH.
..GUYER.. 02/29/2012
...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...
ATTN...WFO...RNK...GSP...MRX...FFC...
LAT...LON 35128550 35818406 36528176 36268117 34728302 34708518
35128550SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 29, 6:37 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Banks, Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Dade and 21 more | 3 hr |
| Feb 29, 3:23 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alleghany, Ashe | 67 min |
| Feb 29, 1:49 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dickson and 24 more | 56 min |
| Feb 29, 3:40 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cheatham, Clay, Davidson, Dickson, Hickman, Houston and 11 more | 65 min |
| Feb 29, 4:20 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Carroll, Crockett, Dyer, Gibson, Haywood, Henry and 6 more | 9 hr |
| Feb 29, 4:53 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Carroll, Crockett, Dyer, Gibson, Haywood, Henry and 6 more | 97 min |
| Feb 29, 5:39 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Benton, Cheatham, Clay, Davidson, Dickson, Fentress and 14 more | 7 hr |
| Feb 29, 8:38 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Benton, Cheatham, Clay, Davidson, DeKalb, Dickson and 15 more | 67 min |
| Feb 29, 9:07 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Carroll, Crockett, Dyer, Gibson, Haywood, Henry and 6 more | 53 min |
| Feb 29, 12:11 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anderson, Benton, Campbell, Cannon, Carroll, Cheatham and 49 more | 2 hr |
| Feb 29, 12:31 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Anderson, Bedford, Benton, Bledsoe, Campbell, Cannon and 68 more | 8 hr |
| Feb 29, 12:46 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Fayette, Hardeman, Hardin, McNairy | 89 min |
| Feb 29, 2:48 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Franklin, Lincoln, Moore | 7 hr |
| Feb 29, 4:34 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anderson, Bedford, Benton, Campbell, Cannon, Carroll and 52 more | 116 min |
Nearby
Mesoscale Discussions in North Carolina, 2012Mesoscale Discussions in Tennessee, 2012Mesoscale Discussions in Georgia, 2012Every mesoscale discussion 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.