Alert archive / Arkansas / Mesoscale Discussions in 2012

Mesoscale Discussion 2065

October 17, 20125 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Oct 17, 2012, 3:44 PM CDT for 5 states. It was in force for 61 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Oct 17, 2012, 3:44 PM CDT (20:44 UTC)
Expired
Oct 17, 2012, 4:45 PM CDT
In force
61 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Chance of a watch
80%
All 45 counties

Arkansas County, AR, Ashley County, AR, Bradley County, AR, Calhoun County, AR, Chicot County, AR, Clay County, AR, Cleburne County, AR, Cleveland County, AR, Craighead County, AR, Crittenden County, AR, Cross County, AR, Dallas County, AR, Desha County, AR, Drew County, AR, Grant County, AR, Greene County, AR, Independence County, AR, Jackson County, AR, Jefferson County, AR, Lawrence County, AR, Lee County, AR, Lincoln County, AR, Lonoke County, AR, Mississippi County, AR, Monroe County, AR, Phillips County, AR, Poinsett County, AR, Prairie County, AR, Pulaski County, AR, Randolph County, AR, Sharp County, AR, St. Francis County, AR, Union County, AR, White County, AR, Woodruff County, AR, Morehouse Parish, LA, Dunklin County, MO, Pemiscot County, MO, Bolivar County, MS, Coahoma County, MS, Tunica County, MS, Washington County, MS, Lake County, TN, Shelby County, TN, Tipton County, TN

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 85 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:44 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

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 138 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2012-10-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2012-10-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 328 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
843 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
328 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
347 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.

410 
ACUS11 KWNS 172044
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 172044 
TNZ000-MOZ000-ARZ000-MSZ000-LAZ000-172145-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 2065
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0344 PM CDT WED OCT 17 2012

AREAS AFFECTED...PARTS OF CENTRAL AND ERN AR/FAR NERN LA/FAR NWRN
MS/FAR WRN TN/MO BOOTHEEL

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH LIKELY 

VALID 172044Z - 172145Z

PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE...80 PERCENT

SUMMARY...SHORT TERM MODEL TRENDS CONTINUE TO SUGGEST TSTMS WILL
DEVELOP ALONG A PRE-FRONTAL TROUGH/DIFFERENTIAL HEATING BOUNDARY
EXTENDING FROM NORTH CENTRAL-NERN AR TO SOUTH CENTRAL AR BETWEEN
22-23Z.  ADDITIONAL STORMS SHOULD ALSO FORM ALONG THE COLD FRONT AS
IT REACHES CENTRAL AR LATE THIS AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING.  A
MOISTENING BOUNDARY LAYER AND STRENGTHENING...VERTICALLY VEERING
WINDS WILL SUPPORT A TORNADO THREAT...IN ADDITION TO DAMAGING WINDS.

DISCUSSION...18Z SOUNDINGS AT LZK/SHV BOTH INDICATED MOISTENING OF
THE BOUNDARY LAYER BENEATH A CAP BASED AROUND 850 MB WHICH FOR NOW
IS MAINTAINING SURFACE-BASED INHIBITION.  ADDITIONAL MOISTURE RETURN
INTO THE NRN EXTENT OF THE LOWER MS VALLEY COMBINED WITH SURFACE
HEATING...WHICH HAS BEEN STRONGEST ACROSS SRN/ERN AR PER VISIBLE
SATELLITE IMAGERY AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS...WILL FURTHER
DESTABILIZE THE AIR MASS /MLCAPE APPROACHING 1000 J/KG OVER SRN-SERN
AR LATE THIS AFTERNOON/.  THE 18Z SOUNDINGS ALSO INDICATED 850-700
MB LAYER WINDS HAD BACKED SOME SINCE 12Z AND STRENGTHENED...WITH AN
INCREASE IN WLY MIDLEVEL WINDS ALSO NOTED.  THESE KINEMATICS ARE
SUSTAINING LOW LEVEL HODOGRAPH CURVATURE WITH SURFACE-1 KM SHEAR
AROUND 40 KT FOR A TORNADO THREAT AND EFFECTIVE BULK SHEAR OF 40-50
KT FOR STORM ORGANIZATION.

UNCERTAINTIES REMAIN ABOUT THE DEGREE OF DESTABILIZATION AND AMOUNT
OF FORCING FOR ASCENT ATTENDANT TO A DIGGING NWLY MID-UPPER LEVEL
JET AND TROUGH TO SUPPORT TSTM DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE DISCUSSION
AREA.  HOWEVER...TRENDS IN SHORT TERM MODELS /HRRR AND 12Z 4 KM
WRF-NMM/NSSL/ CONTINUE TO SUGGEST FACTORS WILL BECOME JUXTAPOSED
ACROSS CENTRAL AR BETWEEN 22-23Z...WITH ADDITIONAL STORM DEVELOPMENT
ALONG THE COLD FRONT BY EARLY EVENING ACROSS CENTRAL AR.

..PETERS/THOMPSON.. 10/17/2012

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...PAH...MEG...JAN...LZK...SGF...SHV...

LAT...LON   34119273 35459216 36509166 36568987 36438943 35398977
            33999057 32979103 32759160 32959248 32999295 34119273

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 17, 12:55 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Marion95 min
Oct 17, 5:21 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCArkansas, Baxter, Boone, Bradley, Calhoun, Carroll and 57 more7 hr
Oct 17, 6:29 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAshley, Bradley, Calhoun, Chicot, Columbia, Drew and 5 more91 min
Oct 17, 11:45 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAudrain, Lewis, Lincoln, Marion, Monroe, Montgomery and 7 more90 min
Oct 17, 1:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAudrain, Barry, Boone, Callaway, Camden, Christian and 41 more6 hr
Oct 17, 6:19 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarter, Iron, Madison, Oregon, Perry, Reynolds and 3 more56 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Arkansas, 2012Mesoscale Discussions in Mississippi, 2012Mesoscale Discussions in Tennessee, 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.