Alert archive / Tennessee / Mesoscale Discussions in 2012

Mesoscale Discussion 217

March 2, 201215 counties in Alabama; 30 counties in Mississippi; 50 counties in Tennessee

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Mar 2, 2012, 3:25 PM CST for 15 counties in Alabama; 30 counties in Mississippi; 50 counties in Tennessee. It was in force for 65 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 2, 2012, 3:25 PM CST (21:25 UTC)
Expired
Mar 2, 2012, 4:30 PM CST
In force
65 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 95 counties

Colbert County, AL, Cullman County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Franklin County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Lauderdale County, AL, Lawrence County, AL, Limestone County, AL, Madison County, AL, Marion County, AL, Morgan County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Walker County, AL, Winston County, AL, Alcorn County, MS, Attala County, MS, Benton County, MS, Calhoun County, MS, Carroll County, MS, Chickasaw County, MS, Choctaw County, MS, Clay County, MS, Grenada County, MS, Holmes County, MS, Humphreys County, MS, Itawamba County, MS, Lafayette County, MS, Lee County, MS, Leflore County, MS, Lowndes County, MS, Marshall County, MS, Monroe County, MS, Montgomery County, MS, Noxubee County, MS, Oktibbeha County, MS, Pontotoc County, MS, Prentiss County, MS, Tallahatchie County, MS, Tippah County, MS, Tishomingo County, MS, Union County, MS, Webster County, MS, Winston County, MS, Yalobusha County, MS, Bedford County, TN, Benton County, TN, Cannon County, TN, Carroll County, TN, Cheatham County, TN, Chester County, TN, Clay County, TN, Coffee County, TN, Davidson County, TN, Decatur County, TN, DeKalb County, TN, Dickson County, TN, Fentress County, TN, Franklin County, TN, Giles County, TN, Grundy County, TN, Hardeman County, TN, Hardin County, TN, Henderson County, TN, Henry County, TN, Hickman County, TN, Houston County, TN, Humphreys County, TN, Jackson County, TN, Lawrence County, TN, Lewis County, TN, Lincoln County, TN, Macon County, TN, Madison County, TN, Marshall County, TN, Maury County, TN, McNairy County, TN, Montgomery County, TN, Moore County, TN, Overton County, TN, Perry County, TN, Pickett County, TN, Putnam County, TN, Robertson County, TN, Rutherford County, TN, Smith County, TN, Stewart County, TN, Sumner County, TN, Trousdale County, TN, Van Buren County, TN, Warren County, TN, Wayne County, TN, White County, TN, Williamson County, TN, Wilson County, TN

The radar

The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 87 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:25 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

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 167 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, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2012-03-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 544 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Birmingham, AL at 12:00Z on 2012-03-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 180 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
544 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
530 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
180 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
204 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.6
Supercell composite
2.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

440 
ACUS11 KWNS 022125
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 022125 
TNZ000-ALZ000-KYZ000-MSZ000-022230-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0217
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0325 PM CST FRI MAR 02 2012

AREAS AFFECTED...NRN MS/AL...WRN/MIDDLE TN

CONCERNING...TORNADO WATCH 59...

VALID 022125Z - 022230Z

THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FOR TORNADO WATCH 59 CONTINUES.

RADAR TRENDS INDICATE AN INCREASE IN COVERAGE OF DISCRETE SUPERCELLS
ACROSS PORTIONS OF WRN/MIDDLE TN AND NRN AL/MS OVER THE PAST 1-2
HRS. THIS IS OCCURRING AS STRONGER LARGE-SCALE FORCING /ASSOCIATED
WITH MIDLEVEL HEIGHT FALLS...INCREASING LOW-LEVEL WAA...AND GLANCING
INFLUENCE OF A MID-MS RIVER VALLEY UPPER IMPULSE/ IS NOW ENTERING
WRN PORTIONS OF THE WW AREA. 21Z SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS A DRYLINE/WIND
SHIFT NOW ENTERING WRN TN. ONE SUCH SUPERCELL FORMING IMMEDIATELY
AHEAD OF THIS BOUNDARY COULD POTENTIALLY AFFECT THE NASHVILLE METRO
AREA NEAR/AFTER 22Z /PER CURRENT MOTION EXTRAPOLATION VIA OHX RADAR
LOOP/. VWP DATA FROM HTX/OHX INDICATES LOW-LEVEL WIND FIELDS /0-1 KM
BULK SHEAR RANGING FROM 25-40 KTS/ REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF TORNADOES /POTENTIALLY STRONG/ ACROSS THE WW
AREA...IN ADDITION TO LARGE HAIL AND DMGG WINDS. 

THE THREAT IS EXPECTED TO DECREASE IN THE WAKE OF THE EWD MOVING
DRYLINE...AS VEERING WINDS AND A DRIER BOUNDARY LAYER SHOULD LEAD TO
A REDUCTION IN TSTM/SVR POTENTIAL. LOCAL OFFICES MAY CONSIDER
CLEARING THE WW FROM W-E AS THE DRYLINE SHIFTS E.

..ROGERS.. 03/02/2012

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

ATTN...WFO...MRX...OHX...BMX...HUN...PAH...MEG...JAN...

LAT...LON   33058739 33079083 36648820 36578466 33058739

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 2, 9:07 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDeKalb, Jackson, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marshall and 1 more53 min
Mar 2, 9:25 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCDeKalb, Jackson, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marshall and 1 more5 hr
Mar 2, 11:46 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDeKalb, Jackson, Madison, Marshall, Morgan29 min
Mar 2, 12:57 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCColbert, Fayette, Franklin, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence and 2 more63 min
Mar 2, 1:20 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCBlount, Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Fayette, Franklin and 14 more9 hr
Mar 2, 2:42 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Baldwin, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke and 18 more63 min
Mar 2, 4:37 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAutauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock and 50 more7 hr
Mar 2, 5:41 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Butler and 36 more2 hr
Mar 2, 10:28 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDeSoto, Tate62 min
Mar 2, 1:26 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHumphreys, Issaquena, Sharkey, Warren, Washington, Yazoo64 min
Mar 2, 1:47 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAdams, Bolivar, Claiborne, Franklin, Issaquena, Jefferson and 4 more9 hr
Mar 2, 3:47 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHolmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Sharkey, Warren, Washington and 1 more58 min
Mar 2, 4:47 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAttala, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Copiah, Covington and 23 more6 hr
Mar 2, 2:30 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBradley, McMinn, Monroe, Polk90 min
Mar 2, 3:40 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClay, Fentress, Overton, Pickett, Scott65 min
Mar 2, 9:22 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBenton, Carroll, Cheatham, Chester, Crockett, Davidson and 28 more113 min
Mar 2, 12:05 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBenton, Carroll, Cheatham, Chester, Crockett, Davidson and 28 more85 min
Mar 2, 1:58 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke and 21 more62 min
Mar 2, 2:19 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAnderson, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Carter and 27 more8 hr
Mar 2, 2:35 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClay, Macon, Pickett, Sumner85 min

Nearby

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