Alert archive / Mississippi / Mesoscale Discussions in 2012

Mesoscale Discussion 320

March 21, 20124 counties in Alabama; Saint Bernard Parish, Louisiana; 18 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Mar 21, 2012, 3:47 PM CDT for 4 counties in Alabama; Saint Bernard Parish, Louisiana; 18 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 88 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 21, 2012, 3:47 PM CDT (20:47 UTC)
Expired
Mar 21, 2012, 5:15 PM CDT
In force
88 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 23 counties

Choctaw County, AL, Mobile County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Washington County, AL, Saint Bernard Parish, LA, Clarke County, MS, Forrest County, MS, George County, MS, Greene County, MS, Hancock County, MS, Harrison County, MS, Jackson County, MS, Jasper County, MS, Jones County, MS, Kemper County, MS, Lauderdale County, MS, Neshoba County, MS, Newton County, MS, Noxubee County, MS, Perry County, MS, Stone County, MS, Wayne County, MS, Winston County, MS

The radar

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 116 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:48 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

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 151 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, Jackson, MS at 12:00Z on 2012-03-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 143 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, Jackson, MS at 12:00Z on 2012-03-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 239 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
143 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
559 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
239 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
239 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

908 
ACUS11 KWNS 212048
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 212047
ALZ000-MSZ000-LAZ000-212215-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0320
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0347 PM CDT WED MAR 21 2012

AREAS AFFECTED...COASTAL SOUTHEAST LA AND SOUTHEAST/EAST-CENTRAL MS
TO EXTREME WESTERN AL

CONCERNING...TORNADO WATCH 97...

VALID 212047Z - 212215Z

THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FOR TORNADO WATCH 97 CONTINUES.

TORNADO WATCH 97 CONTINUES UNTIL 23Z FOR COASTAL SOUTHEAST LA AND
PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST/EAST-CENTRAL MS...WITH POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING
WINDS AND A FEW TORNADOES. EARLY THINKING IS THAT A TEMPORAL WATCH
EXTENSION COULD BE NEEDED FOR A SMALL PART OF WW 97 PRIOR TO 23Z.
FARTHER EAST...A SEVERE THREAT CANNOT BE RULED OUT INTO FAR WESTERN
AL OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS...BUT AN ADDITIONAL WATCH IS NOT
CURRENTLY EXPECTED.

QUASI-LINEAR CONVECTIVE SYSTEM CONTINUES TO MAKE A SLOW
EAST-NORTHEASTWARD PROGRESSION ACROSS COASTAL SOUTHEAST LA AND
SOUTHEAST/EAST-CENTRAL MS THIS AFTERNOON /ROUGHLY PARALLEL TO I-59
AS OF 2030Z/...WHILE FASTER-MOVING INDIVIDUAL CONVECTIVE ELEMENTS
RACE NORTH-NORTHEASTWARD. EMBEDDED SUPERCELLS AND BOWS...INCLUDING
COMMA-HEAD TYPE VORTICES...HAVE BEEN NOTED WITHIN THE QLCS AS STRONG
WIND PROFILES CONTINUE TO BE SAMPLED BY REGIONAL WSR-88D VWPS. WHILE
A TORNADO/WIND DAMAGE THREAT WILL PERSIST...THE QLCS WILL BEGIN TO
ENCOUNTER A MORE STABLE AIRMASS WITH EASTWARD EXTENT INTO WESTERN AL
AS IT MOVES OUT OF THE PRIMARY INSTABILITY AXIS...SUCH THAT AN
ADDITIONAL WATCH CURRENTLY SEEMS UNLIKELY TO THE EAST OF TORNADO
WATCH 97. THAT SAID...EXISTING QLCS ORGANIZATION/MOMENTUM MAY
CONTINUE AN ISOLATED SEVERE THREAT INTO AT LEAST PORTIONS OF FAR
WESTERN AL...WHERE THE AIRMASS HAS MOISTENED/DESTABILIZED THIS
AFTERNOON.

..GUYER.. 03/21/2012

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

ATTN...WFO...BMX...MOB...JAN...LIX...

LAT...LON   32528915 33108912 33248829 32688817 32088810 31558801
            31068789 30228805 29978884 29358952 30958956 32198914
            32528915

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 20, 8:02 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCBeauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Vernon4 hr
Mar 20, 10:23 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis, Natchitoches, Vernon67 min
Mar 20, 10:59 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAcadia, Allen, Beauregard, Bienville, Calcasieu, Caldwell and 17 more7 hr
Mar 21, 2:17 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAcadia, Avoyelles, Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia, Evangeline and 17 more118 min
Mar 21, 4:38 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAscension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, East Baton Rouge and 19 more97 min
Mar 21, 5:04 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAcadia, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Caldwell, Catahoula and 33 more7 hr
Mar 21, 7:48 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAscension, Assumption, Avoyelles, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville and 10 more87 min
Mar 21, 9:25 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAscension, Concordia, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Franklin and 17 more95 min
Mar 21, 10:07 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAscension, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Franklin, Jefferson, Lafourche and 17 more8 hr
Mar 21, 12:19 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCJefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, Saint Bernard, Saint Tammany and 1 more86 min
Mar 21, 5:40 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCOrleans, Plaquemines, Saint Bernard35 min
Mar 21, 6:02 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCPlaquemines, Saint Bernard9 hr

Nearby

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