Alert archive / Kentucky / Mesoscale Discussions in 2012
Mesoscale Discussion 341
The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Mar 23, 2012, 9:06 PM EDT for 30 counties in Indiana; 33 counties in Kentucky; 11 counties in Tennessee. It was in force for 54 min.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 23, 2012, 9:06 PM EDT (01:06 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 23, 2012, 10:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 54 min
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 74 counties
Bartholomew County, IN, Brown County, IN, Clark County, IN, Dearborn County, IN, Decatur County, IN, Delaware County, IN, Fayette County, IN, Floyd County, IN, Franklin County, IN, Hamilton County, IN, Hancock County, IN, Harrison County, IN, Henry County, IN, Jackson County, IN, Jefferson County, IN, Jennings County, IN, Johnson County, IN, Madison County, IN, Marion County, IN, Ohio County, IN, Randolph County, IN, Ripley County, IN, Rush County, IN, Scott County, IN, Shelby County, IN, Switzerland County, IN, Tipton County, IN, Union County, IN, Washington County, IN, Wayne County, IN, Adair County, KY, Allen County, KY, Anderson County, KY, Barren County, KY, Boone County, KY, Breckinridge County, KY, Bullitt County, KY, Carroll County, KY, Cumberland County, KY, Edmonson County, KY, Franklin County, KY, Gallatin County, KY, Grayson County, KY, Green County, KY, Hardin County, KY, Hart County, KY, Henry County, KY, Jefferson County, KY, Larue County, KY, Marion County, KY, Meade County, KY, Metcalfe County, KY, Monroe County, KY, Nelson County, KY, Oldham County, KY, Owen County, KY, Shelby County, KY, Simpson County, KY, Spencer County, KY, Taylor County, KY, Trimble County, KY, Warren County, KY, Washington County, KY, Clay County, TN, Davidson County, TN, DeKalb County, TN, Jackson County, TN, Macon County, TN, Robertson County, TN, Smith County, TN, Sumner County, TN, Trousdale County, TN, Williamson County, TN, Wilson County, TN
The radar
The Louisville radar (KLVX), 22 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:07 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 nearest sounding before it
Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 192 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
- 26 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -5 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2498 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 50 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 71 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 128 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
056
ACUS11 KWNS 240107
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 240106
OHZ000-KYZ000-INZ000-TNZ000-240200-
MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0341
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0806 PM CDT FRI MAR 23 2012
AREAS AFFECTED...PARTS OF CENTRAL/SRN IND...CENTRAL KY AND NRN
MIDDLE TN
CONCERNING...TORNADO WATCH 103...
VALID 240106Z - 240200Z
THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FOR TORNADO WATCH 103 CONTINUES.
REGIONAL RADAR TRENDS AND 00Z SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWED A COLD FRONT
HAD ADVANCED INTO CENTRAL IND /INVOF INDIANAPOLIS/ AND EXTENDED SWD
TO ALONG THE IND/KY BORDER /HARRISON COUNTY IND AND MEADE COUNTY
KY/...THEN FARTHER SSWWD INTO MIDDLE TN /JUST W OF BNA/.
EARLY EVENING WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWED A WELL DEFINED SHORTWAVE
TROUGH TRACKING NEWD THROUGH WRN TN/KY...AND APPROACHING SRN IND.
ALTHOUGH THERE HAS BEEN SOME REDUCTION IN AVAILABLE INSTABILITY...
DUE TO LOSS OF DAY TIME HEATING...THE APPROACH OF STRONGER ASCENT/
COOLING MIDLEVEL TEMPERATURES WITH THE WRN KY/TN TROUGH AND WITHIN
THE NOSE OF AN ACCOMPANYING 70 KT MIDLEVEL JET SHOULD OFFSET THE
DIMINISHING INSTABILITY TO SUSTAIN STRONGER UPDRAFTS AFTER DARK.
ACTIVITY IS BECOMING ORIENTED MORE PARALLEL TO THE SHEAR VECTORS
SUGGESTING A GREATER LIKELIHOOD FOR LINE SEGMENTS/BOW STRUCTURES.
HOWEVER...IF SURFACE WINDS ALONG AND E OF THE ONGOING STORMS CAN
REMAIN E/SELY...THEN LOCALLY ENHANCED LOW LEVEL SHEAR WILL SUSTAIN A
TORNADO THREAT. IN ADDITION...OBJECTIVE ANALYSES SHOWED A CORRIDOR
OF SURFACE VORTICITY ALONG THE WIND SHIFT JUXTAPOSED WITH 0-3 KM
MLCAPE OF 100-150 J/KG FAVORING LOW LEVEL STRETCHING.
DESPITE A DRIER AIR MASS WITH SWD EXTENT INTO MIDDLE TN /PER
INVERTED-V TYPE SOUNDING AT 00Z AT BNA/...THE STRENGTH OF THE
FORCING FOR ASCENT ATTENDANT TO THE SHORTWAVE TROUGH /NOW TRACKING
NEWD THROUGH WRN TN/KY/ IS SUPPORTING CONVECTION/TSTM DEVELOPMENT
SWD ALONG THE COLD FRONT. THE ONSET OF BOUNDARY LAYER COOLING
SHOULD RESULT IN A FAIRLY SHORT WINDOW FOR SUSTAINED UPDRAFTS ACROSS
MIDDLE TN...AND THUS A NEW WW IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME S OF WW
103.
..PETERS.. 03/24/2012
...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...
ATTN...WFO...ILN...LMK...IWX...OHX...IND...
LAT...LON 36588688 37498648 38218637 39588632 40438636 40388471
39238471 38458471 37698496 36618528 35978579 35828657
35878712 36588688SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 23, 8:01 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Benton, Carroll, Cass, Jasper, Newton, Pulaski and 1 more | 59 min |
| Mar 23, 11:16 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bartholomew, Blackford, Brown, Clark, Dearborn, Decatur and 27 more | 89 min |
| Mar 24, 5:52 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bedford, Coffee, Franklin, Giles, Grundy, Hamilton and 6 more | 53 min |
Nearby
Mesoscale Discussions in Kentucky, 2012Mesoscale Discussions in Indiana, 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.