Alert archive / Mississippi / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2012

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 145

April 5, 20124 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Apr 5, 2012, 12:18 PM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 5, 2012, 12:18 PM CDT (17:18 UTC)
Expired
Apr 5, 2012, 5:06 PM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 45 counties

Crittenden County, AR, Mississippi County, AR, Pemiscot County, MO, Alcorn County, MS, Benton County, MS, Calhoun County, MS, Chickasaw County, MS, Coahoma County, MS, DeSoto County, MS, Itawamba County, MS, Lafayette County, MS, Lee County, MS, Marshall County, MS, Monroe County, MS, Panola County, MS, Pontotoc County, MS, Prentiss County, MS, Quitman County, MS, Tallahatchie County, MS, Tate County, MS, Tippah County, MS, Tishomingo County, MS, Tunica County, MS, Union County, MS, Yalobusha County, MS, Carroll County, TN, Chester County, TN, Crockett County, TN, Decatur County, TN, Dyer County, TN, Fayette County, TN, Gibson County, TN, Hardeman County, TN, Hardin County, TN, Haywood County, TN, Henderson County, TN, Henry County, TN, Lake County, TN, Lauderdale County, TN, Madison County, TN, McNairy County, TN, Obion County, TN, Shelby County, TN, Tipton County, TN, Weakley County, TN

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 56 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:17 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.

What SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
20%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
5%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
30%
Ten or more severe hail reports
40%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
20%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
70%

Warnings issued inside it

6 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 5, 12:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGDunklin, Pemiscot20 min
Apr 5, 12:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCarroll27 min
Apr 5, 12:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCarroll, Chester, Gibson, Henderson, Madison33 min
Apr 5, 1:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGCarroll, Henry, Weakley36 min
Apr 5, 2:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLee, Pontotoc, Union30 min
Apr 5, 4:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGItawamba, Monroe28 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 95 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 2012-04-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 42 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, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2012-04-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -41 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
42 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-132 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1448 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-41 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
51 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.0
Supercell composite
-0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

632 
WWUS20 KWNS 051720
SEL5  
SPC WW 051720
ARZ000-MOZ000-MSZ000-TNZ000-060100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 145
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1220 PM CDT THU APR 5 2012

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       FAR NORTHEAST ARKANSAS
       MISSOURI BOOTHEEL
       NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI
       WESTERN TENNESSEE

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 1220 PM UNTIL
800 PM CDT.

HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60
STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES NORTHEAST OF
DYERSBURG TENNESSEE TO 30 MILES SOUTH OF OXFORD MISSISSIPPI.  FOR
A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5).

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH
AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY
DO PRODUCE TORNADOES.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 143...WW 144...

DISCUSSION...TSTMS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND
INTENSITY THIS AFTERNOON WITHIN MIDLEVEL COLD CORE OF UPPER LOW. 
DESPITE MARGINAL VERTICAL SHEAR...STEEP LAPSE RATES AND COOL
THERMODYNAMIC PROFILES WILL SUPPORT HAIL PRODUCTION WITH THE
STRONGEST STORMS.  A BRIEF TORNADO IS POSSIBLE OWING TO AMBIENT
VERTICAL VORTICITY...THOUGH ANY OCCURRENCE SHOULD BE SHORT-LIVED.

AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60
KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 400. MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 24015.


...MEAD

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 4, 8:31 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCalhoun, Clark, Columbia, Conway, Crawford, Dallas and 24 more119 min
Apr 5, 1:35 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAshley, Chicot85 min
Apr 5, 1:53 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAshley, Chicot9 hr
Apr 5, 3:30 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAshley, Chicot, Union2 hr
Apr 5, 7:36 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCChicot54 min
Apr 5, 12:09 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClay, Craighead, Crittenden, Greene, Mississippi, Randolph96 min
Apr 5, 3:56 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAmite, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River, Pike and 2 more6 hr
Apr 5, 9:14 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCGreene, Perry, Wayne8 hr
Apr 5, 10:41 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGreene, Wayne94 min
Apr 5, 10:43 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCClarke, Covington, Forrest, Franklin, Jasper, Jefferson Davis and 7 more4 hr
Apr 5, 2:22 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlcorn, Benton, Calhoun, Chickasaw, DeSoto, Itawamba and 14 more53 min
Apr 5, 12:54 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Claiborne and 23 more96 min
Apr 5, 1:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAnderson, Bedford, Benton, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley and 61 more8 hr
Apr 5, 3:06 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Bedford, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell and 60 more54 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Mississippi, 2012Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Tennessee, 2012Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Arkansas, 2012Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.