Alert archive / Nebraska / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2012
Severe Thunderstorm Watch 244
The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 4, 2012, 11:00 PM CDT for 40 counties in Nebraska. It took effect at May 4, 2012, 11:05 PM CDT. It was in force for 3 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 4, 2012, 11:00 PM CDT (04:00 UTC)
- In effect from
- May 4, 2012, 11:05 PM CDT
- Expired
- May 5, 2012, 1:59 AM CDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 2 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 40 counties
Adams County, NE, Boone County, NE, Buffalo County, NE, Burt County, NE, Butler County, NE, Cass County, NE, Clay County, NE, Colfax County, NE, Cuming County, NE, Custer County, NE, Dawson County, NE, Dodge County, NE, Douglas County, NE, Fillmore County, NE, Garfield County, NE, Greeley County, NE, Hall County, NE, Hamilton County, NE, Howard County, NE, Kearney County, NE, Lancaster County, NE, Loup County, NE, Madison County, NE, Merrick County, NE, Nance County, NE, Otoe County, NE, Platte County, NE, Polk County, NE, Saline County, NE, Sarpy County, NE, Saunders County, NE, Seward County, NE, Sherman County, NE, Stanton County, NE, Thurston County, NE, Valley County, NE, Washington County, NE, Wayne County, NE, Wheeler County, NE, York County, NE
The radar
The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 123 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:02 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
- 10%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 2%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 20%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 20%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 40%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 30%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 11:03 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | OAX | Wayne | 4 hr |
| May 4, 11:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Cuming, Thurston, Wayne | 54 min |
| May 4, 11:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Howard, Sherman | 36 min |
| May 4, 11:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Colfax, Dodge | 44 min |
| May 5, 12:30 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Butler, Colfax, Dodge, Saunders | 45 min |
| May 5, 12:33 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Burt, Dodge, Washington | 42 min |
| May 5, 12:46 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Madison, Stanton | 44 min |
| May 5, 1:09 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Dodge | 21 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
Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 4.0 hours before the alert went out and 164 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
- 2635 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -14 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1505 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 71 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 173 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.6
- Supercell composite
- 8.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
206
WWUS20 KWNS 050402
SEL4
SPC WW 050402
NEZ000-051000-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 244
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1105 PM CDT FRI MAY 4 2012
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN NEBRASKA
EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING FROM 1105 PM
UNTIL 500 AM 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 55
STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 10 MILES SOUTH
SOUTHWEST OF BROKEN BOW NEBRASKA TO 35 MILES NORTHEAST OF LINCOLN
NEBRASKA. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE
ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU4).
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...THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REPLACES
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 241. WATCH NUMBER 241 WILL NOT
BE IN EFFECT AFTER 1105 PM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 243...
DISCUSSION...SEVERE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR ANOTHER FEW
HOURS ALONG A RESIDUAL OUTFLOW BOUNDARY...WHERE LOW-LEVEL WAA IS
FOCUSED ON THE NOSE OF 30 KT BRANCH OF THE LLJ. STRONG INSTABILITY
WILL SUPPORT A RISK FOR LARGE HAIL/DAMAGING WINDS...PRIOR TO A
GRADUAL WEAKENING TREND IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS AS CONVECTIVE
INHIBITION SLOWLY INCREASES.
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 500. MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 32015.
...THOMPSONSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 9:54 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Antelope, Boone, Buffalo, Burt, Butler and 42 more | 96 min |
| May 4, 10:55 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Antelope, Boone, Buffalo, Burt, Butler and 34 more | 35 min |
| May 5, 2:09 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Antelope, Boone, Burt, Butler, Cedar, Colfax and 22 more | 96 min |
| May 5, 3:52 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Antelope, Boone, Cedar, Cuming, Dakota, Dixon and 11 more | 83 min |
| May 5, 5:31 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Antelope, Boone, Cedar, Custer, Dakota, Dawson and 15 more | 5 hr |
| May 5, 6:21 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Boyd, Brown, Keya Paha, Rock, Thomas | 84 min |
| May 5, 6:44 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Banner, Cheyenne, Kimball | 61 min |
| May 5, 6:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Arthur, Blaine, Boyd, Brown, Cherry, Deuel and 10 more | 6 hr |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Nebraska, 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.