Alert archive / Kentucky / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2012

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 245

May 5, 20124 counties in Indiana; 32 counties in Kentucky; 13 counties in Tennessee

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 5, 2012, 2:49 AM CDT for 4 counties in Indiana; 32 counties in Kentucky; 13 counties in Tennessee. It was in force for 4 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 5, 2012, 2:49 AM CDT (07:49 UTC)
Expired
May 5, 2012, 6:58 AM CDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 49 counties

Posey County, IN, Spencer County, IN, Vanderburgh County, IN, Warrick County, IN, Adair County, KY, Allen County, KY, Barren County, KY, Breckinridge County, KY, Butler County, KY, Caldwell County, KY, Christian County, KY, Clinton County, KY, Crittenden County, KY, Cumberland County, KY, Daviess County, KY, Edmonson County, KY, Grayson County, KY, Green County, KY, Hancock County, KY, Hardin County, KY, Hart County, KY, Henderson County, KY, Hopkins County, KY, Larue County, KY, Logan County, KY, McLean County, KY, Metcalfe County, KY, Monroe County, KY, Muhlenberg County, KY, Ohio County, KY, Russell County, KY, Simpson County, KY, Todd County, KY, Union County, KY, Warren County, KY, Webster County, KY, Clay County, TN, Fentress County, TN, Jackson County, TN, Macon County, TN, Montgomery County, TN, Overton County, TN, Pickett County, TN, Putnam County, TN, Robertson County, TN, Smith County, TN, Sumner County, TN, Trousdale County, TN, Wilson County, TN

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
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
Ten or more severe hail reports
20%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
5%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
60%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 5, 2:56 AM CDTTornado WarningLMKGrayson19 min
May 5, 3:14 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKBarren, Edmonson, Grayson, Hart31 min
May 5, 3:44 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKAdair, Barren, Green, Hart, Metcalfe31 min
May 5, 3:53 AM CDTTornado WarningLMKBarren, Metcalfe22 min
May 5, 4:39 AM CDTTornado WarningOHXClay, Overton, Pickett36 min
May 5, 5:12 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOHXFentress33 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

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 148 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 2012-05-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1078 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 2012-05-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 2 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
1078 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-70 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1542 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
2 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
111 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 4, 7:57 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBond, Calhoun, Christian, Clay, Clinton, Crawford and 25 more63 min
May 4, 10:18 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBond, Calhoun, Clinton, Franklin, Greene, Hamilton and 11 more87 min
May 4, 10:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBond, Calhoun, Clinton, Edwards, Fayette, Franklin and 24 more8 hr
May 5, 12:55 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCEdwards, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Saline, Wabash and 1 more95 min
May 5, 5:06 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGallatin, Hardin, White114 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Kentucky, 2012Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Tennessee, 2012Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Indiana, 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.