Alert archive / Ohio / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2012

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 77

March 15, 20128 counties in Indiana; 10 counties in Kentucky; 19 counties in Ohio

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Mar 15, 2012, 5:28 PM EDT for 8 counties in Indiana; 10 counties in Kentucky; 19 counties in Ohio. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 15, 2012, 5:28 PM EDT (21:28 UTC)
Expired
Mar 15, 2012, 8:10 PM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 37 counties

Dearborn County, IN, Fayette County, IN, Franklin County, IN, Ohio County, IN, Ripley County, IN, Switzerland County, IN, Union County, IN, Wayne County, IN, Boone County, KY, Bracken County, KY, Campbell County, KY, Carroll County, KY, Gallatin County, KY, Grant County, KY, Kenton County, KY, Owen County, KY, Pendleton County, KY, Robertson County, KY, Auglaize County, OH, Brown County, OH, Butler County, OH, Champaign County, OH, Clark County, OH, Clermont County, OH, Clinton County, OH, Darke County, OH, Greene County, OH, Hamilton County, OH, Hardin County, OH, Logan County, OH, Mercer County, OH, Miami County, OH, Montgomery County, OH, Preble County, OH, Shelby County, OH, Union County, OH, Warren County, OH

The radar

The Cincinnati radar (KILN), 52 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:28 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
50%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
20%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
80%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 15, 5:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNSwitzerland35 min
Mar 15, 5:42 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNLogan, Shelby48 min
Mar 15, 5:45 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNBracken, Pendleton45 min
Mar 15, 5:46 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNFayette, Union, Wayne44 min
Mar 15, 5:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNDearborn, Ohio, Switzerland46 min
Mar 15, 6:06 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningILNDearborn, Ohio, Ripley, Switzerland2 hr
Mar 15, 6:09 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNBracken, Mason, Pendleton, Robertson36 min
Mar 15, 6:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNLogan, Shelby33 min
Mar 15, 6:29 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNBracken, Campbell, Kenton, Pendleton46 min
Mar 15, 6:42 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNButler, Montgomery, Preble, Warren32 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

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 53 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 2012-03-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1236 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 2012-03-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 133 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
1236 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-110 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1005 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
133 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
137 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 152126
SEL7
SPC WW 152126
INZ000-KYZ000-OHZ000-160200-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 77
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
530 PM EDT THU MAR 15 2012

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

       EXTREME EASTERN INDIANA
       NORTHERN KENTUCKY
       WESTERN OHIO

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 530 PM UNTIL
1000 PM EDT.

HAIL TO 1.5 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 40
STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES NORTH OF
DAYTON OHIO TO 55 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF CINCINNATI OHIO.  FOR
A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU7).

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 75...WW 76...

DISCUSSION...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHERN IN AND KY WILL
SPREAD EASTWARD INTO WESTERN OH THIS EVENING.  STEEP LAPSE RATES AND
COOL TEMPERATURES ALOFT...COMBINED WITH A MOIST BOUNDARY
LAYER...WILL PROMOTE VIGOROUS UPDRAFTS AND THE POTENTIAL FOR HAIL IN
THE STRONGER STORMS.  EASTWARD PROGRESS OF THE ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED
TO BE LIMITED AS STORMS INTERACT WITH A MORE STABLE AIR MASS OVER
CENTRAL/EASTERN OH LATER THIS EVENING.

AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60
KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 24025.


...HART

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 15, 2:08 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrown, Clark, Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Floyd and 20 more2 hr
Mar 15, 3:06 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCClark, Crawford, Dubois, Floyd, Harrison, Jefferson and 4 more6 hr
Mar 15, 4:44 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBartholomew, Clark, Dearborn, Decatur, Fayette, Floyd and 17 more61 min
Mar 15, 6:02 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Allen, Cass, DeKalb, Elkhart, Fulton and 19 more2 hr
Mar 15, 7:23 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBath, Bell, Bourbon, Bracken, Breathitt, Campbell and 36 more97 min
Mar 15, 3:19 AM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, Ashland, Champaign, Clark, Coshocton, Crawford and 41 more86 min
Mar 15, 3:52 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Lucas and 8 more83 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Ohio, 2012Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Kentucky, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.