Tornado Watch 290

Issued

May 22, 2012, 4:03 PM CDT (21:03 UTC)

Expired

May 22, 2012, 11:00 PM CDT

In force

7 hr

Issued by

the Storm Prediction Center

Largest hail expected

3 in

Strongest gust expected

65 kt

Two or more tornadoes

40%

One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes

10%

Ten or more severe wind reports

60%

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

80%

• Mesoscale Discussion 869May 22, 3:44 PM CDT
• Mesoscale Discussion 873May 22, 6:54 PM CDT
• Mesoscale Discussion 876May 22, 8:41 PM CDT

022 
WWUS20 KWNS 222103
SEL0
SPC WW 222103
NDZ000-230400-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 290
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
405 PM CDT TUE MAY 22 2012

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

       NORTH DAKOTA

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 405 PM UNTIL
1100 PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 75 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 95 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 55 MILES NORTH OF MINOT NORTH
DAKOTA TO 40 MILES EAST OF BISMARCK NORTH DAKOTA.  FOR A COMPLETE
DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU0).

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND 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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 288...WW 289...

DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS ARE BEGINNING TO DEVELOP OVER EXTREME
NERN MT AS THE LEADING EDGE OF STRONG DYNAMIC FORCING FOR ASCENT
MOVES TOWARD THE DAKOTAS.  STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO SPREAD EWD AND
DEVELOP SWD ALONG THE COLD FRONT AS IT MOVES EWD ACROSS ND TONIGHT.
VAD PROFILES AT BIS/MOT EXHIBIT STRONG VEERING WITH HEIGHT AND 40-50
KT DEEP LAYER SHEAR...INDICATING POTENTIAL FOR SUPERCELLS TO
DEVELOP...ESPECIALLY ALONG/NORTH OF EAST/WEST WARM FRONT.  VERY
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS...ALONG WITH A FEW
TORNADOES...WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT BEFORE ACTIVITY GROWS UPSCALE
INTO A FORWARD PROPAGATING MCS.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 65 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.


...WEISS

Tornado Watches in North Dakota, 2012Every tornado watch in 2012

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.