Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2012

Tornado Watch 66

March 2, 201237 counties in Alabama; 5 counties in Mississippi

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 2, 2012, 10:56 PM CST for 37 counties in Alabama; 5 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 2, 2012, 10:56 PM CST (04:56 UTC)
Expired
Mar 3, 2012, 5:00 AM CST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 42 counties

Autauga County, AL, Baldwin County, AL, Barbour County, AL, Bibb County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Butler County, AL, Calhoun County, AL, Chambers County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Clay County, AL, Cleburne County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Hale County, AL, Lee County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Macon County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Mobile County, AL, Monroe County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Perry County, AL, Pike County, AL, Randolph County, AL, Russell County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tallapoosa County, AL, Washington County, AL, Wilcox County, AL, George County, MS, Greene County, MS, Perry County, MS, Stone County, MS, Wayne County, MS

The radar

The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 140 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:59 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
40%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
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
30%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
70%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 2, 11:00 PM CSTTornado WarningBMXChambers45 min
Mar 2, 11:47 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBMXCalhoun, Cleburne15 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

Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 00:00Z, 4.9 hours before the alert went out and 141 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, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2012-03-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 754 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Birmingham, AL at 00:00Z on 2012-03-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 231 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
754 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1391 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
67 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
231 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
315 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.9
Supercell composite
7.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

655 
WWUS20 KWNS 030453
SEL6
SPC WW 030453
ALZ000-FLZ000-MSZ000-CWZ000-031100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 66
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1055 PM CST FRI MAR 2 2012

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

       CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ALABAMA
       EXTREME WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE
       SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI
       COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING FROM 1055 PM
UNTIL 500 AM CST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 85 STATUTE
MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF
MOBILE ALABAMA TO 5 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF LA GRANGE GEORGIA.
FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU6).

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 63...WW 64...WW 65...

DISCUSSION...SCATTERED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE
FOR SEVERAL MORE HOURS ACROSS PARTS OF MS/AL AHEAD OF APPROACHING
FRONT.  VERTICAL SHEAR PROFILES WILL REMAIN SUFFICIENTLY STRONG FOR
SOME RISK OF TORNADOES...ALONG WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND 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
450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25035.


...HART

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 2, 7:18 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlount, Cullman, DeKalb, Fayette, Greene, Jackson and 12 more57 min
Mar 2, 10:07 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAutauga, Bibb, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton and 25 more113 min
Mar 3, 4:47 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCoffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston58 min
Mar 3, 6:35 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCGeneva, Houston6 hr
Mar 2, 7:15 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCatoosa, Dade, Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Rabun and 4 more90 min
Mar 2, 8:36 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaker, Calhoun, Colquitt, Cook, Decatur, Dougherty and 6 more54 min
Mar 2, 9:54 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCBanks, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa and 61 more6 hr
Mar 2, 11:40 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBanks, Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clarke and 30 more95 min
Mar 3, 2:58 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBurke, Columbia, Glascock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Lincoln and 6 more92 min
Mar 3, 3:39 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBurke, Columbia, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond4 hr
Mar 3, 9:12 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAppling, Atkinson, Bacon, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks and 24 more93 min
Mar 3, 11:45 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrantley, Brooks, Camden, Charlton, Clinch, Echols and 3 more60 min
Mar 3, 12:04 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAtkinson, Brantley, Brooks, Camden, Charlton, Clinch and 12 more5 hr
Mar 3, 3:30 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCharlton90 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2012Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2012Every tornado 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.