Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2012
Tornado Watch 696
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 25, 2012, 2:41 PM CST for 10 counties in Alabama; 10 counties in Florida. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Dec 25, 2012, 2:41 PM CST (20:41 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 25, 2012, 10:00 PM CST
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
Counties Butler County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dale County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Escambia County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL
The radar
The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 54 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:41 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
- 50%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 40%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 30%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 30%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 10%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 5%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
26 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 25, 3:35 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Covington, Crenshaw | 55 min |
| Dec 25, 4:24 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Crenshaw | 51 min |
| Dec 25, 4:36 PM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Coffee, Geneva | 24 min |
| Dec 25, 4:39 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Conecuh, Escambia, Monroe | 51 min |
| Dec 25, 4:41 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Conecuh, Escambia | 49 min |
| Dec 25, 4:49 PM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Walton | 26 min |
| Dec 25, 4:52 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Crenshaw | 38 min |
| Dec 25, 4:53 PM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Coffee | 37 min |
| Dec 25, 4:56 PM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Coffee, Dale | 49 min |
| Dec 25, 5:07 PM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Geneva | 38 min |
| Dec 25, 5:08 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Crenshaw | 45 min |
| Dec 25, 5:13 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Covington | 18 min |
| Dec 25, 5:34 PM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Coffee, Geneva | 26 min |
| Dec 25, 6:09 PM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Coffee | 36 min |
| Dec 25, 7:08 PM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Bay | 34 min |
| Dec 25, 7:37 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Clarke, Conecuh, Monroe, Wilcox | 53 min |
| Dec 25, 7:59 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Baldwin, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe | 46 min |
| Dec 25, 8:11 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Baldwin, Escambia | 49 min |
| Dec 25, 8:36 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Butler, Conecuh | 39 min |
| Dec 25, 8:44 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Conecuh, Escambia, Monroe | 46 min |
| Dec 25, 8:58 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Escambia, Santa Rosa | 47 min |
| Dec 25, 9:09 PM CST | Tornado Warning | MOB | Butler, Crenshaw | 51 min |
| Dec 25, 9:13 PM CST | Tornado Warning | TAE | Bay | 18 min |
| Dec 25, 9:29 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Conecuh, Covington, Escambia | 46 min |
| Dec 25, 9:35 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Butler, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw | 70 min |
| Dec 25, 9:45 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Baldwin, Covington, Escambia | 45 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
Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 204 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
- 212 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -11 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 448 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 60 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 64 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
929
WWUS20 KWNS 252042
SEL6
SPC WW 252042
ALZ000-FLZ000-CWZ000-260400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 696
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
245 PM CST TUE DEC 25 2012
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHERN ALABAMA
WESTERN TO CENTRAL FLORIDA PANHANDLE
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 245 PM UNTIL
1000 PM CST.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60 STATUTE
MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 20 MILES NORTHWEST OF
PENSACOLA FLORIDA TO 25 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF MARIANNA FLORIDA.
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 693...WW 694...WW 695...
DISCUSSION...POTENTIAL IS INCREASING FOR A FEW TORNADOES INITIALLY
FOR CELLS MOVING NNEWD OFF GULF...PER SPC MESOSCALE DISCUSSION
2215...THEN FOR ACTIVITY DEVELOPING LATE AFTN INTO EVENING AHEAD OF
MCS NOW CROSSING LOWER DELTA REGION. AIR MASS S OF SFC WARM FRONT
-- NOW EVIDENT OVER EXTREME SERN AL AND MOVING SLOWLY NWD -- WILL BE
CHARACTERIZED BY WEAK MLCINH...55-65 KT EFFECTIVE SHEAR MAGNITUDE
AND 250-400 J/KG EFFECTIVE SRH IN SUPPORT OF SUPERCELL POTENTIAL.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22035.
...EDWARDSSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 25, 12:58 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bullock, Chambers, Choctaw and 19 more | 9 hr |
| Dec 25, 2:32 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Butler, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale and 5 more | 28 min |
| Dec 25, 3:44 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Autauga, Baldwin, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Crenshaw and 13 more | 91 min |
| Dec 25, 4:34 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bibb, Calhoun, Chambers, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa and 9 more | 26 min |
| Dec 25, 4:38 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne and 11 more | 5 hr |
| Dec 25, 5:17 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Clarke, Coffee and 17 more | 88 min |
| Dec 25, 5:57 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Wakulla | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2012Tornado Watches in Florida, 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.