Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Watches in 2015

Tornado Watch 112

April 25, 20154 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 25, 2015, 12:55 PM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 25, 2015, 12:55 PM CDT (17:55 UTC)
Expired
Apr 25, 2015, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 88 counties

Alexander County, IL, Bond County, IL, Calhoun County, IL, Clay County, IL, Clinton County, IL, Edwards County, IL, Fayette County, IL, Franklin County, IL, Gallatin County, IL, Greene County, IL, Hamilton County, IL, Hardin County, IL, Jackson County, IL, Jefferson County, IL, Jersey County, IL, Johnson County, IL, Lawrence County, IL, Macoupin County, IL, Madison County, IL, Marion County, IL, Massac County, IL, Monroe County, IL, Montgomery County, IL, Perry County, IL, Pope County, IL, Pulaski County, IL, Randolph County, IL, Richland County, IL, Saint Clair County, IL, Saline County, IL, Union County, IL, Wabash County, IL, Washington County, IL, Wayne County, IL, White County, IL, Williamson County, IL, Gibson County, IN, Pike County, IN, Posey County, IN, Spencer County, IN, Vanderburgh County, IN, Warrick County, IN, Ballard County, KY, Caldwell County, KY, Calloway County, KY, Carlisle County, KY, Christian County, KY, Crittenden County, KY, Daviess County, KY, Fulton County, KY, Graves County, KY, Henderson County, KY, Hickman County, KY, Hopkins County, KY, Livingston County, KY, Lyon County, KY, Marshall County, KY, McCracken County, KY, McLean County, KY, Muhlenberg County, KY, Todd County, KY, Trigg County, KY, Union County, KY, Webster County, KY, Bollinger County, MO, Cape Girardeau County, MO, City of Saint Louis, MO, Crawford County, MO, Franklin County, MO, Gasconade County, MO, Iron County, MO, Jefferson County, MO, Lincoln County, MO, Madison County, MO, Mississippi County, MO, Montgomery County, MO, New Madrid County, MO, Perry County, MO, Pike County, MO, Reynolds County, MO, Saint Charles County, MO, Saint Francois County, MO, Saint Louis County, MO, Sainte Genevieve County, MO, Scott County, MO, Stoddard County, MO, Warren County, MO, Washington County, MO

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 103 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:55 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
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
Ten or more severe hail reports
50%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
30%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
80%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 25, 3:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHFranklin, Hamilton, Saline, Williamson33 min
Apr 25, 4:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHGallatin, Saline, White24 min
Apr 25, 4:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHFranklin, Jackson, Williamson23 min
Apr 25, 4:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHGallatin, White50 min
Apr 25, 5:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHHenderson, Union, Webster27 min
Apr 25, 5:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHDaviess24 min
Apr 25, 5:24 PM CDTTornado Warning Tornado observedPAHHenderson18 min
Apr 25, 5:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHDaviess, Henderson, Hopkins, McLean, Webster40 min
Apr 25, 5:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHHardin, Pope47 min
Apr 25, 6:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHDaviess, McLean25 min
Apr 25, 6:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHCaldwell, Crittenden, Hopkins48 min
Apr 25, 6:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHChristian, Hopkins, Muhlenberg38 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

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 5.9 hours before the alert went out and 224 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2015-04-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2015-04-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 130 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
735 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
130 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
137 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

426 
WWUS20 KWNS 251754
SEL2  
SPC WW 251754
ILZ000-INZ000-KYZ000-MOZ000-260100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 112
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1255 PM CDT SAT APR 25 2015

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 
  SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
  EXTREME SOUTHWEST INDIANA
  WESTERN KENTUCKY
  EAST-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

* EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 1255 PM
  UNTIL 800 PM CDT.

* PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE...
  A FEW TORNADOES POSSIBLE
  SCATTERED LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED VERY LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 2
    INCHES IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE
  ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE

SUMMARY...THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND
INTENSITY FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE WATCH AREA THIS AFTERNOON. 
SEVERE STORMS INCLUDING SUPERCELLS APPEAR LIKELY WITH A RISK FOR A
FEW TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 75 STATUTE
MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 55 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF
SAINT LOUIS MISSOURI TO 15 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF OWENSBORO
KENTUCKY.  FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE
ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU2).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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 109...WW 110...WW 111...

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 28030.


...MEAD

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 25, 12:22 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlexander, Clinton, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton and 20 more2 hr
Apr 25, 3:25 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlexander, Bond, Clay, Clinton, Edwards, Fayette and 25 more2 hr
Apr 25, 4:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAdair, Allen, Barren, Bell, Boyle, Breckinridge and 40 more6 hr
Apr 25, 6:14 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Allen, Barren, Boyle, Butler, Casey and 29 more91 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Illinois, 2015Tornado Watches in Missouri, 2015Tornado Watches in Kentucky, 2015Every tornado watch in 2015

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.