Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Watches in 2015
Tornado Watch 203
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 24, 2015, 1:18 PM CDT for 62 counties in Missouri. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 24, 2015, 1:18 PM CDT (18:18 UTC)
- Expired
- May 24, 2015, 7:34 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 62 counties
Adair County, MO, Audrain County, MO, Benton County, MO, Boone County, MO, Callaway County, MO, Camden County, MO, Carroll County, MO, Chariton County, MO, Christian County, MO, Cole County, MO, Cooper County, MO, Crawford County, MO, Dallas County, MO, Dent County, MO, Douglas County, MO, Franklin County, MO, Gasconade County, MO, Greene County, MO, Grundy County, MO, Hickory County, MO, Howard County, MO, Howell County, MO, Iron County, MO, Knox County, MO, Laclede County, MO, Lewis County, MO, Lincoln County, MO, Linn County, MO, Livingston County, MO, Macon County, MO, Maries County, MO, Marion County, MO, Mercer County, MO, Miller County, MO, Moniteau County, MO, Monroe County, MO, Montgomery County, MO, Morgan County, MO, Oregon County, MO, Osage County, MO, Ozark County, MO, Pettis County, MO, Phelps County, MO, Pike County, MO, Polk County, MO, Pulaski County, MO, Putnam County, MO, Ralls County, MO, Randolph County, MO, Reynolds County, MO, Saline County, MO, Schuyler County, MO, Shannon County, MO, Shelby County, MO, Stone County, MO, Sullivan County, MO, Taney County, MO, Texas County, MO, Warren County, MO, Washington County, MO, Webster County, MO, Wright County, MO
The radar
The St Louis radar (KLSX), 147 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:21 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
- 10%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 20%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 5%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
12 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 1:19 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EAX | Pettis | 26 min |
| May 24, 3:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Douglas, Webster, Wright | 23 min |
| May 24, 3:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LSX | Boone, Callaway, Cole | 41 min |
| May 24, 3:27 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SGF | Douglas, Wright | 33 min |
| May 24, 3:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Howell, Shannon, Texas | 28 min |
| May 24, 3:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Adair, Macon | 34 min |
| May 24, 4:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Laclede, Pulaski, Texas | 34 min |
| May 24, 5:22 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LSX | Pike | 38 min |
| May 24, 5:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Douglas, Howell, Ozark, Taney | 47 min |
| May 24, 5:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Oregon | 37 min |
| May 24, 5:59 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SGF | Douglas, Ozark | 19 min |
| May 24, 6:28 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Douglas, Howell, Oregon, Ozark, Texas, Webster and 1 more | 35 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
Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 6.3 hours before the alert went out and 240 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
- 183 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -35 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 578 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 259 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 254 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
780 WWUS20 KWNS 241817 SEL3 SPC WW 241817 MOZ000-250100- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 203 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 120 PM CDT SUN MAY 24 2015 THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF MUCH OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN MISSOURI * EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 120 PM UNTIL 800 PM CDT. * PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE... A COUPLE TORNADOES POSSIBLE ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE ISOLATED LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE SUMMARY...A BROKEN BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE SPREADING ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN MISSOURI...WHILE ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS SPREAD NORTH-NORTHEASTWARD OUT OF ARKANSAS AND ACROSS THE OZARK PLATEAU. RISK FOR DAMAGING WINDS AND A FEW TORNADOES WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON WITH THESE INTENSIFYING STORMS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 55 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 20 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF KIRKSVILLE MISSOURI TO 20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WEST PLAINS MISSOURI. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU3). 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 202... 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 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 21035. ...GOSS
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 3:34 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bureau, Carroll, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Henry and 17 more | 56 min |
| May 24, 4:14 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adams, Alexander, Bond, Brown, Calhoun, Clinton and 16 more | 8 hr |
| May 24, 5:34 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Cass, Christian, DeKalb and 36 more | 7 hr |
| May 24, 6:04 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alexander, Calhoun, Greene, Jackson, Jersey, Madison and 6 more | 116 min |
| May 24, 6:41 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bureau, Carroll, Cass, Fulton, Grundy, Hancock and 22 more | 94 min |
| May 23, 10:49 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | McDonald, Newton | 86 min |
| May 24, 12:54 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Audrain, Benton, Boone, Callaway, Camden, Chariton and 34 more | 96 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Missouri, 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.