Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Watches in 2015

Tornado Watch 217

May 25, 201526 counties in Missouri

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 25, 2015, 7:47 PM CDT for 26 counties in Missouri. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 25, 2015, 7:47 PM CDT (00:47 UTC)
Expired
May 26, 2015, 12:29 AM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 26 counties

Barry County, MO, Barton County, MO, Cedar County, MO, Christian County, MO, Dade County, MO, Dallas County, MO, Dent County, MO, Douglas County, MO, Greene County, MO, Howell County, MO, Jasper County, MO, Laclede County, MO, Lawrence County, MO, McDonald County, MO, Newton County, MO, Oregon County, MO, Ozark County, MO, Phelps County, MO, Polk County, MO, Pulaski County, MO, Shannon County, MO, Stone County, MO, Taney County, MO, Texas County, MO, Webster County, MO, Wright County, MO

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 40 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:51 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
10%
Ten or more severe wind reports
40%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
5%
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%

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 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 91 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, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2015-05-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 849 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2015-05-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 45 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
849 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-22 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1323 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
45 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
50 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

096 
WWUS20 KWNS 260036
SEL7  
SPC WW 260036
MOZ000-260700-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 217
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
735 PM CDT MON MAY 25 2015

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 
  SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL MISSOURI

* EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING FROM 735 PM
  UNTIL 200 AM CDT.

* PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE...
  A COUPLE TORNADOES POSSIBLE
  SCATTERED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE
  ISOLATED LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE

SUMMARY...SQUALL LINE NOW OVER NW AR EXPECTED TO MOVE/DEVELOP
GENERALLY NE INTO PARTS OF SOUTHERN MO...WITH A WIDELY SCATTERED
STORMS POSSIBLY PERSISTING/DEVELOPING AHEAD OF THE LINE.  SOME OF
THE STORMS COULD OCCASIONALLY PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS AND TORNADOES.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 80 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES NORTHWEST OF FORT
LEONARD WOOD MISSOURI TO 55 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF SPRINGFIELD
MISSOURI.  FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE
ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU7).

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 212...WW 213...WW
214...WW 215...WW 216...

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 550.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 21030.


...CORFIDI

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 25, 8:18 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAndrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry and 5 more87 min
May 25, 8:52 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarry, Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Christian and 31 more83 min
May 25, 10:03 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCButler, Carter, Dunklin, Iron, Madison, Reynolds and 2 more4 hr
May 25, 11:48 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBollinger, Butler, Carter, Iron, Madison, Oregon and 6 more87 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.