Alert archive / Missouri / Mesoscale Discussions in 2016

Mesoscale Discussion 72

February 2, 20165 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Feb 2, 2016, 9:54 AM CST for 5 states. It was in force for 96 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Feb 2, 2016, 9:54 AM CST (15:54 UTC)
Expired
Feb 2, 2016, 11:30 AM CST
In force
96 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Chance of a watch
60%
All 53 counties

Clay County, AR, Craighead County, AR, Crittenden County, AR, Cross County, AR, Greene County, AR, Independence County, AR, Jackson County, AR, Lawrence County, AR, Mississippi County, AR, Poinsett County, AR, Randolph County, AR, St. Francis County, AR, Woodruff County, AR, Alexander County, IL, Franklin County, IL, Gallatin County, IL, Jackson County, IL, Johnson County, IL, Massac County, IL, Perry County, IL, Pope County, IL, Pulaski County, IL, Randolph County, IL, Saline County, IL, Union County, IL, Williamson County, IL, Ballard County, KY, Carlisle County, KY, Fulton County, KY, Hickman County, KY, McCracken County, KY, Bollinger County, MO, Butler County, MO, Cape Girardeau County, MO, Carter County, MO, Dunklin County, MO, Iron County, MO, Madison County, MO, Mississippi County, MO, New Madrid County, MO, Pemiscot County, MO, Perry County, MO, Reynolds County, MO, Ripley County, MO, Saint Francois County, MO, Sainte Genevieve County, MO, Scott County, MO, Stoddard County, MO, Wayne County, MO, Dyer County, TN, Lake County, TN, Lauderdale County, TN, Obion County, TN

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 137 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:55 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.

The watches that followed

Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KBYH), launched 12:00Z, 3.9 hours before the alert went out and 189 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, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2016-02-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 226 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, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2016-02-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 403 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
226 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-78 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
520 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
68 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
403 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
512 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

244 
ACUS11 KWNS 021555
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 021554 
ILZ000-KYZ000-TNZ000-MOZ000-ARZ000-021730-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0072
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0954 AM CST TUE FEB 02 2016

AREAS AFFECTED...PARTS OF NERN AR...SERN MO...SRN IL...WRN MS

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH POSSIBLE 

VALID 021554Z - 021730Z

PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE...60 PERCENT

SUMMARY...SOME UNCERTAINTY LINGERS CONCERNING TIMING...BUT TRENDS
ARE BEING MONITORED FOR INCREASING STORM DEVELOPMENT CAPABLE OF
PRODUCING DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES...WHICH COULD
COMMENCE AROUND OR SHORTLY AFTER 17-18Z.

DISCUSSION...STRONGEST UPPER DIVERGENCE ASSOCIATED WITH THE MID TO
UPPER JET STREAK /100+ KT AT 500 MB/ NOW NOSING THROUGH THE LOWER
MISSOURI VALLEY CONTINUES TO SHIFT TO THE NORTH/NORTHEAST OF THE
REGION.  HOWEVER...GRADUAL MID-LEVEL HEIGHT FALLS ARE NOW UNDERWAY
SOUTHWARD THROUGH MUCH OF THE MIDDLE TO LOWER MISSISSIPPI
VALLEY...AHEAD OF APPROACHING LARGE-SCALE TROUGHING.

AS THIS CONTINUES...ASSOCIATED MID-LEVEL COOLING...COUPLED WITH
LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE ADVECTION...APPEARS LIKELY TO CONTRIBUTE TO
INCREASING INSTABILITY AND WEAKENING INHIBITION.  WEAK BOUNDARY
LAYER DESTABILIZATION IS BEING AUGMENTED ACROSS MUCH OF EASTERN
ARKANSAS INTO ADJACENT AREAS OF WESTERN TENNESSEE AND THE MISSOURI
BOOTHEEL BY SURFACE HEATING.  GUIDANCE IS SUGGESTIVE THAT THE
ENVIRONMENT MAY BECOME INCREASINGLY CONDUCIVE TO BOUNDARY LAYER
BASED STORM DEVELOPMENT.  THIS MAY INCLUDE INTENSIFICATION OF AN
APPROACHING FRONTAL BAND OF CONVECTION...AND DISCRETE STORM
DEVELOPMENT AHEAD OF IT.

STRONG DEEP LAYER SHEAR IS MORE THAN SUPPORTIVE OF ORGANIZED SEVERE
STORM DEVELOPMENT.  AND STRONG TO EXTREME LOW-LEVEL SHEAR ALONG A
50+ KT SOUTHERLY 850 MB JET AXIS MAY SUPPORT LOW-LEVEL MESOCYCLONES
CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORNADOES AND LOCALLY ENHANCED DAMAGING WIND
POTENTIAL.  THIS THREAT PROBABLY WILL DEVELOP FURTHER NORTHEASTWARD
WITH WARM SECTOR BOUNDARY LAYER DESTABILIZATION INTO AT LEAST PARTS
OF THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS.

..KERR/GOSS.. 02/02/2016

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...PAH...MEG...LSX...LZK...SGF...

LAT...LON   36609134 37659086 38438924 37768815 35758943 34779069
            35009163 35709161 36609134

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 2, 12:22 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCChicot, Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Greene and 5 more9 hr
Feb 2, 2:40 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, Barren, Breckinridge, Butler, Cumberland, Edmonson and 10 more95 min
Feb 2, 3:10 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAdair, Allen, Barren, Boyle, Breckinridge, Butler and 24 more7 hr
Feb 2, 5:31 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Allen, Barren, Boyle, Breckinridge, Butler and 25 more119 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Missouri, 2016Mesoscale Discussions in Arkansas, 2016Mesoscale Discussions in Illinois, 2016Every mesoscale discussion in 2016

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.