Alert archive / Massachusetts / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2016

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 31

February 24, 2016Capitol Planning Region, Northwest Hills Planning Region, Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut; 5 counties in Massachusetts; Columbia County, Dutchess County, Rensselaer County, New York

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Feb 24, 2016, 11:51 PM EST for Capitol Planning Region, Northwest Hills Planning Region, Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut; 5 counties in Massachusetts; Columbia County, Dutchess County, Rensselaer County, New York. It was in force for 4 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Feb 24, 2016, 11:51 PM EST (04:51 UTC)
Expired
Feb 25, 2016, 4:00 AM EST
In force
4 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
0.5 in
Strongest gust expected
65 kt

Counties Capitol Planning Region, CT, Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT, Northwest Hills Planning Region, CT, Berkshire County, MA, Franklin County, MA, Hampden County, MA, Hampshire County, MA, Worcester County, MA, Columbia County, NY, Dutchess County, NY, Rensselaer County, NY

The radar

The Albany radar (KENX), 107 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:52 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
10%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
2%
Ten or more severe wind reports
50%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
30%
Ten or more severe hail reports
5%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
5%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
70%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 24, 11:57 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningALYNorthwest Hills Planning Region63 min
Feb 25, 12:19 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXCapitol Planning Region41 min
Feb 25, 12:25 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXCapitol Planning Region35 min
Feb 25, 12:55 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXCapitol Planning Region50 min
Feb 25, 12:58 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXCapitol Planning Region62 min
Feb 25, 1:54 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXCapitol Planning Region, Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region51 min
Feb 25, 1:57 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXHampden, Middlesex, Worcester48 min
Feb 25, 2:40 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXBristol, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Worcester50 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

Albany, NY (KALY), launched 00:00Z, 4.9 hours before the alert went out and 92 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, Albany, NY at 00:00Z on 2016-02-25Temperature 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, Albany, NY at 00:00Z on 2016-02-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 534 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
536 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
534 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
635 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 24, 7:44 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCGreater Bridgeport Planning Region, Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region8 hr
Feb 24, 10:39 PM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPC66 min
Feb 25, 2:40 AM ESTMesoscale DiscussionSPC95 min
Feb 25, 1:22 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBarnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Middlesex, Nantucket and 3 more4 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Massachusetts, 2016Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Connecticut, 2016Severe Thunderstorm Watches in New York, 2016Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.