Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2016
Tornado Watch 506
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Nov 29, 2016, 5:37 PM CST for 10 counties in Alabama. It was in force for 3 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Nov 29, 2016, 5:37 PM CST (23:37 UTC)
- Expired
- Nov 29, 2016, 8:50 PM CST
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 2 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
Counties Fayette County, AL, Greene County, AL, Hale County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Marion County, AL, Pickens County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Walker County, AL, Winston County, AL
The radar
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 77 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:37 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
- 30%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 30%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 30%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 30%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
10 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 29, 6:35 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Pickens | 55 min |
| Nov 29, 6:53 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lamar, Marion | 67 min |
| Nov 29, 7:16 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Pickens | 17 min |
| Nov 29, 7:22 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Fayette, Lamar | 53 min |
| Nov 29, 7:28 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marion, Winston | 62 min |
| Nov 29, 7:52 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Fayette | 38 min |
| Nov 29, 8:09 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Winston | 21 min |
| Nov 29, 8:19 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Winston | 26 min |
| Nov 29, 8:24 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Walker, Winston | 44 min |
| Nov 29, 8:27 PM CST | Tornado Warning | BMX | Lamar, Pickens | 46 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
Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 12:00Z, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 231 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2018 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 65 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 179 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 254 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
595 WWUS20 KWNS 292333 SEL6 SPC WW 292333 ALZ000-300400- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 506 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 535 PM CST TUE NOV 29 2016 THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA * EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 535 PM UNTIL 1000 PM CST. * PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE... A FEW TORNADOES AND A COUPLE INTENSE TORNADOES POSSIBLE ISOLATED VERY LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE SUMMARY...SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS OVER EASTERN MS ARE MAINTAINING THEIR INTENSITY...AND MAY TRACK INTO WESTERN AL DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS. LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE STRONGEST CELLS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 35 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF TUSCALOOSA AL TO 70 MILES NORTH OF TUSCALOOSA AL. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU6). 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 504...WW 505... 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 24035. ...HART
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 28, 6:36 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Choctaw, Clarke, Monroe, Washington | 2 hr |
| Nov 28, 7:00 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bibb, Blount, Chilton, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah and 7 more | 90 min |
| Nov 28, 8:39 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Choctaw, Washington | 96 min |
| Nov 28, 11:38 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Autauga, Butler, Clarke, Dallas, Elmore, Lowndes and 5 more | 3 hr |
| Nov 29, 3:08 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Colbert, Franklin, Lamar, Lauderdale, Marion | 2 hr |
| Nov 29, 3:48 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale | 7 hr |
| Nov 29, 4:46 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Marion, Pickens and 2 more | 2 hr |
| Nov 29, 5:24 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Colbert, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone and 5 more | 96 min |
Nearby
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.