Alert archive / West Virginia / Tornado Watches in 2017
Tornado Watch 184
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 1, 2017, 12:32 PM EDT for 4 states. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 1, 2017, 12:32 PM EDT (16:32 UTC)
- Expired
- May 1, 2017, 4:49 PM EDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 65 kt
All 46 counties
Garrett County, MD, Ashtabula County, OH, Belmont County, OH, Carroll County, OH, Columbiana County, OH, Harrison County, OH, Jefferson County, OH, Mahoning County, OH, Monroe County, OH, Trumbull County, OH, Washington County, OH, Allegheny County, PA, Armstrong County, PA, Beaver County, PA, Butler County, PA, Clarion County, PA, Crawford County, PA, Erie County, PA, Fayette County, PA, Forest County, PA, Greene County, PA, Indiana County, PA, Jefferson County, PA, Lawrence County, PA, Mercer County, PA, Venango County, PA, Washington County, PA, Westmoreland County, PA, Barbour County, WV, Brooke County, WV, Doddridge County, WV, Hancock County, WV, Harrison County, WV, Marion County, WV, Marshall County, WV, Monongalia County, WV, Ohio County, WV, Pleasants County, WV, Preston County, WV, Ritchie County, WV, Taylor County, WV, Tucker County, WV, Tyler County, WV, Wetzel County, WV, Wirt County, WV, Wood County, WV
The radar
The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 32 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:32 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
- 70%
- 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
- 80%
Warnings issued inside it
19 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 12:37 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Belmont, Monroe, Noble | 38 min |
| May 1, 12:42 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Carroll, Columbiana, Coshocton, Harrison, Jefferson, Tuscarawas | 63 min |
| May 1, 12:51 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Belmont, Carroll, Guernsey, Harrison, Monroe, Noble and 1 more | 39 min |
| May 1, 1:22 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Belmont, Carroll, Harrison, Jefferson | 53 min |
| May 1, 1:35 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Carroll, Columbiana, Jefferson | 55 min |
| May 1, 1:45 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CLE | Ashtabula, Trumbull | 60 min |
| May 1, 1:47 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Mercer, Venango | 43 min |
| May 1, 2:05 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango and 1 more | 55 min |
| May 1, 2:11 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Allegheny, Greene, Washington | 49 min |
| May 1, 2:22 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CLE | Crawford, Erie | 53 min |
| May 1, 2:26 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Clarion, Forest, Mercer, Venango | 49 min |
| May 1, 2:29 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | PBZ | Beaver, Butler | 31 min |
| May 1, 2:44 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | RLX | Doddridge, Harrison, Taylor | 18 min |
| May 1, 2:47 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Indiana, Venango and 1 more | 58 min |
| May 1, 2:50 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | PBZ | Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Venango | 25 min |
| May 1, 2:54 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Allegheny, Fayette, Greene, Washington, Westmoreland | 66 min |
| May 1, 3:10 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Armstrong, Clarion, Forest, Jefferson, Venango | 65 min |
| May 1, 3:19 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | PBZ | Clarion, Forest, Venango | 26 min |
| May 1, 3:34 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Armstrong, Clarion, Indiana, Jefferson, Westmoreland | 56 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
Pittsburgh, PA (KAGC), launched 12:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 26 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
- 11 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -114 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1435 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 55 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 217 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 191 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
683
WWUS20 KWNS 011631
SEL4
SPC WW 011631
MDZ000-OHZ000-PAZ000-WVZ000-012300-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 184
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
1235 PM EDT Mon May 1 2017
The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a
* Tornado Watch for portions of
Far western Maryland Panhandle
Far eastern Ohio
Western Pennsylvania
Northern West Virginia
* Effective this Monday afternoon and evening from 1235 PM until
700 PM EDT.
* Primary threats include...
A couple tornadoes possible
Scattered damaging winds likely with isolated significant gusts
to 75 mph possible
SUMMARY...Line of storms along a cold front will accelerate
east-northeast this afternoon with damaging winds and a couple
tornadoes as the primary hazards.
The tornado watch area is approximately along and 105 statute miles
either side of a line from 40 miles northwest of Wheeling WV to 25
miles northeast of Latrobe PA. For a complete depiction of the watch
see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU4).
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.
&&
AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 65 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean
storm motion vector 24045.
...GramsSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 11:59 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Garrett | 2 hr |
| May 1, 4:36 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allegany | 84 min |
| May 1, 5:54 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Allegany, Baltimore, Carroll, Charles, Frederick, Harford and 5 more | 5 hr |
| May 1, 1:41 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Cameron, Centre, Clearfield and 15 more | 64 min |
| May 1, 2:12 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bedford, Blair, Bradford, Cambria, Cameron, Centre and 23 more | 8 hr |
| May 1, 6:52 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Pike, Wayne | 4 hr |
| May 1, 7:16 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia | 2 hr |
| May 1, 2:29 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Greenbrier, Mercer, Monroe, Nicholas, Pendleton, Pocahontas and 3 more | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in West Virginia, 2017Tornado Watches in Pennsylvania, 2017Tornado Watches in Ohio, 2017Every tornado watch in 2017
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.