Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2018
Tornado Watch 208
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jun 23, 2018, 5:40 PM CDT for 15 counties in Alabama; 5 counties in Tennessee. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jun 23, 2018, 5:40 PM CDT (22:40 UTC)
- Expired
- Jun 23, 2018, 10:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 50 kt
Counties Blount County, AL, Colbert County, AL, Cullman County, AL, Fayette County, AL, Franklin County, AL, Lamar County, AL, Lauderdale County, AL, Lawrence County, AL, Limestone County, AL, Madison County, AL, Marion County, AL, Marshall County, AL, Morgan County, AL, Walker County, AL, Winston County, AL, Giles County, TN, Lawrence County, TN, Lincoln County, TN, Moore County, TN, Wayne County, TN
The radar
The Columbus AFB radar (KGWX), 113 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:42 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
- 30%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 20%
- 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
- 10%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 40%
Warnings issued inside it
15 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 5:45 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HUN | Colbert, Franklin, Lawrence | 30 min |
| Jun 23, 6:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN | Franklin | 13 min |
| Jun 23, 6:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Winston | 27 min |
| Jun 23, 6:35 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette, Lamar | 25 min |
| Jun 23, 7:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette, Lamar | 30 min |
| Jun 23, 7:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OHX | Wayne | 29 min |
| Jun 23, 8:01 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OHX | Wayne | 29 min |
| Jun 23, 8:05 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | HUN | Lauderdale | 25 min |
| Jun 23, 8:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Fayette | 31 min |
| Jun 23, 8:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN | Lauderdale | 31 min |
| Jun 23, 8:55 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OHX | Lawrence, Wayne | 35 min |
| Jun 23, 9:28 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OHX | Lawrence, Wayne | 32 min |
| Jun 23, 9:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN | Lauderdale | 23 min |
| Jun 23, 9:38 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | OHX | Lawrence, Wayne | 3 hr |
| Jun 23, 9:58 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | HUN | Lauderdale | 14 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
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 165 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
- 1359 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -34 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 599 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 36 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 164 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 198 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.8
- Supercell composite
- 5.8
The text
As transmitted.
309 WWUS20 KWNS 232238 SEL8 SPC WW 232238 ALZ000-TNZ000-240300- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 208 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 540 PM CDT Sat Jun 23 2018 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Northern Alabama Southern Middle Tennessee * Effective this Saturday afternoon and evening from 540 PM until 1000 PM CDT. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Isolated damaging wind gusts to 60 mph possible Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible SUMMARY...A couple supercells have developed across northwest Alabama and may persist for a few hours along a remnant outflow boundary. Although coverage should be limited, all severe hazards are possible. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 50 statute miles north and south of a line from 45 miles southwest of Muscle Shoals AL to 30 miles east of Huntsville AL. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU8). 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 205...WW 206...WW 207... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 50 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector 27025. ...Grams
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 7:17 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Blount, Colbert, Cullman, Fayette, Franklin, Jefferson and 6 more | 118 min |
| Jun 23, 10:32 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cherokee, Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Franklin and 8 more | 88 min |
| Jun 23, 11:09 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | DeKalb, Jackson, Limestone, Madison, Marshall, Morgan | 4 hr |
| Jun 23, 4:50 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Colbert, Franklin, Lamar, Lauderdale, Marion | 115 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2018Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 2018Every tornado watch in 2018
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.