Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2018
Tornado Watch 56
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 22, 2018, 2:55 PM CDT for 14 counties in Alabama; 12 counties in Florida; 12 counties in Georgia. It was in force for 8 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 22, 2018, 2:55 PM CDT (19:55 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 22, 2018, 10:56 PM CDT
- In force
- 8 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 38 counties
Barbour County, AL, Bullock County, AL, Coffee County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Dale County, AL, Geneva County, AL, Henry County, AL, Houston County, AL, Lee County, AL, Macon County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Pike County, AL, Russell County, AL, Bay County, FL, Calhoun County, FL, Franklin County, FL, Gadsden County, FL, Gulf County, FL, Holmes County, FL, Jackson County, FL, Liberty County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, Walton County, FL, Washington County, FL, Baker County, GA, Calhoun County, GA, Clay County, GA, Decatur County, GA, Dougherty County, GA, Early County, GA, Lee County, GA, Miller County, GA, Quitman County, GA, Randolph County, GA, Seminole County, GA, Terrell County, GA
The radar
The Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 33 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:00 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
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 40%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 20%
- 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
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
13 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 22, 3:03 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Barbour | 27 min |
| Apr 22, 3:21 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TAE | Walton | 35 min |
| Apr 22, 3:22 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TAE | Henry | 23 min |
| Apr 22, 3:23 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Okaloosa | 16 min |
| Apr 22, 3:25 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Barbour | 35 min |
| Apr 22, 3:36 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TAE | Dale, Henry, Houston | 24 min |
| Apr 22, 3:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Escambia, Santa Rosa | 41 min |
| Apr 22, 4:01 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Escambia, Santa Rosa | 29 min |
| Apr 22, 4:08 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Okaloosa | 37 min |
| Apr 22, 4:18 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TAE | Henry | 27 min |
| Apr 22, 4:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Santa Rosa | 39 min |
| Apr 22, 4:31 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Okaloosa | 15 min |
| Apr 22, 6:55 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TAE | Early, Miller | 35 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
Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), launched 12:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 160 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
- 640 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 265 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 347 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
As transmitted.
854 WWUS20 KWNS 221951 SEL6 SPC WW 221951 ALZ000-FLZ000-GAZ000-CWZ000-230200- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 56 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 255 PM CDT Sun Apr 22 2018 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Southeast Alabama Florida Panhandle Southwest Georgia Coastal Waters * Effective this Sunday afternoon and evening from 255 PM until 900 PM CDT. * Primary threats include... A few tornadoes possible Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible SUMMARY...Scattered showers and thunderstorms will overspread the watch area this afternoon, with a few of the storms becoming severe with isolated tornadoes and damaging wind gusts possible. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 50 statute miles east and west of a line from 50 miles northeast of Troy AL to 70 miles southwest of Panama City FL. 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. && AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean storm motion vector 20035. ...Hart
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 22, 10:37 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Choctaw, Clarke, Mobile, Washington | 2 hr |
| Apr 22, 1:58 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Barbour, Butler, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington and 8 more | 3 hr |
| Apr 22, 3:58 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Autauga, Bibb, Chilton, Dallas, Fayette, Greene and 11 more | 3 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2018Tornado Watches in Florida, 2018Tornado Watches in Georgia, 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.