Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2020
Tornado Watch 110
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 12, 2020, 4:38 PM CDT for 28 counties in Alabama; 5 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 12, 2020, 4:38 PM CDT (21:38 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 12, 2020, 11:37 PM CDT
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Particularly dangerous situation
- Yes
- Largest hail expected
- 3 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 33 counties
Autauga County, AL, Baldwin County, AL, Bibb County, AL, Calhoun County, AL, Chilton County, AL, Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Clay County, AL, Cleburne County, AL, Coosa County, AL, Dallas County, AL, Elmore County, AL, Greene County, AL, Hale County, AL, Jefferson County, AL, Lowndes County, AL, Marengo County, AL, Mobile County, AL, Monroe County, AL, Montgomery County, AL, Perry County, AL, Shelby County, AL, St. Clair County, AL, Sumter County, AL, Talladega County, AL, Tuscaloosa County, AL, Washington County, AL, Wilcox County, AL, George County, MS, Greene County, MS, Perry County, MS, Stone County, MS, Wayne County, MS
The radar
The Birmingham radar (KBMX), 113 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:42 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
- 95%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 90%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 90%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 80%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 60%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 95%
Warnings issued inside it
36 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 12, 4:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 55 min |
| Apr 12, 5:07 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 53 min |
| Apr 12, 5:28 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Blount, St. Clair | 46 min |
| Apr 12, 7:10 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Greene | 22 min |
| Apr 12, 7:14 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Sumter | 26 min |
| Apr 12, 8:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Wayne | 43 min |
| Apr 12, 8:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Tuscaloosa | 38 min |
| Apr 12, 8:29 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Fayette, Greene, Jefferson, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa and 1 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 12, 8:32 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jefferson, Tuscaloosa | 21 min |
| Apr 12, 8:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Blount, Jefferson | 54 min |
| Apr 12, 8:36 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Jefferson, Tuscaloosa | 17 min |
| Apr 12, 8:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Choctaw, Clarke, Washington | 44 min |
| Apr 12, 8:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Jefferson | 39 min |
| Apr 12, 8:58 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Choctaw, Clarke, Washington | 47 min |
| Apr 12, 9:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Greene, Perry | 25 min |
| Apr 12, 9:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | George, Greene, Perry, Stone | 36 min |
| Apr 12, 9:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Choctaw, Clarke, Monroe, Washington, Wilcox | 47 min |
| Apr 12, 9:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Blount, Etowah, Jefferson, St. Clair, Shelby | 71 min |
| Apr 12, 9:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Clarke, Washington | 45 min |
| Apr 12, 9:33 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | BMX | Marengo | 27 min |
| Apr 12, 9:38 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Wilcox | 52 min |
| Apr 12, 9:43 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Clarke, Monroe, Wilcox | 35 min |
| Apr 12, 9:43 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Wilcox | 32 min |
| Apr 12, 9:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Mobile, Washington | 43 min |
| Apr 12, 10:02 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Dallas | 27 min |
| Apr 12, 10:04 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Washington | 41 min |
| Apr 12, 10:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Clarke, Washington | 39 min |
| Apr 12, 10:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Butler, Clarke, Monroe, Wilcox | 46 min |
| Apr 12, 10:22 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | BMX | Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Etowah, St. Clair | 4 hr |
| Apr 12, 10:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Baldwin, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe and 1 more | 43 min |
| Apr 12, 10:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Clarke, Conecuh, Monroe | 56 min |
| Apr 12, 10:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Lowndes, Montgomery | 53 min |
| Apr 12, 10:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah | 58 min |
| Apr 12, 10:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Autauga, Elmore | 43 min |
| Apr 12, 10:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Chilton, Clay, Coosa, Shelby, Talladega, Tallapoosa | 43 min |
| Apr 12, 11:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX | Bullock, Macon, Montgomery, Tallapoosa | 60 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, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 113 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
- 1885 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 61 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 336 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 578 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
889
WWUS20 KWNS 122135
SEL0
SPC WW 122135
ALZ000-MSZ000-130500-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 110
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
440 PM CDT Sun Apr 12 2020
The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a
* Tornado Watch for portions of
Central and Southern Alabama
Southeast Mississippi
* Effective this Sunday afternoon from 440 PM until Midnight CDT.
...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...
* Primary threats include...
Numerous tornadoes expected with a few intense tornadoes likely
Widespread large hail and isolated very large hail events to 3
inches in diameter likely
Widespread damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely
SUMMARY...Intense supercells over southern Mississippi will track
northeastward across the watch area. The most intense storms will
be capable of strong to violent tornadoes, very large hail, and
damaging winds afternoon and evening.
The tornado watch area is approximately along and 70 statute miles
north and south of a line from 55 miles south of Meridian MS to 35
miles south southeast of Anniston AL. For a complete depiction of
the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS
WOU0).
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 106...WW 107...WW
108...WW 109...
AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 3 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean
storm motion vector 25035.
...HartSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 12, 1:45 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Autauga, Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton and 33 more | 90 min |
| Apr 12, 3:20 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay and 30 more | 8 hr |
| Apr 12, 3:38 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Fayette, Greene, Lamar, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa and 1 more | 97 min |
| Apr 12, 3:53 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clarke, Washington | 97 min |
| Apr 12, 4:54 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Choctaw | 66 min |
| Apr 12, 5:14 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Cullman, DeKalb and 13 more | 91 min |
| Apr 12, 5:44 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Lamar, Marion | 91 min |
| Apr 12, 7:18 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Warren | 87 min |
| Apr 12, 10:24 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Attala, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw and 42 more | 96 min |
| Apr 12, 10:41 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adams, Attala, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw and 47 more | 10 hr |
| Apr 12, 12:03 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Attala, Carroll, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena and 6 more | 87 min |
| Apr 12, 1:02 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Amite, Hancock, Lamar, Marion, Pearl River, Pike and 1 more | 118 min |
| Apr 12, 1:24 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Amite, Covington, Forrest, Franklin, Hancock, Harrison and 11 more | 9 hr |
| Apr 12, 1:40 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Attala, Choctaw, Hinds, Holmes, Kemper, Lauderdale and 10 more | 95 min |
| Apr 12, 3:52 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Covington, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Marion | 23 min |
| Apr 12, 4:26 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Covington, Jasper, Jones | 34 min |
| Apr 12, 5:27 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Amite, Pike, Walthall | 63 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2020Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2020Every tornado watch in 2020
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.