Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Watches in 2020
Tornado Watch 211
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 23, 2020, 5:57 PM EDT for 9 counties in Indiana; Berrien County, Michigan. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 23, 2020, 5:57 PM EDT (21:57 UTC)
- Expired
- May 23, 2020, 10:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
Counties Cass County, IN, Fulton County, IN, LaPorte County, IN, Marshall County, IN, Miami County, IN, Pulaski County, IN, Saint Joseph County, IN, Starke County, IN, White County, IN, Berrien County, MI
The radar
The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 86 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:00 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
- 30%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 30%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 20%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 30%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 20%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
5 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 6:35 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX | LaPorte | 40 min |
| May 23, 7:15 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX | LaPorte, Saint Joseph | 30 min |
| May 23, 7:42 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX | Elkhart, Saint Joseph | 48 min |
| May 23, 8:56 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX | LaPorte, Starke | 49 min |
| May 23, 9:46 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX | LaPorte, Starke | 29 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
Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 213 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
- 1178 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 79 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 166 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
914 WWUS20 KWNS 232155 SEL1 SPC WW 232155 INZ000-MIZ000-LMZ000-240200- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 211 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 555 PM EDT Sat May 23 2020 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Northwest Indiana Extreme southwest Lower Michigan Lake Michigan * Effective this Saturday afternoon and evening from 555 PM until 1000 PM EDT. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible Isolated large hail events to 1 inch in diameter possible SUMMARY...A broken band of storms moving into northwest Indiana and southern Lake Michigan will persist for another few hours before weakening. In the meantime, the storm environment will continue to support supercells capable of producing isolated large hail, damaging winds, and a couple of tornadoes. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 25 statute miles east and west of a line from 35 miles north of Valparaiso IN to 60 miles south southeast of Valparaiso IN. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU1). 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 207...WW 208...WW 209...WW 210... 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 500. Mean storm motion vector 26025. ...Thompson
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 1:33 PM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Benton, Jasper, Lake, Newton, Porter | 8 hr |
| May 23, 3:51 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Benton, Jasper, Lake, Newton, Porter, Warren and 1 more | 84 min |
| May 23, 4:14 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bartholomew, Brown, Dearborn, Decatur, Fayette, Franklin and 11 more | 61 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Indiana, 2020Tornado Watches in Michigan, 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.