Alert archive / Alabama / Tornado Watches in 2020
Tornado Watch 497
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 10, 2020, 4:00 AM CDT for 12 counties in Alabama; Escambia County, Okaloosa County, Santa Rosa County, Florida; George County, Greene County, Wayne County, Mississippi. It was in force for 10 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Oct 10, 2020, 4:00 AM CDT (09:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 10, 2020, 2:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 10 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
Counties Baldwin County, AL, Butler County, AL, Choctaw County, AL, Clarke County, AL, Conecuh County, AL, Covington County, AL, Crenshaw County, AL, Escambia County, AL, Mobile County, AL, Monroe County, AL, Washington County, AL, Wilcox County, AL, Escambia County, FL, Okaloosa County, FL, Santa Rosa County, FL, George County, MS, Greene County, MS, Wayne County, MS
The radar
The Mobile radar (KMOB), 105 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:00 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
- 5%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 5%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 5%
- 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
- 20%
Warnings issued inside it
10 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 10, 4:10 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Okaloosa | 35 min |
| Oct 10, 4:53 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MOB | Mobile | 37 min |
| Oct 10, 5:00 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Mobile | 30 min |
| Oct 10, 5:17 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Mobile | 28 min |
| Oct 10, 5:28 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Mobile | 17 min |
| Oct 10, 5:42 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Baldwin, Clarke, Mobile | 18 min |
| Oct 10, 5:44 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Baldwin | 31 min |
| Oct 10, 5:57 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Clarke, Mobile, Washington | 12 min |
| Oct 10, 6:01 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | MOB | Covington | 44 min |
| Oct 10, 10:45 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | MOB | Escambia, Santa Rosa | 3 hr |
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 00:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 228 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
- 2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -212 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 679 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 122 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 182 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.0
The text
As transmitted.
246 WWUS20 KWNS 100851 SEL7 SPC WW 100851 ALZ000-FLZ000-MSZ000-CWZ000-101800- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 497 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 350 AM CDT Sat Oct 10 2020 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Southern Alabama Florida Panhandle Southeast Mississippi Coastal Waters * Effective this Saturday morning and afternoon from 350 AM until 100 PM CDT. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible SUMMARY...A moist environment and strong low-level shear on the eastern periphery of Tropical Storm Delta will support the possibility of a couple of tornadoes through the morning, and possibly into the afternoon. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 65 statute miles east and west of a line from 50 miles northwest of Evergreen AL to 30 miles south southwest of Pensacola FL. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU7). 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 0 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean storm motion vector 19040. ...Guyer
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 10, 2:23 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Marengo and 5 more | 2 hr |
| Oct 10, 7:09 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baldwin, Conecuh, Escambia, Monroe | 2 hr |
| Oct 10, 11:13 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barbour, Bullock, Chambers, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee and 14 more | 2 hr |
| Oct 10, 12:47 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Barbour, Bullock, Calhoun, Chambers, Clay, Cleburne and 15 more | 7 hr |
| Oct 10, 3:54 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barbour, Bullock, Calhoun, Chambers, Clay, Cleburne and 12 more | 96 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Alabama, 2020Tornado Watches in Florida, 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.