Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Watches in 2021
Tornado Watch 559
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Dec 10, 2021, 11:03 PM CST for 4 states. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Dec 10, 2021, 11:03 PM CST (05:03 UTC)
- Expired
- Dec 11, 2021, 3:48 AM CST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 56 counties
Alexander County, IL, Clinton County, IL, Edwards County, IL, Fayette County, IL, Franklin County, IL, Gallatin County, IL, Hamilton County, IL, Hardin County, IL, Jackson County, IL, Jefferson County, IL, Johnson County, IL, Marion County, IL, Massac County, IL, Perry County, IL, Pope County, IL, Pulaski County, IL, Saline County, IL, Union County, IL, Wabash County, IL, Washington County, IL, Wayne County, IL, White County, IL, Williamson County, IL, Gibson County, IN, Pike County, IN, Posey County, IN, Spencer County, IN, Vanderburgh County, IN, Warrick County, IN, Ballard County, KY, Caldwell County, KY, Calloway County, KY, Carlisle County, KY, Christian County, KY, Crittenden County, KY, Daviess County, KY, Fulton County, KY, Graves County, KY, Henderson County, KY, Hickman County, KY, Hopkins County, KY, Livingston County, KY, Lyon County, KY, Marshall County, KY, McCracken County, KY, McLean County, KY, Muhlenberg County, KY, Todd County, KY, Trigg County, KY, Union County, KY, Webster County, KY, Bollinger County, MO, Cape Girardeau County, MO, Mississippi County, MO, Perry County, MO, Scott County, MO
The radar
The Evansville,IN radar (KVWX), 49 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:02 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
- 80%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 70%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 50%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 20%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 10%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 5%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
12 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 10, 11:06 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Perry | 39 min |
| Dec 10, 11:10 PM CST | Tornado Warning | LSX | Clinton, Marion, Washington | 50 min |
| Dec 10, 11:11 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Crittenden, Hopkins, Union, Webster | 36 min |
| Dec 10, 11:17 PM CST | Tornado Warning | PAH | Webster | 28 min |
| Dec 10, 11:33 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Perry, Union, Williamson | 42 min |
| Dec 10, 11:37 PM CST | Tornado Warning | PAH | Spencer | 34 min |
| Dec 10, 11:40 PM CST | Tornado Warning | PAH | Calloway | 15 min |
| Dec 11, 12:03 AM CST | Tornado Warning | PAH | Christian, Trigg | 42 min |
| Dec 11, 12:08 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Saline, Wayne, White and 1 more | 32 min |
| Dec 11, 12:29 AM CST | Tornado Warning | PAH | Todd | 21 min |
| Dec 11, 1:46 AM CST | Flash Flood Warning | PAH | Calloway, Christian, Todd, Trigg | 8 hr |
| Dec 11, 1:49 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Christian, Todd | 26 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
- Mesoscale Discussion 1992 Tornado watch 552
- Mesoscale Discussion 1994 Tornado watch 554
- Mesoscale Discussion 1995 Tornado watch 552
- Mesoscale Discussion 1996 Tornado watch 552...553...557
- Mesoscale Discussion 1999 Tornado watch 552...554
- Mesoscale Discussion 2001 Tornado watch 552
- Mesoscale Discussion 2003 Tornado watch 554
- Mesoscale Discussion 2005 Tornado watch 557...559
- Mesoscale Discussion 2006 Tornado watch 554
The nearest sounding before it
Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 00:00Z, 5.1 hours before the alert went out and 241 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
- 119 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -33 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 662 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 73 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 341 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 357 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
As transmitted.
737 WWUS20 KWNS 110458 SEL9 SPC WW 110458 ILZ000-INZ000-KYZ000-MOZ000-111100- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 559 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 1100 PM CST Fri Dec 10 2021 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Southern Illinois Southwest Indiana Western Kentucky Southeast Missouri * Effective this Friday night and Saturday morning from 1100 PM until 500 AM CST. * Primary threats include... Several tornadoes and a couple intense tornadoes likely Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible SUMMARY...Near-term tornado threat will be greatest with a long-track strong to potentially violent tornado in western Kentucky. A tornado and wind threat should persist with an upstream line of storms across southern Illinois into southeast Missouri. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 65 statute miles east and west of a line from 30 miles northeast of Salem IL to 45 miles southeast of Paducah KY. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU9). 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 552...WW 553...WW 554...WW 555...WW 556...WW 557...WW 558... 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 23040. ...Grams
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 10, 7:02 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Calhoun, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe and 4 more | 58 min |
| Dec 10, 7:18 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Champaign, Christian, Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford and 18 more | 87 min |
| Dec 10, 7:47 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Champaign, Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland and 21 more | 8 hr |
| Dec 10, 8:53 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bond, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Clay, Coles and 21 more | 97 min |
| Dec 10, 9:36 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clark, Coles, Cumberland, Edgar, Effingham, Shelby | 54 min |
| Dec 10, 10:09 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Massac | 96 min |
| Dec 10, 11:28 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alexander, Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland and 24 more | 92 min |
| Dec 10, 6:21 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Clark, Crawford, Dubois, Floyd, Harrison, Jefferson and 4 more | 10 hr |
| Dec 10, 8:35 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Harrison | 85 min |
| Dec 10, 10:25 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bartholomew, Benton, Blackford, Boone, Brown, Carroll and 50 more | 95 min |
| Dec 10, 11:08 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dearborn, Decatur, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Hamilton and 16 more | 67 min |
| Dec 10, 11:20 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adams, Allen, Blackford, Carroll, Cass, Dearborn and 27 more | 6 hr |
| Dec 11, 1:46 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bartholomew, Brown, Daviess, Dearborn, Decatur, Delaware and 21 more | 59 min |
| Dec 10, 6:22 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Fulton, Graves, Hickman | 53 min |
| Dec 10, 7:41 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Fulton | 64 min |
| Dec 10, 8:48 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Carlisle, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Lyon, Marshall | 57 min |
| Dec 10, 9:48 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Caldwell, Graves, Hopkins, Lyon, Marshall | 57 min |
| Dec 10, 10:44 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Caldwell, Grayson, Hopkins, McLean, Muhlenberg, Ohio | 61 min |
| Dec 10, 11:36 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Calloway, Christian, Logan, Simpson, Todd, Trigg | 54 min |
| Dec 10, 11:53 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Breckinridge, Bullitt, Grayson, Hardin, Jefferson, Meade and 3 more | 67 min |
| Dec 11, 1:02 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adair, Allen, Anderson, Barren, Bath, Bourbon and 51 more | 88 min |
| Dec 11, 1:05 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Green, Hart, Logan and 2 more | 55 min |
| Dec 11, 1:27 AM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adair, Allen, Anderson, Barren, Bath, Bourbon and 51 more | 7 hr |
| Dec 11, 2:51 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Boyle, Casey, Clark, Estill, Garrard, Jessamine and 4 more | 54 min |
| Dec 11, 5:32 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bell, Breathitt, Clark, Clay, Estill, Jackson and 18 more | 88 min |
| Dec 10, 7:54 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Christian, Crawford, Dallas, Dent, Douglas, Greene and 10 more | 2 hr |
| Dec 10, 9:40 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dunklin, Pemiscot | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Illinois, 2021Tornado Watches in Kentucky, 2021Tornado Watches in Indiana, 2021Every tornado watch in 2021
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.