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Major National Winter Storm Dec 25-28


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For the cold sector:

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 2211

NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK

1211 PM CST TUE DEC 25 2012

AREAS AFFECTED...S-CNTRL/SERN/E-CNTRL OK...W-CNTRL/CNTRL/N-CNTRL AR

CONCERNING...WINTER MIXED PRECIPITATION

VALID 251811Z - 252315Z

SUMMARY...MIXED PRECIPITATION WILL OCCUR FROM S-CNTRL OK EWD/ENEWD

INTO CNTRL/N-CNTRL AR...WITH A PHASE CHANGE TO SNOW OCCURRING FROM W

TO E THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING.

DISCUSSION...RECENT WATER VAPOR IMAGERY DEPICTS A MID-LEVEL VORT MAX

BECOMING INCREASINGLY SHEARED ACROSS N-CNTRL TX. THE LEADING WARM

CONVEYOR BELT EXHIBITS A SHARP BACK EDGE INVOF THE SABINE RIVER AT

THE INTERFACE OF AN IMPINGING DRY CONVEYOR BELT. STRONG WAA WITHIN

THE WARM CONVEYOR BELT WILL CONTINUE TO YIELD AN INCREASE IN

PRECIPITATION RATES DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS...WHILE

PRECIPITATION IS MAINTAINED ON THE BACKSIDE OF A CORRESPONDING SFC

CYCLONE AS WELL.

...THROUGH 21Z...

ACROSS CNTRL AR...FORECAST SOUNDINGS DEPICT 4-6C TEMPERATURES WITHIN

AN ELEVATED WARM LAYER BETWEEN 900 AND 850 MB...WITH THE LITTLE ROCK

12Z RAOB HAVING SAMPLED 6-7C TEMPERATURES IN THAT LAYER. MELTING

PROCESSES/LATENT COOLING AND INCREASING FORCING FOR ASCENT HAVE

LIKELY CONTRIBUTED TO SOME COOLING ALOFT...THOUGH THE WARM LAYER

WILL LIKELY STILL BE SUFFICIENT FOR HYDROMETEOR MELTING. AND...WITH

MANY SFC OBSERVATIONS INDICATING WET-BULB ZERO TEMPERATURES BELOW

0C...FREEZING RAIN WITH RATES OF 0.05-0.10 IN/HR MAY EVOLVE.

FARTHER TO THE N/W ACROSS N-CNTRL AR INTO PARTS OF E-CNTRL

OK...COOLER TEMPERATURE PROFILES ALOFT WILL SUPPORT ONLY PARTIAL

MELTING OF HYDROMETEORS ATOP SUBFREEZING WET-BULB ZERO SFC

TEMPERATURES...YIELDING SLEET/SNOW. SNOWFALL RATES OF 1-1.5 IN/HR

MAY ENSUE WITHIN BANDS OF HEAVIER PRECIPITATION...OWING TO STRONG

MESOSCALE ASCENT ACCOMPANYING FRONTOGENETIC CIRCULATIONS.

ACROSS S-CNTRL/SERN OK...WARMER LOW-LEVEL PROFILES ARE INITIALLY

SUPPORTING RAIN...THOUGH THE INTRUSION OF A DEEPER LAYER OF COLD AIR

WILL SUPPORT A TRANSITION TO SLEET/SNOW FROM W TO E. SNOWFALL RATES

OF 1-1.5 IN/HR WILL BE POSSIBLE...AS STRONG DCVA PRECEDING THE VORT

MAX CROSSES THE AREA.

...AFTER 21Z...

PRECIPITATION WILL PROGRESSIVELY TRANSITION TO SNOW FROM W TO E AS

DEEPER COLD AIR ENTERS THE AREA...WHILE WRAPPING AROUND THE DEEP

CYCLONE. SNOWFALL RATES OF 1-1.5 IN/HR WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE INTO THE

EVENING...AS ASCENT IS MAINTAINED IN ASSOCIATION WITH CONFLUENT FLOW

ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE CORRESPONDING 700-MB CYCLONE.

..COHEN.. 12/25/2012

ATTN...WFO...LZK...SHV...TSA...FWD...OUN...

post-32-0-21215000-1356459517_thumb.gif

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DISCUSSION...LATE THIS MORNING...THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASE IN CG

LIGHTNING STRIKES ACROSS SE THROUGH EAST CENTRAL TX TO NWRN LA INVOF

A SURFACE LOW NOW LOCATED IN FAR EAST CENTRAL TX /NEAR JASPER TX/.

THIS LIGHTNING AND SIMILAR INCREASE IN REFLECTIVITIES EXTENDED SSWWD

ALONG A DRY LINE/PACIFIC FRONT THROUGH SE TX/UPPER TX COAST /TO THE

N-SW OF THE HOUSTON METRO AREA/. TSTMS /MAINLY ELEVATED/ ALSO

EXTENDED NEWD OF THE SURFACE LOW INTO NWRN LA. THIS INCREASE IN TSTM

DEVELOPMENT IS LIKELY INDICATIVE OF THE ARRIVAL OF STRONG FORCING

FOR ASCENT WITHIN THE EXIT REGION OF A 90-100 KT MIDLEVEL JET

ACCOMPANYING THE POWERFUL SRN PLAINS SHORTWAVE TROUGH. SUBSEQUENT

AND EXPECTED STRENGTHENING OF A SSWLY LLJ WAS EVIDENT OVER

SWRN-CENTRAL LA PER 17Z LCH WSR-88D VAD SHOWING 60 KT AT 1 KM AGL.

THE STRONG VERTICALLY VEERING WINDS HAVE GREATLY ENHANCED THE

EFFECTIVE SRH VALUES UP TO 400-600 M2/S2 TO SUPPORT AN INCREASED

TORNADO THREAT...EXPECTED TO SPREAD EWD THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE SRN

PART OF THE LOWER MS VALLEY...WITHIN THE WARM SECTOR.

MEANWHILE...THE WARM FRONT HAS MOVED N OF WW 692...THOUGH THE WARM

SECTOR ACROSS THIS WW HAS ONLY SLOWLY DESTABILIZED THUS FAR DUE TO

THE MIXING RELATED DECREASE IN THE DEWPOINTS. 18Z SLIDELL SPECIAL

SOUNDING INDICATED AN INVERSION LOCATED BETWEEN 700-800 MB AND THIS

SHOULD CONTINUE TO INHIBIT DEEPER CU DEVELOPMENT UNTIL THE ARRIVAL

OF GREATER ASCENT WITH THE EXIT REGION OF THE IMMEDIATELY UPSTREAM

MIDLEVEL JET. SOME VEERING OF LOW LEVEL WINDS ACROSS SWRN LA SHOULD

ADVECT RICHER MOISTURE INTO SERN LA/SRN MS SUPPORTING STRONGER

DESTABILIZATION TO SUPPORT AN ENVIRONMENT FAVORABLE FOR

SUSTAINED...DEEP UPDRAFTS.

The bolded portions suggest a High Risk forthcoming. Given the 0-6-km bulk shear and the strong Td inversion in the 700-mb column, I think the QLCS will transition to more discrete supercells within the next few hours.

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331

WWUS20 KWNS 251857

SEL5

SPC WW 251857

ALZ000-LAZ000-MSZ000-CWZ000-260200-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 695

NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK

1255 PM CST TUE DEC 25 2012

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A

TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

SOUTHWESTERN AND WEST-CENTRAL ALABAMA

EASTERN AND SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA

CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI

COASTAL WATERS

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 1255 PM UNTIL

800 PM CST.

...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...

DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...

THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 75 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE

POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 125 STATUTE

MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES SOUTHWEST OF

BOOTHVILLE LOUISIANA TO 40 MILES NORTHEAST OF JACKSON

MISSISSIPPI. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE

ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5).

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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO

WATCH NUMBER 692. WATCH NUMBER 692 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER

1255 PM CST. CONTINUE...WW 693...WW 694...

DISCUSSION...WARM SECTOR SPREADING INLAND ACROSS WW AREA WILL BECOME

INCREASINGLY JUXTAPOSED WITH STRENGTHENING DEEP SHEAR AND ENLARGED

LOW-LEVEL HODOGRAPHS. MCS MOVING EWD INTO THIS REGIME WILL

ENCOUNTER MLCAPE 500-1500 J/KG...WITH EFFECTIVE SRH MAXIMIZED NEAR

WARM FRONT AT 400-600 J/KG. ANY RELATIVELY SUSTAINED/DISCRETE

SUPERCELLS WILL OFFER RISK OF LONG-TRACKED/DAMAGING TORNADOES.

DAMAGING GUSTS AND OCNL TORNADOES ARE ALSO LIKELY FROM QLCS/LEW/BOW

STRUCTURES.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL

SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE

WIND GUSTS TO 65 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO

500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24040.

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This is the first tornado outbreak I can remember in my young life that has happened so close to the winter solstice. Since the sun will be setting at around 5:30-6:00 around most of the south, doesn't this mean there is a much smaller window for these areas to be in the sunlight and destabilize, and thus a much smaller window for supercells to form? Or will warm air advection override the sun going down?

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This is the first tornado outbreak I can remember in my young life that has happened so close to the winter solstice. Since the sun will be setting at around 5:30-6:00 around most of the south, doesn't this mean there is a much smaller window for these areas to be in the sunlight and destabilize, and thus a much smaller window for supercells to form? Or will warm air advection override the sun going down?

Being late December, there isn't as much instability (especially further north) as there would be in April of course. Sunlight would keep things going maybe a little longer, but the extreme dynamics of this system is going to make up for the fact of shorter days. That being said, if we were in a situation in, say, May where the sun was out all day and temps warmed to the upper 70's to lower 80's, then we wouldn't even be discussing the amount of instability out there.

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SPC keeps MDT Risk at 20Z, but cuts it from KHEZ-KLFT eastward:

activity_loop.gif

DAY 1 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK

NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK

0150 PM CST TUE DEC 25 2012

VALID 252000Z - 261200Z

...THERE IS A MDT RISK OF SVR TSTMS OVER PARTS OF SRN/ERN

LA...CENTRAL/SRN MS...ANS WEST CENTRAL/SWRN AL...

...THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS FROM THE LOWER MS AND TN

VALLEYS EWD INTO THE SERN STATES...

...A SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK CONTINUING ACROSS THE GULF COAST

STATES...

LITTLE CHANGES NEEDED TO THE PREVIOUS OUTLOOK...EXCEPT TO CLEAR WRN

PART OF THE OUTLOOK AREA AS THE LINE OF SEVERE STORMS MOVES EWD

ACROSS PARTS OF LA AND EXTREME SERN TX.

SURFACE LOW CURRENTLY OVER WEST CENTRAL LA IS EXPECTED TO MOVE NEWD

TOWARD THE TN VALLEY TONIGHT...AS A WARM FRONT ACROSS SRN PARTS OF

MS AND AL LIFTS NWD. 19Z SURFACE MESOANALYSIS SHOWS LARGE PRESSURE

FALLS CONCENTRATING JUST NORTH OF THE WARM FRONT FROM NERN LA INTO

WEST CENTRAL MS/SERN AR...SUGGESTING THE LOW LEVEL JET MAY BE

STRENGTHENING ALONG THE AXIS OF THE MS RIVER. THE AIR MASS SOUTH OF

THE WARM FRONT IS CHARACTERIZED BY TEMPERATURES IN THE 70S AND DEW

POINTS IN THE 60S...ALTHOUGH A SMALL DECREASE IN DEW POINT VALUES

HAS BEEN NOTED OVER THE PAST FEW HOURS AS VERTICAL MIXING OCCURS.

OBJECTIVE ANALYSES INDICATE SUFFICIENT INSTABILITY WITH MLCAPE

AROUND 1000 J/KG TO SUPPORT SEVERE STORMS GIVEN STRONG DEEP LAYER

SHEAR /EFFECTIVE SHEAR OF 50-60 KT/.

LATEST RADAR REFLECTIVITY AND NLDN DATA INDICATE NEW CONVECTIVE

STORMS DEVELOPING IN THE WARM SECTOR OVER SOUTH CENTRAL/SERN LA INTO

SRN MS AHEAD OF THE FRONTAL QLCS. THE STRONG DEEP LAYER SHEAR WILL

PROMOTE DEVELOPMENT OF SUPERCELL STRUCTURES...EMBEDDED WITHIN

BOWS/LEWPS ALONG THE QLCS AND WITH DISCRETE CELLS AND CLUSTERS IN

THE WARM SECTOR. DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND TORNADOES WILL BE THE

PRIMARY SEVERE THREATS...INCLUDING POTENTIAL FOR A FEW LONG-TRACK

STRONG TORNADOES WITH ANY PERSISTENT SUPERCELL THAT DEVELOPS.

12Z MODEL CONSENSUS INCLUDING CONVECTION-ALLOWING MODEL SOLUTIONS

SHOW A BOWING QLCS ACCELERATING EWD/ENEWD ACROSS THE LOWER MS VALLEY

THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH THE SEVERE THREAT LIKELY CONTINUING

DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...REACHING AS FAR EAST AS GA AND POSSIBLY

WRN SC BY THE END OF THE PERIOD.

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BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED

TORNADO WARNING

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA

152 PM CST TUE DEC 25 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NEW ORLEANS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...

WESTERN EAST FELICIANA PARISH IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA...

THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF JACKSON...

NORTH CENTRAL POINTE COUPEE PARISH IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA...

WEST FELICIANA PARISH IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA...

THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF ST. FRANCISVILLE...

SOUTHERN WILKINSON COUNTY IN SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI...

* UNTIL 245 PM CST

* AT 149 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR

BATCHELOR...OR 10 MILES NORTHEAST OF MELVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 45

MPH.

* OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO

WAKEFIELD...SPILLMAN...WOODVILLE AND NORWOOD

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Cells are rapidly beginning to rotate in S/C MS with warnings cropping up--I think this is like 05/03/1999 in that the MDT Risk is underdone.

TORNADO WARNING

MSC037-085-252045-

/O.NEW.KJAN.TO.W.0096.121225T1955Z-121225T2045Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED

TORNADO WARNING

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS

155 PM CST TUE DEC 25 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...

LINCOLN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI...

THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF BROOKHAVEN...

EASTERN FRANKLIN COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI...

* UNTIL 245 PM CST

* AT 155 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS DETECTED A

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 6 MILES SOUTH OF

LITTLE SPRINGS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...

LITTLE SPRINGS BY 200 PM CST...

CENTER POINT AND MCCALL CREEK BY 205 PM CST...

WEST LINCOLN AND BOGUE CHITTO BY 215 PM CST...

VAUGHN...LOYD STAR AND ENTERPRISE BY 220 PM CST...

BROOKHAVEN BY 225 PM CST...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A TORNADO WARNING MEANS THAT A TORNADO IS OCCURRING OR IMMINENT. YOU

SHOULD ACTIVATE YOUR TORNADO ACTION PLAN AND TAKE PROTECTIVE ACTION

NOW.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM CST TUESDAY EVENING

FOR NORTHEAST LOUISIANA AND SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI. A SEVERE

THUNDERSTORM WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 400 PM CST TUESDAY

AFTERNOON FOR SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS AND NORTHEAST LOUISIANA AND WEST

CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI.

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