Overview
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An intense squall line moved quickly east across the region during the evening of March 15th. Damaging winds of 60 to 70 mph occurred with this line along with several circulations that produced at least a couple of tornadoes. There have been 2 confirmed tornadoes from this event so far, both in southeast Missouri. |
Tornadoes
Select a tornado from the table to zoom into the track and view more information. The default table view is limited to 8 tracks, but can be scrolled by a mouse wheel or dynamically expanded. Additionally, the table can fill the entire window by clicking the small circular expanding arrow icon at the very top right of the table and returned to its original size by clicking the button again. The side information panel that opens over the map can be closed using the "X" on the upper right corner of the pop-up. Zoom into the map and click damage points to see detailed information and pictures from the surveys.
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NOTE: times shown below are local to your device's time zone. |
The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:
| EF0 Weak 65-85 mph |
EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph |
EF2 Significant 111-135 mph |
EF3 Severe 136-165 mph |
EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph |
EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph |
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| Tornadoes that fail to impact any ratable damage indicators on the EF-Scale are rated EF-Unknown (EF-U) | |||||
Storm Reports
Here is an interactive map of local storm reports from this event. The map also contains all of the Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado warnings issued.
Environment
A deep mid to upper level trough was evident pushing east towards the Mississippi Valley during the late afternoon into the evening. At the surface, low pressure was moving across central Illinois with a strong cold front extending south. The strong lift along the front allowed the squall line to develop and rapidly push eastward.
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| 500mb chart at 7 PM March 15th | Mean Sea Level Pressure at 6 PM March 15th |
Instability was somewhat weak with this event, but it was enough to generate surface based convection and allow strong winds down to the surface. Mixed layer CAPE of 500-1000 j/kg was observed ahead of the line of storms. Wind shear was high, with deep layer (0-6 km) values around 60 knots and low level (0-1 km) in the 35-40 knot range.
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| Mixed Layer CAPE at 6 PM March 15th | 0-6 km bulk shear at 6 PM March 15th | 0-1 km shear at 6 PM March 15th |
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