Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Watches in 2000

Tornado Watch 345

May 24, 200015 counties in Oklahoma; Wilbarger County, Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 24, 2000, 9:00 PM CDT for 15 counties in Oklahoma; Wilbarger County, Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 24, 2000, 9:00 PM CDT (02:00 UTC)
Expired: May 25, 2000, 2:00 AM CDT
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Carter County, OK, Coal County, OK, Comanche County, OK, Cotton County, OK, Garvin County, OK, Grady County, OK, Hughes County, OK, Jefferson County, OK, Johnston County, OK, Kiowa County, OK, McClain County, OK, Murray County, OK, Pontotoc County, OK, Stephens County, OK, Tillman County, OK, Wilbarger County, TX

Warnings issued inside it

3 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 24, 9:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Grady	42 min
May 24, 10:33 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Grady	42 min
May 24, 11:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Grady	50 min

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 97 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.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 4553 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -94 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1645 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 91 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 220 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.2
Supercell composite: 20.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

299 
WWUS9 KMKC 250141
SEL5  
MKC WW 250141
OKZ000-250700-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 345
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
841 PM CDT WED MAY 24 2000

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA                           

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING FROM 900 PM
UNTIL 200 AM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 90 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF ARDMORE OKLAHOMA TO 60
MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF ARDMORE OKLAHOMA.

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 341...WW 342...WW
343...WW 344...

DISCUSSION...SUPERCELLS MOVING ALONG SURFACE BOUNDARY WHERE AIR
MASS VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE WITH CAPES NEAR 5000 J/KG. STRONGLY
VEERING WIND PROFILE INDICATE CONTINUED THREAT OF TORNADIC
SUPERCELLS.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27035.

...ROGASH

350,0954 340,0961 340,0992 350,0990

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 24, 9:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Adair, Cherokee, Delaware, Haskell, Latimer, LeFlore and 5 more	6 hr
May 25, 12:00 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Caddo, Canadian, Cleveland, Creek, Garfield, Garvin and 21 more	5 hr
May 25, 3:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Cimarron	5 hr
May 25, 5:15 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Jackson	5 hr
May 25, 6:30 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Beaver, Harmon, Texas	6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 2000 Tornado Watches in Texas, 2000 Every tornado watch in 2000

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.