Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2001

Tornado Watch 251

May 19, 2001Cimarron County, Texas County, Oklahoma; 28 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 19, 2001, 3:30 PM CDT for Cimarron County, Texas County, Oklahoma; 28 counties in Texas. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 19, 2001, 3:30 PM CDT (20:30 UTC)
Expired: May 19, 2001, 10:00 PM CDT
In force: 7 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 30 counties

Cimarron County, OK, Texas County, OK, Armstrong County, TX, Briscoe County, TX, Carson County, TX, Castro County, TX, Childress County, TX, Collingsworth County, TX, Cottle County, TX, Dallam County, TX, Deaf Smith County, TX, Donley County, TX, Floyd County, TX, Gray County, TX, Hale County, TX, Hall County, TX, Hansford County, TX, Hartley County, TX, Hutchinson County, TX, Lamb County, TX, Moore County, TX, Motley County, TX, Ochiltree County, TX, Oldham County, TX, Parmer County, TX, Potter County, TX, Randall County, TX, Roberts County, TX, Sherman County, TX, Swisher County, TX

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 59 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:34 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.

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 19, 4:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LUB	Childress, Hall	43 min
May 19, 5:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LUB	Childress	29 min

The nearest sounding before it

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 12:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 59 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: 2851 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -78 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 763 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 257 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 411 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 18.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS9 KMKC 192026
SEL1  

SEL1  
MKC WW 192018
NMZ000-OKZ000-TXZ000-200300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 251
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
318 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2001

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

   NORTHEAST NEW MEXICO                         
   OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE                           
   TEXAS PANHANDLE                              

EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 330 PM UNTIL
1000 PM 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 80 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES WEST OF ELKHART KANSAS TO 30 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF PLAINVIEW TEXAS.

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 249...WW 250...

DISCUSSION...SCATTERED SEVERE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO RAPIDLY
DEVELOP ACROSS EXTREME NORTHEAST NM AND THE TX/OK PANHANDLES DURING
THE NEXT FEW HOURS.  EXTREME INSTABILITY WITH SBCAPE VALUES OVER
4000 J/KG AND INCREASING VERTICAL SHEAR PROFILES WILL SUPPORT
SUPERCELLS PRODUCING LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND ISOLATED
TORNADOES.

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 VECTO6R 24035.

...HART

;365,1004 335,0995 335,1024 365,1033;

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 19, 1:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Comanche, Cotton and 12 more	5 hr
May 19, 4:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Carter, Comanche, Cotton, Garvin, Greer, Harmon and 6 more	5 hr
May 18, 8:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Bowie, Cass	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 2001 Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 2001 Every tornado watch in 2001

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.