Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2002

Tornado Watch 101

April 16, 200210 counties in Oklahoma; 18 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 16, 2002, 7:45 PM CDT for 10 counties in Oklahoma; 18 counties in Texas. It was in force for 4 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Apr 16, 2002, 7:45 PM CDT (00:45 UTC)
Expired: Apr 17, 2002, 12:00 AM CDT
In force: 4 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 28 counties

Choctaw County, OK, Haskell County, OK, Latimer County, OK, LeFlore County, OK, McCurtain County, OK, McIntosh County, OK, Muskogee County, OK, Pittsburg County, OK, Pushmataha County, OK, Sequoyah County, OK, Camp County, TX, Delta County, TX, Fannin County, TX, Franklin County, TX, Gregg County, TX, Henderson County, TX, Hopkins County, TX, Hunt County, TX, Kaufman County, TX, Lamar County, TX, Morris County, TX, Rains County, TX, Red River County, TX, Smith County, TX, Titus County, TX, Upshur County, TX, Van Zandt County, TX, Wood County, TX

The radar

The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 189 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:46 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 16, 8:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Hunt	44 min
Apr 16, 8:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Hopkins	60 min
Apr 16, 8:43 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Pushmataha	47 min
Apr 16, 8:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	FWD	Kaufman	46 min
Apr 16, 9:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Franklin	64 min
Apr 16, 9:31 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Pushmataha	44 min
Apr 16, 9:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Titus	43 min
Apr 16, 9:40 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	TSA	Pushmataha	2 hr
Apr 16, 10:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Morris	33 min

The nearest sounding before it

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 176 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: 165 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -194 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1686 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 83 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 158 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 170037
SEL1  
SPC WW 170032
OKZ000-TXZ000-170500-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 101
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
732 PM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

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

   EASTERN OKLAHOMA                           
   NORTHEAST TEXAS                              

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 745 PM
UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 60 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 45 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF TYLER TEXAS TO 20 MILES
EAST NORTHEAST OF MUSKOGEE 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 96...WW 97...WW 98...WW
99...WW 100...

DISCUSSION...SUPERCELL CLUSTER OVER N CENTRAL TX MAY EXPECTED TO
SPREAD NEWD DURING NEXT SEVERAL HOURS INTO HUMID BOUNDARY LAYER
ENVIRONMENT OF MODERATE SHEAR...WITH EXISTING SUPERCELLS LIKELY TO
MAINTAIN SOME TORNADIC POTENTIAL. 

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 50 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.

...CORFIDI

354,0941 315,0945 315,0962 354,0955

WWUS20 KWNS 170037
SEL1  
SPC WW 170032
OKZ000-TXZ000-170500-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 101
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
732 PM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

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

   EASTERN OKLAHOMA                           
   NORTHEAST TEXAS                              

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 745 PM
UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 60 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 45 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF TYLER TEXAS TO 20 MILES
EAST NORTHEAST OF MUSKOGEE 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 96...WW 97...WW 98...WW
99...WW 100...

DISCUSSION...SUPERCELL CLUSTER OVER N CENTRAL TX MAY EXPECTED TO
SPREAD NEWD DURING NEXT SEVERAL HOURS INTO HUMID BOUNDARY LAYER
ENVIRONMENT OF MODERATE SHEAR...WITH EXISTING SUPERCELLS LIKELY TO
MAINTAIN SOME TORNADIC POTENTIAL. 

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 50 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.

...CORFIDI

354,0941 315,0945 315,0962 354,0955

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 17, 5:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Alfalfa, Ellis, Grant, Harper, Major, Woods and 1 more	6 hr
Apr 17, 6:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Beckham, Blaine, Comanche, Custer, Dewey, Greer and 6 more	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 2002 Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 2002 Every tornado watch in 2002

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.