Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Watches in 2002
Tornado Watch 283
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 11, 2002, 6:00 PM CDT for 5 counties in Oklahoma; Hemphill County, Lipscomb County, Roberts County, Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 11, 2002, 6:00 PM CDT (23:00 UTC)
- Expired
- May 11, 2002, 11:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Ellis County, OK, Harper County, OK, Roger Mills County, OK, Woods County, OK, Woodward County, OK, Hemphill County, TX, Lipscomb County, TX, Roberts County, TX
The radar
The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 175 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:04 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
1 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 8:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Woods | 45 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1296 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -195 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 719 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 46 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 494 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 564 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 3.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WWUS20 KWNS 112244 SEL3 SPC WW 112240 OKZ000-TXZ000-120400- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 283 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 540 PM CDT SAT MAY 11 2002 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA NORTHEAST TEXAS PANHANDLE EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 600 PM UNTIL 1100 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 50 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF GAGE OKLAHOMA TO 55 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF GAGE 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 282... DISCUSSION...INCREASING TCU ALONG DRYLINE...DEEP CONVEGENCE...AND WEAK CAP SUGGEST THAT THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP DURING THE NEXT 1-2 HOURS OVER THE NORTHEAST TX PANHANDLE AND NORTHWEST OK. SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE LIKELY. SLIGHTLY BACKED LOW LEVEL WINDS AND STRONG INSTABILITY ALSO SUGGEST THE POTENTIAL FOR A FEW 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 VECTOR 26030. ...HART 370,0982 353,0991 353,1010 370,1001 WWUS20 KWNS 112244 SEL3 SPC WW 112240 OKZ000-TXZ000-120400- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 283 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 540 PM CDT SAT MAY 11 2002 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA NORTHEAST TEXAS PANHANDLE EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 600 PM UNTIL 1100 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 50 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF GAGE OKLAHOMA TO 55 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF GAGE 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 282... DISCUSSION...INCREASING TCU ALONG DRYLINE...DEEP CONVEGENCE...AND WEAK CAP SUGGEST THAT THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP DURING THE NEXT 1-2 HOURS OVER THE NORTHEAST TX PANHANDLE AND NORTHWEST OK. SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE LIKELY. SLIGHTLY BACKED LOW LEVEL WINDS AND STRONG INSTABILITY ALSO SUGGEST THE POTENTIAL FOR A FEW 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 VECTOR 26030. ...HART 370,0982 353,0991 353,1010 370,1001
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 10:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Cotton, Tillman | 4 hr |
| May 11, 1:00 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Alfalfa, Beaver, Ellis, Harper, Roger Mills, Woods and 1 more | 5 hr |
| May 10, 8:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Bailey, Briscoe, Castro, Childress, Cochran, Collingsworth and 17 more | 5 hr |
| May 10, 11:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Armstrong, Carson, Collingsworth, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Donley and 14 more | 5 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 2002Tornado Watches in Texas, 2002Every 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.