Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 38
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 27, 2004, 5:30 PM CST for 17 counties in Oklahoma. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 27, 2004, 5:30 PM CST (23:30 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 27, 2004, 11:00 PM CST
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Alfalfa County, OK, Blaine County, OK, Caddo County, OK, Canadian County, OK, Comanche County, OK, Custer County, OK, Garfield County, OK, Grady County, OK, Grant County, OK, Jackson County, OK, Kay County, OK, Kingfisher County, OK, Kiowa County, OK, Logan County, OK, Major County, OK, Noble County, OK, Washita County, OK
Warnings issued inside it
13 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 27, 5:57 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Alfalfa, Major, Woods, Woodward | 48 min |
| Mar 27, 5:58 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Garfield | 47 min |
| Mar 27, 6:02 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Canadian | 43 min |
| Mar 27, 6:19 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Noble | 41 min |
| Mar 27, 6:29 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Kingfisher | 46 min |
| Mar 27, 6:46 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Alfalfa, Major, Woods, Woodward | 44 min |
| Mar 27, 6:47 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Canadian | 43 min |
| Mar 27, 7:13 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Kingfisher, Logan | 47 min |
| Mar 27, 7:29 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Alfalfa | 46 min |
| Mar 27, 7:54 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Major | 36 min |
| Mar 27, 8:04 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Garfield, Grant | 41 min |
| Mar 27, 8:14 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Alfalfa | 31 min |
| Mar 27, 8:27 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Major | 18 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 100 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
- 44 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -218 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 665 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 25 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 171 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 201 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 272331
SEL8
SPC WW 272330
OKZ000-280500-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 38
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
530 PM CST SAT MAR 27 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
WESTERN AND CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 530 PM UNTIL
1100 PM CST.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 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 30 MILES NORTHWEST OF PONCA CITY OKLAHOMA TO 25
MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF FORT SILL 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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO
WATCH NUMBER 36. WATCH NUMBER 36 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 530
PM CST. CONTINUE...WW 37...
DISCUSSION...POTENTIAL FOR TORNADIC SUPERCELLS WILL CONTINUE NEXT
SEVERAL HOURS AHEAD OF DRY LINE NOW FAR WRN OK. COLD FRONT MOVING
SEWD INTO NWRN OK WILL ALSO RESULT IN INCREASING SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
THREAT AS FRONT OVERTAKES DRY LINE. FAVORABLE DEEP LAYER SHEAR AND
NARROW ZONE OF MODERATE INSTABILITY E OF DRY LINE SHOULD PERSIST
UNTIL FRONT MOVES ACROSS MUCH OF WRN OK LATER THIS EVENING RESULTING
IN A DECREASE IN SUPERCELL POTENTIAL.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24030.
...HALES
370,0964 342,0980 342,0993 370,0981SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 6:00 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaver, Cimarron, Texas | 2 hr |
| Mar 27, 1:55 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cimarron, Texas | 2 hr |
| Mar 27, 7:12 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alfalfa, Beckham, Blaine, Custer, Dewey, Ellis and 9 more | 93 min |
| Mar 27, 9:12 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Harper, Woods | 3 hr |
| Mar 27, 9:58 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beckham, Ellis, Greer, Harmon, Roger Mills | 2 hr |
| Mar 27, 12:07 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alfalfa, Blaine, Canadian, Custer, Dewey, Ellis and 11 more | 113 min |
| Mar 27, 12:30 PM CST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alfalfa, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Comanche and 17 more | 6 hr |
| Mar 27, 1:58 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cotton, Tillman | 2 hr |
| Mar 27, 2:34 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alfalfa, Blaine, Custer, Dewey, Garfield, Grant and 7 more | 116 min |
| Mar 27, 3:53 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adair, Cherokee, Delaware, Haskell, Hughes, McIntosh and 6 more | 2 hr |
| Mar 27, 5:08 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alfalfa, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Comanche, Custer and 14 more | 37 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 2004Every tornado watch in 2004
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.