Alert archive / Texas / Mesoscale Discussions in 2008

Mesoscale Discussion 521

March 31, 200810 counties in Oklahoma; 42 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Mar 31, 2008, 12:20 PM CDT for 10 counties in Oklahoma; 42 counties in Texas. It was in force for 55 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 31, 2008, 12:20 PM CDT (17:20 UTC)
Expired
Mar 31, 2008, 1:15 PM CDT
In force
55 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 52 counties

Atoka County, OK, Bryan County, OK, Carter County, OK, Choctaw County, OK, Cotton County, OK, Jefferson County, OK, Johnston County, OK, Love County, OK, Marshall County, OK, Pushmataha County, OK, Archer County, TX, Bosque County, TX, Brown County, TX, Callahan County, TX, Clay County, TX, Coleman County, TX, Collin County, TX, Comanche County, TX, Concho County, TX, Cooke County, TX, Coryell County, TX, Dallas County, TX, Delta County, TX, Denton County, TX, Eastland County, TX, Ellis County, TX, Erath County, TX, Fannin County, TX, Grayson County, TX, Hamilton County, TX, Hill County, TX, Hood County, TX, Hunt County, TX, Jack County, TX, Johnson County, TX, Kaufman County, TX, Lamar County, TX, Lampasas County, TX, McCulloch County, TX, Mills County, TX, Montague County, TX, Palo Pinto County, TX, Parker County, TX, Rockwall County, TX, San Saba County, TX, Shackelford County, TX, Somervell County, TX, Stephens County, TX, Tarrant County, TX, Wichita County, TX, Wise County, TX, Young County, TX

The radar

The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 79 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:22 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.

The watches that followed

Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.

The nearest sounding before it

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 12:00Z, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 53 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 2008-03-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1777 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 2008-03-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 169 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
1777 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-36 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
564 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
169 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
241 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.3
Supercell composite
7.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
ACUS11 KWNS 311720
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 311720 
OKZ000-TXZ000-311815-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0521
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1220 PM CDT MON MAR 31 2008

AREAS AFFECTED...FAR SRN/SERN OK INTO NRN/CENTRAL TX

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...WATCH LIKELY 

VALID 311720Z - 311815Z

WW WILL LIKELY BE REQUIRED DURING THE EARLY AFTERNOON ACROSS FAR
SRN/SERN OK INTO NRN AND PARTS OF CENTRAL TX.

LATE MORNING SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWED DRY LINE MIXING EWD WITH
INCREASING CONVERGENCE NOTED THROUGH A DEEP LAYER PER OBJECTIVE
ANALYSES FROM SWRN OK SWD THROUGH WRN N TX /W OF SPS/ TO ABI TO TX
BIG BEND REGION.  SUBSIDENCE IN THE WAKE OF A GRAVITY WAVE...WHICH
WAS CURRENTLY MOVING ESEWD THROUGH ERN AND SOUTH CENTRAL TX...HAD
RESULTED IN MAINLY CLEAR SKIES WWD ACROSS MUCH OF CENTRAL/WRN TX. 
THIS HAS RESULTED IN STRONG SURFACE HEATING WITHIN A MOIST AIR MASS.
THUS...FURTHER DESTABILIZATION IS EXPECTED AS MLCAPE VALUES INCREASE
TO GREATER THAN 1500 J/KG.

WATER VAPOR IMAGERY INDICATED A MID/UPPER LEVEL SHORT WAVE TROUGH
CURRENTLY MOVING INTO FAR ERN NM/W TX...WITH MID TO UPPER LEVEL
WSWLY FLOW ACROSS THE SRN PLAINS STRENGTHENING WITH APPROACH OF THIS
TROUGH.  ASCENT WITH THIS FEATURE IS EXPECTED TO AID IN TSTM
DEVELOPMENT...WITH VISIBLE IMAGERY ALREADY SHOWING CU FORMATION IN
THE VICINITY OF BWD AND NWD ALONG DRY LINE.  MODERATE INSTABILITY
AND INCREASING DEEP LAYER SHEAR VALUES WILL SUPPORT DISCRETE
SUPERCELLS.

..PETERS.. 03/31/2008

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...TSA...FWD...OUN...EWX...SJT...

34699506 33149559 32369657 31419759 30869893 31260015
32879932 34219872 34219872 34849867 34319817 34319705

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 30, 8:50 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlfalfa, Blaine, Canadian, Custer, Garfield, Grant and 4 more55 min
Mar 30, 10:52 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAlfalfa, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Cleveland, Creek and 16 more6 hr
Mar 31, 1:17 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlfalfa, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Cleveland, Creek and 16 more88 min
Mar 31, 2:52 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGarfield, Grant, Kay, Logan, Noble, Osage and 2 more53 min
Mar 31, 4:00 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCPawnee90 min
Mar 31, 4:29 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCraig, Creek, Kay, Mayes, Nowata, Osage and 5 more91 min
Mar 31, 5:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCCraig, Mayes, Nowata, Osage, Pawnee, Rogers and 2 more7 hr
Mar 31, 6:17 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCraig, Delaware, Kay, Mayes, Nowata, Osage and 6 more88 min
Mar 31, 7:50 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlaine, Craig, Garfield, Kay, Kingfisher, Logan and 9 more85 min
Mar 31, 8:44 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAdair, Caddo, Canadian, Cherokee, Cleveland, Coal and 37 more7 hr
Mar 31, 10:30 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Caddo, Canadian, Cherokee, Cleveland, Coal and 37 more60 min
Mar 31, 2:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAtoka, Bryan, Carter, Choctaw, Jefferson, Johnston and 3 more7 hr
Mar 31, 3:04 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Cherokee, Coal, Haskell, Hughes, Latimer and 6 more26 min
Mar 31, 3:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAdair, Cherokee, Choctaw, Coal, Haskell, Hughes and 8 more7 hr
Mar 31, 3:49 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtoka, Bryan, Carter, Choctaw, Jefferson, Johnston and 3 more56 min
Mar 31, 6:12 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCMcCurtain7 hr
Mar 31, 5:28 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBowie, Red River62 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Texas, 2008Mesoscale Discussions in Oklahoma, 2008Every mesoscale discussion in 2008

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.