Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Watches in 2008

Tornado Watch 140

March 30, 200822 counties in Oklahoma

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 30, 2008, 5:48 PM CDT for 22 counties in Oklahoma. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 30, 2008, 5:48 PM CDT (22:48 UTC)
Expired
Mar 30, 2008, 11:00 PM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
3 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 22 counties

Alfalfa County, OK, Blaine County, OK, Caddo County, OK, Canadian County, OK, Comanche County, OK, Cotton County, OK, Custer County, OK, Dewey County, OK, Garfield County, OK, Grady County, OK, Grant County, OK, Greer County, OK, Jackson County, OK, Kay County, OK, Kingfisher County, OK, Kiowa County, OK, Logan County, OK, Major County, OK, Noble County, OK, Tillman County, OK, Washita County, OK, Woods County, OK

The radar

The Vance AFB radar (KVNX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:32 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.

What SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
50%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
30%
Ten or more severe hail reports
50%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
30%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
80%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 30, 5:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCuster, Washita47 min
Mar 30, 6:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBeckham, Greer, Kiowa, Washita38 min
Mar 30, 6:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBeckham, Greer, Kiowa, Washita48 min
Mar 30, 6:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCuster, Washita44 min
Mar 30, 7:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNKiowa, Washita41 min
Mar 30, 7:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCaddo, Custer, Washita49 min
Mar 30, 7:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBlaine, Custer, Dewey37 min
Mar 30, 7:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNKiowa, Washita46 min
Mar 30, 8:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCuster, Washita43 min
Mar 30, 8:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBlaine, Caddo, Custer, Washita40 min
Mar 30, 8:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCuster, Washita33 min
Mar 30, 8:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBlaine, Major44 min
Mar 30, 8:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCaddo, Washita48 min
Mar 30, 8:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCuster, Washita48 min
Mar 30, 8:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBlaine, Caddo, Canadian45 min
Mar 30, 8:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNAlfalfa, Garfield, Major49 min
Mar 30, 9:02 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNCaddo43 min
Mar 30, 9:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBlaine, Caddo, Custer, Washita45 min
Mar 30, 9:40 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNCaddo35 min
Mar 30, 9:45 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNCaddo, Washita45 min
Mar 30, 10:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNDewey, Major, Woods, Woodward41 min
Mar 30, 10:15 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNCaddo, Canadian, Grady37 min
Mar 30, 10:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCaddo49 min
Mar 30, 10:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCanadian, Grady44 min
Mar 30, 10:53 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNCaddo, Canadian, Grady37 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, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 127 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, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2008-03-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 590 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2008-03-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 262 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
590 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-85 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
456 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
262 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
248 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
4.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 30, 12:45 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Cherokee, Choctaw, Haskell, Latimer, LeFlore and 7 more2 hr
Mar 30, 9:08 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCMcCurtain2 hr
Mar 30, 3:16 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlfalfa, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Garfield, Grady and 6 more119 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 2008Every tornado watch 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.