Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2009

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 52, NWS Amarillo, TX

May 15, 2009Ochiltree County, Roberts County, Texas

NWS Amarillo, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 15, 2009, 3:07 PM CDT for Ochiltree County, Roberts County, Texas. It was in force for 53 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 15, 2009, 3:07 PM CDT (20:07 UTC)
Expired
May 15, 2009, 4:00 PM CDT
In force
53 min
Issued by
NWS Amarillo, TX
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Ochiltree County, TX, Roberts County, TX

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 122 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:10 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 15, 3:02 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 12:00Z, 8.1 hours before the alert went out and 122 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 12:00Z on 2009-05-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2717 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 12:00Z on 2009-05-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 192 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
2717 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-204 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1202 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
192 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
326 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 15, 3:01 PM CDT, 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 15, 3:01 PM CDT, 6 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
301 PM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009

.DISCUSSION...
AS OF 2 PM CDT THE COLD FRONT WAS APPROXIMATELY ALONG A LINE FROM
DUMAS TX TO PERRYTON TX TO GATE OK. THE SEVERE POTENTIAL LOOKS
LIMITED TO THE EASTERN TWO COLUMNS OF COUNTIES IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE
FOR NOW. THOUGH THE PROGRESSION HAS SLOWED A BIT OVER THE LAST 4
HOURS...THE FRONT SHOULD ARRIVE AT AMA AROUND 00Z AND PUSH SOUTH OF
THE PANHANDLES BY 03Z. WITH THIS EARLIER ARRIVAL OF THE
FRONT...LOWERED POPS ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTHWEST PANHANDLES. AFTER
06Z...THE POST FRONTAL FORCING IS MAINLY OROGRAPHICAL...AND WEAKER IN
THE LATEST MODEL RUNS THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT. HOWEVER...MODEL
SOUNDINGS STILL SUGGEST SOME ELEVATED INSTABILITY...SO KEPT POPS
ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN HALF OF THE PANHANDLES THROUGH
18Z. IN ADDITION TO THE IMPACT ON POPS...EXPECT THAT WITH THE FRONT
PUSHING FURTHER SOUTH FASTER THAN PREVIOUSLY EXPECTED...COULD SEE
CLEARING BEGINNING BY 18Z...AND THUS INCREASED TEMPS SLIGHTLY.

BEGINNING SUNDAY...GFS CONTINUES TO SHOW A BROAD RIDGE BUILDING OVER
THE HIGH PLAINS THROUGH AT LEAST MID WEEK. THEREFORE...HAVE KEPT THE
FORECAST DRY PAST SATURDAY. THE GFS AND THE ECMWF STILL SEAM OVERLY
AGGRESSIVE IN BREAKING DOWN THE RIDGE BY THURSDAY. WITH THE LACK OF
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE MODELS AND STILL RUN TO RUN...HAVE KEPT FRIDAY
DRY DESPITE THE GFS ADVERTISING A TROUGH DIGGING THROUGH THE REGION.
KEPT TEMPERATURES CLOSE TO GUIDANCE THROUGH THE EXTENDED.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS WILL BE LOW OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS WITH
RELATIVELY HIGH ATMOSPHERIC MOISTURE AND FAIRLY COOL WEATHER KEEPING
RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES ABOVE 20 PERCENT. AS A WARMING TREND BEGINS
ON SUNDAY...RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES ESPECIALLY OVER THE WESTERN
PANHANDLES COULD DROP TO NEAR 15 PERCENT MONDAY AND TUESDAY...THOUGH
LIGHT WINDS ARE EXPECTED.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
AMARILLO TX                51  63  45  72  48 /  40  20   5   0   0
BEAVER OK                  54  66  43  75  47 /  30  10   5   0   0
BOISE CITY OK              48  64  43  75  50 /  20  10   5   0   0
BORGER TX                  53  65  49  76  53 /  40  20   5   0   0
BOYS RANCH TX              55  66  47  79  50 /  40  20   5   0   0
CANYON TX                  53  66  43  74  47 /  40  20  10   0   0
CLARENDON TX               55  66  46  70  48 /  50  30  10   0   0
DALHART TX                 53  65  44  77  47 /  30  10   5   0   0
GUYMON OK                  51  66  44  75  49 /  20  10   5   0   0
HEREFORD TX                53  67  44  75  46 /  40  20  10   0   0
LIPSCOMB TX                55  65  43  73  47 /  30  20   5   0   0
PAMPA TX                   51  63  48  71  50 /  40  30   5   0   0
SHAMROCK TX                57  67  44  72  48 /  50  30   5   0   0
WELLINGTON TX              59  68  46  72  48 /  60  30  10   0   0

&&

.AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...NONE.
OK...NONE.

&&

09/16
Hazardous weather outlook, May 15, 1:00 PM CDT, 2 hours 7 minutes before
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In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 15, 3:02 PM CDT, 5 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
302 PM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009

TXZ004-005-009-010-152045-
LIPSCOMB TX-OCHILTREE TX-ROBERTS TX-HEMPHILL TX-
302 PM CDT FRI MAY 15 2009

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM ACROSS HEMPHILL...ROBERTS...OCHILTREE AND
LIPSCOMB COUNTIES...

AT 258 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER ROBERTS COUNTY...OR ABOUT 24 MILES SOUTHEAST
OF SPEARMAN...MOVING EAST AT 10 MPH.

UP TO ONE HALF INCH SIZE HAIL AND WINDS AROUND 50 MPH ARE POSSIBLE.

STORM INTENSITY IS INCREASING AND SEVERE WEATHER MAY DEVELOP RAPIDLY.
BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION IF A WARNING IS ISSUED.

NUTTALL

The office that day

Everything else NWS Amarillo, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 3:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAHutchinson, Ochiltree, Roberts37 min
May 15, 4:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMALipscomb33 min
May 15, 4:08 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryAMARoberts3 hr
May 15, 4:29 PM CDTTornado WarningAMAGray, Roberts46 min
May 15, 4:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMACarson, Gray, Hutchinson, Roberts54 min
May 15, 5:03 PM CDTTornado WarningAMAGray, Roberts42 min
May 15, 5:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAArmstrong, Carson, Collingsworth, Donley, Gray, Wheeler58 min
May 15, 5:34 PM CDTTornado WarningAMAGray, Wheeler41 min
May 15, 5:42 PM CDTHigh Wind WarningAMAArmstrong, Carson, Deaf Smith, Oldham, Potter, Randall3 hr
May 15, 6:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAArmstrong, Carson, Donley, Gray51 min
May 15, 6:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMACollingsworth, Donley, Gray, Wheeler61 min
May 15, 6:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMACollingsworth, Wheeler60 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Texas, 2009Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2009

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.