Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Watches in 2009

Tornado Watch 56

March 23, 200930 counties in Oklahoma

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 23, 2009, 5:19 PM CDT for 30 counties in Oklahoma. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 23, 2009, 5:19 PM CDT (22:19 UTC)
Expired
Mar 24, 2009, 12:00 AM CDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 30 counties

Blaine County, OK, Caddo County, OK, Canadian County, OK, Cleveland County, OK, Comanche County, OK, Cotton County, OK, Creek County, OK, Garfield County, OK, Garvin County, OK, Grady County, OK, Grant County, OK, Jackson County, OK, Kay County, OK, Kingfisher County, OK, Kiowa County, OK, Lincoln County, OK, Logan County, OK, McClain County, OK, Noble County, OK, Oklahoma County, OK, Osage County, OK, Pawnee County, OK, Payne County, OK, Pottawatomie County, OK, Rogers County, OK, Stephens County, OK, Tillman County, OK, Tulsa County, OK, Washington County, OK, Washita County, OK

The radar

The Norman radar (KTLX), 74 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:19 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
40%
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
40%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
20%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
70%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 23, 5:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNKingfisher48 min
Mar 23, 6:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNKingfisher, Logan48 min
Mar 23, 6:40 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNLogan35 min
Mar 23, 6:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNHarmon, Jackson43 min
Mar 23, 6:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNComanche, Kiowa, Tillman39 min
Mar 23, 7:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNJackson, Kiowa, Tillman50 min
Mar 23, 7:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNNoble, Payne50 min
Mar 23, 7:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNComanche64 min
Mar 23, 7:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACreek, Osage, Pawnee53 min
Mar 23, 7:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNComanche, Kiowa, Tillman38 min
Mar 23, 7:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNPayne24 min
Mar 23, 8:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCanadian, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma44 min
Mar 23, 8:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCaddo, Comanche, Grady, Stephens49 min
Mar 23, 8:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACreek, Osage, Pawnee, Tulsa51 min
Mar 23, 8:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNKiowa43 min
Mar 23, 9:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGrady, Stephens48 min
Mar 23, 9:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCaddo, Kiowa, Washita52 min
Mar 23, 9:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOsage21 min
Mar 23, 10:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCaddo, Grady59 min
Mar 23, 10:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNWashita46 min
Mar 23, 10:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCaddo, Canadian38 min
Mar 23, 11:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCleveland, McClain57 min
Mar 23, 11:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCaddo, Canadian, Grady52 min
Mar 23, 11:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNPottawatomie31 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

Lamont, OK (KLMN), launched 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 84 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, Lamont, OK at 12:00Z on 2009-03-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 26 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, Lamont, OK at 12:00Z on 2009-03-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 422 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
26 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-604 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
848 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
422 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
606 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 23, 12:39 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlfalfa, Blaine, Garfield, Grant, Kay, Major96 min
Mar 23, 1:03 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAlfalfa, Garfield, Grant, Kay, Major, Noble and 1 more6 hr
Mar 23, 3:11 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlfalfa, Garfield, Grant, Kay, Noble, Osage and 2 more94 min
Mar 23, 5:08 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlfalfa, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Cleveland, Creek and 13 more97 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 2009Every tornado watch 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.