Alert archive / Oklahoma / Mesoscale Discussions in 2012

Mesoscale Discussion 641

April 30, 20124 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Apr 30, 2012, 11:28 PM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 92 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 30, 2012, 11:28 PM CDT (04:28 UTC)
Expired
May 1, 2012, 1:00 AM CDT
In force
92 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 65 counties

Allen County, KS, Bourbon County, KS, Chautauqua County, KS, Cherokee County, KS, Cowley County, KS, Crawford County, KS, Elk County, KS, Greenwood County, KS, Labette County, KS, Montgomery County, KS, Neosho County, KS, Wilson County, KS, Woodson County, KS, Barton County, MO, Jasper County, MO, Newton County, MO, Beckham County, OK, Blaine County, OK, Caddo County, OK, Canadian County, OK, Carter County, OK, Cleveland County, OK, Comanche County, OK, Cotton County, OK, Craig County, OK, Creek County, OK, Custer County, OK, Delaware County, OK, Garfield County, OK, Garvin County, OK, Grady County, OK, Grant County, OK, Greer County, OK, Hughes County, OK, Jackson County, OK, Kay County, OK, Kingfisher County, OK, Kiowa County, OK, Lincoln County, OK, Logan County, OK, Mayes County, OK, McClain County, OK, Murray County, OK, Noble County, OK, Nowata County, OK, Okfuskee County, OK, Oklahoma County, OK, Okmulgee County, OK, Osage County, OK, Ottawa County, OK, Pawnee County, OK, Payne County, OK, Pontotoc County, OK, Pottawatomie County, OK, Roger Mills County, OK, Rogers County, OK, Seminole County, OK, Stephens County, OK, Tillman County, OK, Tulsa County, OK, Wagoner County, OK, Washington County, OK, Washita County, OK, Wichita County, TX, Wilbarger County, TX

The radar

The Norman radar (KTLX), 46 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:31 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

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 58 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 00:00Z on 2012-05-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2178 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 2012-05-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 47 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
2178 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1251 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
174 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.2
Supercell composite
10.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

229 
ACUS11 KWNS 010429
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 010428
ARZ000-MOZ000-OKZ000-KSZ000-TXZ000-010600-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0641
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1128 PM CDT MON APR 30 2012

AREAS AFFECTED...PORTIONS OK...SERN KS...SWRN MO...SMALL PART OF NW
TX.

CONCERNING...TORNADO WATCH 212...214...215...

VALID 010428Z - 010600Z

THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FOR TORNADO WATCH
212...214...215...CONTINUES.

SUPERCELLS EARLIER OVER KS/OK BORDER REGION HAVE EVOLVED INTO
WELL-DEFINED BOW ECHO WITH INTERMITTENT SPIRAL BANDS AND
INTENSE/EMBEDDED BOOKEND VORTEX.  THAT VORTEX WAS CENTERED OVER KAY
COUNTY AS OF 4Z.  ADDITIONAL VORTICES MAY DEVELOP AND GROW UPSCALE
FARTHER SE ALONG LEADING EDGE OF COLD POOL...IN STORM-RELATIVE
SENSE...AS EARLIER CIRCULATIONS ARE SHED BACK INTO COLD POOL.  THESE
MAY POSE TORNADO RISK...WHILE LARGER-SCALE COMPLEX OFFERS ORGANIZED
CHANNEL OF DAMAGING WIND FOR PORTIONS OSAGE/PAWNEE COUNTIES AND
EVENTUALLY AREAS BETWEEN TUL-BVO.

EARLIER FRONT HAS BEEN RENDERED QUASISTATIONARY BY OUTFLOW FROM
TSTMS TO ITS N...AND EXTENDS FROM NRN PORTION OF THIS COMPLEX EWD
OVER EXTREME NERN OK.  PRIND BOWING MCS WILL CONTINUE TO FAVOR
BAROCLINIC CORRIDOR AND ADJOINING PARTS OF WARM SECTOR FOR FORWARD
PROPAGATION INTO MOST FAVORABLY MOIST/UNSTABLE AIR MASS WITH
RELATIVELY MAXIMIZED STORM-RELATIVE INFLOW.  ISOLATED SVR GUSTS AND
LARGE HAIL ALSO MAY OCCUR WITH CONVECTION OVER EXTREME NERN OK AND
ADJACENT PORTIONS SERN KS/SWRN MO.  MODIFIED RAOBS AND FCST
SOUNDINGS DEPICT 1500-2500 J/KG MLCAPE REMAINING FROM
OSAGE/WASHINGTON COUNTIES SWD ACROSS CENTRAL OK.  MLCINH INCREASES
AND CAPE DECREASES WITH SWD EXTENT OVER SRN OK BECAUSE OF DRIER DEW
POINTS THAN FARTHER N...WHICH MAY LIMIT POTENTIAL FOR FURTHER
STRENGTHENING OF SECONDARY TSTM COMPLEX OVER SWRN OK.  AS OF
415Z...EXPANSIVE GUST FRONT ARCS SWD THEN SWD OFF ERN LIMB OF THAT
COMPLEX THAT IS MOVING THROUGH CHK AREA...AND TSTMS FARTHER SW ARE
BEHIND THAT GUST FRONT.  STILL...SWRN/CENTRAL OK CONVECTION MAY
CONTINUE TO POSE RISK OF DAMAGING GUSTS.  RESIDUAL POCKET OF
RELATIVELY UNPERTURBED LOW-LEVEL AIR ALSO RESIDES OVER PORTIONS
CENTRAL/NERN OK...WHICH MAY SUPPORT ISOLATED LARGE HAIL/DAMAGING
GUST POTENTIAL WITH CONVECTION BUILDING OVER ROGER MILLS COUNTY.

..EDWARDS.. 05/01/2012

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

ATTN...WFO...SGF...TSA...TOP...ICT...OUN...

LAT...LON   34459964 35679990 36229811 36939821 37419654 38219627
            37859443 37009415 36379462 35599576 34179698 34089840
            33829841 33889927 34459964

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 30, 7:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAllen, Barton, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua and 19 more7 hr
Apr 30, 8:55 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, Barber, Bourbon, Butler, Chautauqua, Cherokee and 17 more65 min
May 1, 1:19 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCherokee, Labette, Montgomery56 min
May 1, 1:43 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBarry, Christian, Greene, Jasper, Lawrence, McDonald and 3 more3 hr
Apr 30, 9:51 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCCaddo, Canadian, Carter, Cleveland, Comanche, Cotton and 19 more4 hr
Apr 30, 9:37 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBandera, Baylor, Brown, Callahan, Coke, Coleman and 33 more113 min
May 1, 5:43 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrewster, Crane, Crockett, Edwards, Kinney, Maverick and 5 more3 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Oklahoma, 2012Mesoscale Discussions in Kansas, 2012Mesoscale Discussions in Missouri, 2012Every mesoscale discussion in 2012

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.