Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2015
Tornado Watch 59
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 16, 2015, 1:48 PM CDT for Beaver County, Texas County, Oklahoma; 14 counties in Texas. It was in force for 8 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 16, 2015, 1:48 PM CDT (18:48 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 16, 2015, 10:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 8 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 2 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
Counties Beaver County, OK, Texas County, OK, Armstrong County, TX, Carson County, TX, Collingsworth County, TX, Donley County, TX, Gray County, TX, Hansford County, TX, Hemphill County, TX, Hutchinson County, TX, Lipscomb County, TX, Ochiltree County, TX, Potter County, TX, Randall County, TX, Roberts County, TX, Wheeler County, TX
The radar
The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 116 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:49 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
- 30%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 10%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 20%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- 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
33 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 1:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Hansford, Ochiltree | 56 min |
| Apr 16, 2:17 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | AMA | Hutchinson, Roberts | 28 min |
| Apr 16, 2:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Carson, Hutchinson | 66 min |
| Apr 16, 2:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Potter, Randall | 58 min |
| Apr 16, 2:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Beaver | 56 min |
| Apr 16, 2:45 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | AMA | Roberts | 30 min |
| Apr 16, 2:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Ochiltree | 58 min |
| Apr 16, 3:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Carson, Potter | 57 min |
| Apr 16, 3:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Roberts | 38 min |
| Apr 16, 3:12 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Potter, Randall | 30 min |
| Apr 16, 3:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Carson, Hutchinson | 44 min |
| Apr 16, 3:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Beaver | 54 min |
| Apr 16, 3:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Roberts | 63 min |
| Apr 16, 3:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Armstrong, Carson | 28 min |
| Apr 16, 3:52 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | AMA | Carson | 7 min |
| Apr 16, 4:12 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Carson, Gray, Hutchinson, Roberts | 63 min |
| Apr 16, 4:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Gray, Roberts | 60 min |
| Apr 16, 5:01 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | AMA | Gray | 29 min |
| Apr 16, 5:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Hemphill | 32 min |
| Apr 16, 5:16 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | AMA | Gray, Roberts | 29 min |
| Apr 16, 5:25 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | AMA | Hemphill | 35 min |
| Apr 16, 5:39 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | AMA | Gray, Wheeler | 51 min |
| Apr 16, 5:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Hemphill, Lipscomb, Roberts | 59 min |
| Apr 16, 5:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Collingsworth, Donley, Gray, Wheeler | 61 min |
| Apr 16, 6:20 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | AMA | Hemphill, Wheeler | 25 min |
| Apr 16, 6:30 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | AMA | Gray, Wheeler | 45 min |
| Apr 16, 6:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Hemphill, Lipscomb | 45 min |
| Apr 16, 6:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Donley | 33 min |
| Apr 16, 6:58 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | AMA | Wheeler | 37 min |
| Apr 16, 7:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Wheeler | 54 min |
| Apr 16, 7:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Gray | 31 min |
| Apr 16, 7:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | AMA | Wheeler | 66 min |
| Apr 16, 8:39 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | AMA | Wheeler | 4 hr |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 12:00Z, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 116 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 246 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -181 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2122 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 160 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 172 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
646
WWUS20 KWNS 161845
SEL9
SPC WW 161845
OKZ000-TXZ000-170300-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 59
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
145 PM CDT THU APR 16 2015
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
THE EASTERN OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE
THE EASTERN TEXAS PANHANDLE
* EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 145 PM UNTIL
1000 PM CDT.
* PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE...
A COUPLE TORNADOES POSSIBLE
SCATTERED LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED VERY LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 2
INCHES IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE
ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE
SUMMARY...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG A STATIONARY FRONT/DRYLINE
WILL MOVE NEWD ACROSS THE ERN TX/OK PANHANDLES THROUGH THE
AFTERNOON/EVENING. SUPERCELLS WILL BE POSSIBLE...WITH A RISK FOR
LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING GUSTS...AND A COUPLE OF TORNADOES.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 40 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 95 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF
BORGER TEXAS TO 70 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF BORGER TEXAS. FOR A
COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE
UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU9).
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH
AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
&&
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23020.
...THOMPSONSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 12:17 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaver, Harper | 118 min |
| Apr 16, 2:42 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Love | 63 min |
| Apr 16, 4:06 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Jackson | 2 hr |
| Apr 16, 4:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Comanche, Cotton, Greer, Harmon, Jackson, Kiowa and 1 more | 7 hr |
| Apr 16, 4:44 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beckham, Blaine, Custer, Dewey, Ellis, Greer and 7 more | 3 hr |
| Apr 16, 4:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Alfalfa, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Custer, Dewey and 9 more | 7 hr |
| Apr 16, 5:06 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beaver, Texas | 84 min |
| Apr 16, 5:29 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cimarron | 91 min |
| Apr 16, 5:41 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Beckham, Roger Mills | 94 min |
| Apr 16, 6:09 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Beckham, Ellis, Greer, Harmon, Roger Mills | 6 hr |
| Apr 16, 12:49 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Armstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Crosby, Donley and 15 more | 116 min |
| Apr 16, 1:34 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Austin, Bastrop, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Bosque and 48 more | 116 min |
| Apr 16, 2:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Anderson, Aransas, Austin, Bastrop, Bee, Bell and 81 more | 8 hr |
| Apr 16, 4:59 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Angelina, Cherokee, Gregg, Hardin, Houston, Jasper and 12 more | 91 min |
| Apr 16, 6:19 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anderson, Aransas, Austin, Bastrop, Bell, Bexar and 84 more | 86 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Texas, 2015Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 2015Every tornado watch in 2015
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.