Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2016

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 201

May 23, 201610 counties in Oklahoma; 11 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 23, 2016, 11:45 PM CDT for 10 counties in Oklahoma; 11 counties in Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 23, 2016, 11:45 PM CDT (04:45 UTC)
Expired
May 24, 2016, 4:35 AM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 21 counties

Beckham County, OK, Custer County, OK, Ellis County, OK, Greer County, OK, Harmon County, OK, Jackson County, OK, Kiowa County, OK, Roger Mills County, OK, Tillman County, OK, Washita County, OK, Armstrong County, TX, Carson County, TX, Collingsworth County, TX, Donley County, TX, Gray County, TX, Hemphill County, TX, Hutchinson County, TX, Lipscomb County, TX, Ochiltree County, TX, Roberts County, TX, Wheeler County, TX

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 141 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:46 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
10%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
5%
Ten or more severe wind reports
20%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
Ten or more severe hail reports
30%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
30%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
40%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 24, 12:23 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGreer, Harmon, Jackson39 min
May 24, 12:36 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNJackson, Kiowa, Tillman54 min
May 24, 1:20 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningOUNJackson, Tillman3 hr
May 24, 1:23 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNJackson, Kiowa, Tillman52 min
May 24, 1:32 AM CDTTornado WarningOUNTillman28 min
May 24, 1:41 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNTillman34 min
May 24, 2:08 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNTillman52 min
May 24, 2:47 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCotton, Tillman58 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

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 00:00Z, 4.8 hours before the alert went out and 140 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 00:00Z on 2016-05-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 61 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 00:00Z on 2016-05-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 11 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
61 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-39 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
3551 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
11 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
12 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

854 
WWUS20 KWNS 240444
SEL1  
SPC WW 240444
OKZ000-TXZ000-241000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 201
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1145 PM CDT MON MAY 23 2016

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 
  WESTERN OKLAHOMA
  EASTERN PANHANDLE OF TEXAS

* EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING FROM 1145 PM
  UNTIL 500 AM CDT.

* PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE...
  ISOLATED VERY LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 2.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER
    POSSIBLE
  ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE

SUMMARY...LOOSELY ORGANIZED BUT INTERMITTENTLY SEVERE AREA OF
THUNDERSTORMS MAY SPREAD NORTHWARD AND NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE
WATCH AREA...AS WE GO DEEPER INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.  THE MAIN
THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL...AND A FEW DAMAGING OR SEVERE GUSTS ALSO
ARE POSSIBLE.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 50
STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF A LINE FROM 110 MILES WEST NORTHWEST
OF CLINTON OKLAHOMA TO 35 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF ALTUS OKLAHOMA.
 FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU1).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR 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. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY
DO PRODUCE TORNADOES.

&&

AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 2.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60
KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 24015.


...EDWARDS

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 23, 8:58 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeckham, Custer, Dewey, Ellis, Greer, Harmon and 5 more92 min
May 23, 11:22 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeckham, Custer, Dewey, Ellis, Greer, Harmon and 7 more83 min
May 24, 1:25 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGarfield, Kay, Kingfisher, Logan, Major, Noble and 3 more2 hr
May 24, 2:31 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeaver, Beckham, Ellis, Harper, Roger Mills, Woodward119 min
May 24, 3:22 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCBeaver, Beckham, Ellis, Harper, Roger Mills, Texas and 2 more9 hr
May 24, 4:27 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCherokee, Creek, Haskell, Latimer, Lincoln, McIntosh and 8 more63 min
May 24, 4:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAdair, Coal, Creek, Haskell, Hughes, Latimer and 16 more7 hr
May 24, 6:14 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeaver, Beckham, Ellis, Harper, Roger Mills91 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Texas, 2016Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Oklahoma, 2016Every severe thunderstorm watch in 2016

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.