Alert archive / Oklahoma / Mesoscale Discussions in 2021

Mesoscale Discussion 1842

October 12, 202116 counties in Oklahoma; 9 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Oct 12, 2021, 7:30 PM CDT for 16 counties in Oklahoma; 9 counties in Texas. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Oct 12, 2021, 7:30 PM CDT (00:30 UTC)
Expired
Oct 12, 2021, 9:30 PM CDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Concerning
Tornado watch 523
All 25 counties

Beaver County, OK, Beckham County, OK, Caddo County, OK, Comanche County, OK, Cotton County, OK, Custer County, OK, Dewey 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, Woodward County, OK, Collingsworth County, TX, Gray County, TX, Hansford County, TX, Hemphill County, TX, Lipscomb County, TX, Ochiltree County, TX, Roberts County, TX, Wheeler County, TX, Wilbarger County, TX

The radar

The Altus AFB radar (KFDR), 125 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:32 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

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 184 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 2021-10-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 165 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 2021-10-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 141 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
165 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-69 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2910 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
141 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
172 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

288 
ACUS11 KWNS 130031
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 130030 
OKZ000-TXZ000-KSZ000-130230-

Mesoscale Discussion 1842
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
0730 PM CDT Tue Oct 12 2021

Areas affected...Eastern Texas Panhandle and Western Oklahoma

Concerning...Tornado Watch 523...

Valid 130030Z - 130230Z

The severe weather threat for Tornado Watch 523 continues.

SUMMARY...The severe weather threat continues across WW 523. The
greatest near-term threat will remain across western OK associated
with isolated supercells, but a second round of storms remains
likely later this evening.

DISCUSSION...Latest regional radar imagery shows a few supercells
moving north/northeastward across far north Texas and western
Oklahoma. The west-central OK supercell has exhibited strong
low-level rotation, indicating that the ample low-level shear over
the region (200-300 m2/s2 0-1 km SRH sampled by the KFDR VWP and
analyzed in recent RAP mesoanalysis) is compensating for lingering
mixed-layer inhibition. The tornado threat associated with this
storm will continue for the near term, and may persist into the late
evening hours as low-level wind fields strengthen in response to the
deepening surface low to the north. 

Additional discrete cells are possible across southwest OK and/or
the eastern TX Panhandle along the warm front within the next 1-2
hours, but weak forcing for ascent, substantial mid-level dry air
entrainment, and the onset of diurnal cooling make confidence in
discrete storm coverage uncertain. Latest hi-res guidance has
depicted this potential, but run-to-run consistency has been
somewhat poor, further reducing confidence. 

Additional storms are likely later this evening/overnight as
stronger lift associated with the approach of the main upper-level
wave (manifesting as increasing showers and weak convection over the
southern High Plains) overspreads the region. Increasingly
meridional flow along the initiating cold front will support mostly
linear storm modes, but increasing low-level shear within the warm
sector should maintain a QLCS tornado threat over the watch area.

..Moore.. 10/13/2021

...Please see www.spc.noaa.gov for graphic product...

ATTN...WFO...OUN...DDC...LUB...AMA...

LAT...LON   34500004 34920063 35460117 36180145 36790146 37010086
            36829988 36679951 36149884 35329834 34639813 34259816
            34069842 34029859 34039936 34500004

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 12, 9:18 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeaver, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Comanche and 12 more117 min
Oct 12, 11:05 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAlfalfa, Beaver, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian and 19 more7 hr
Oct 13, 1:18 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlfalfa, Beckham, Blaine, Custer, Dewey, Ellis and 7 more87 min
Oct 13, 3:26 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlaine, Caddo, Canadian, Garfield, Grant, Jackson and 6 more94 min
Oct 13, 5:16 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCleveland, Creek, Grady, Lincoln, Logan, McClain and 9 more59 min
Oct 13, 7:34 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCherokee, Craig, Delaware, Hughes, McIntosh, Mayes and 9 more116 min
Oct 13, 3:59 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrown, Coleman, Collin, Comanche, Cooke, Denton and 9 more91 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Oklahoma, 2021Mesoscale Discussions in Texas, 2021Every mesoscale discussion in 2021

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.