Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021
Severe Thunderstorm Watch 180
The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 16, 2021, 9:38 PM CDT for 16 counties in Texas. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 16, 2021, 9:38 PM CDT (02:38 UTC)
- Expired
- May 17, 2021, 2:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 2.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 65 kt
Counties Archer County, TX, Baylor County, TX, Clay County, TX, Foard County, TX, Hardeman County, TX, Haskell County, TX, Jack County, TX, Jones County, TX, Knox County, TX, Palo Pinto County, TX, Shackelford County, TX, Stephens County, TX, Throckmorton County, TX, Wichita County, TX, Wilbarger County, TX, Young County, TX
The radar
The Altus AFB radar (KFDR), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:41 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
- 40%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 40%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 40%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 40%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 70%
Warnings issued inside it
12 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 9:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Jack | 62 min |
| May 16, 9:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Foard, Hardeman, Knox | 76 min |
| May 16, 10:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SJT | Haskell, Jones, Shackelford | 42 min |
| May 16, 10:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SJT | Haskell | 36 min |
| May 16, 10:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Knox | 44 min |
| May 16, 10:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Jack | 62 min |
| May 16, 10:46 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SJT | Haskell, Jones | 44 min |
| May 16, 11:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Baylor, Knox | 39 min |
| May 16, 11:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Baylor, Foard, Knox, Wilbarger | 58 min |
| May 16, 11:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Baylor | 52 min |
| May 16, 11:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FWD | Jack, Parker, Wise | 66 min |
| May 17, 12:14 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Archer, Baylor, Knox, Wichita, Wilbarger | 38 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
Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 00:00Z, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 173 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
- 496 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -83 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 815 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 24 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 58 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 137 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.8
The text
As transmitted.
730
WWUS20 KWNS 170235
SEL0
SPC WW 170235
TXZ000-170700-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 180
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
935 PM CDT Sun May 16 2021
The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a
* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of
Western North Texas
* Effective this Sunday night and Monday morning from 935 PM
until 200 AM CDT.
* Primary threats include...
Scattered damaging winds and isolated significant gusts to 75
mph possible
Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2.5
inches in diameter possible
SUMMARY...Multiple supercells producing large hail should move
across a portion of western North Texas through midnight,
potentially merging with a longer-lived cluster producing damaging
winds that should spread southeast.
The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 55
statute miles east and west of a line from 40 miles northwest of
Wichita Falls TX to 105 miles south southwest of Wichita Falls TX.
For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch
outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU0).
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.
&&
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 177...WW 178...WW 179...
AVIATION...A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
2.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 65 knots. A
few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
30025.
...GramsSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 1:09 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Comanche, Cotton, Jefferson, Stephens, Tillman | 96 min |
| May 17, 1:39 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cimarron | 2 hr |
| May 17, 2:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Cimarron, Texas | 8 hr |
| May 17, 5:10 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cimarron, Texas | 2 hr |
| May 16, 7:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Cottle, Crosby, Dickens, Floyd, Garza, Hale and 8 more | 6 hr |
| May 16, 8:54 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Briscoe, Cottle, Foard, Hall, King, Knox and 1 more | 96 min |
| May 16, 10:46 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baylor, Cottle, Dickens, Foard, Haskell, King and 3 more | 59 min |
| May 17, 9:18 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Jasper, Jefferson, Newton, Orange | 117 min |
| May 17, 12:47 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Austin, Bastrop, Bell, Blanco, Brazoria, Brazos and 29 more | 88 min |
| May 17, 2:11 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Andrews, Bailey, Borden, Castro, Cochran, Crane and 20 more | 2 hr |
| May 17, 3:04 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Andrews, Bailey, Borden, Briscoe, Castro, Cochran and 39 more | 8 hr |
| May 17, 4:44 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baylor, Childress, Cottle, Fisher, Foard, Hardeman and 10 more | 6 hr |
| May 17, 4:53 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baylor, Callahan, Childress, Cottle, Fisher, Foard and 11 more | 97 min |
| May 17, 5:36 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Andrews, Armstrong, Bailey, Borden, Briscoe, Castro and 38 more | 84 min |
| May 17, 6:13 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dimmit, La Salle, Webb | 92 min |
| May 17, 6:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Dimmit, Frio, La Salle, Maverick, Webb, Zavala | 4 hr |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Texas, 2021Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.