Alert archive / Texas / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 44

March 22, 20217 counties in Oklahoma; 24 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Mar 22, 2021, 2:31 PM CDT for 7 counties in Oklahoma; 24 counties in Texas. It was in force for 4 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 22, 2021, 2:31 PM CDT (19:31 UTC)
Expired
Mar 22, 2021, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1 in
Strongest gust expected
65 kt
All 31 counties

Comanche County, OK, Cotton County, OK, Greer County, OK, Harmon County, OK, Jackson County, OK, Kiowa County, OK, Tillman County, OK, Archer County, TX, Baylor County, TX, Callahan County, TX, Childress County, TX, Clay County, TX, Cottle County, TX, Dickens County, TX, Fisher County, TX, Foard County, TX, Hall County, TX, Hardeman County, TX, Haskell County, TX, Jones County, TX, Kent County, TX, King County, TX, Knox County, TX, Motley County, TX, Nolan County, TX, Shackelford County, TX, Stonewall County, TX, Taylor County, TX, Throckmorton County, TX, Wichita County, TX, Wilbarger County, TX

The radar

The Altus AFB radar (KFDR), 52 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:29 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
20%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
5%
Ten or more severe wind reports
70%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
30%
Ten or more severe hail reports
50%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
20%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
95%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 22, 2:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBCottle, Dickens, King, Motley40 min
Mar 22, 3:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBChildress, Cottle, King27 min
Mar 22, 3:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBeckham, Greer, Harmon, Jackson40 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 12:00Z, 7.5 hours before the alert went out and 208 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, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 2021-03-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 2021-03-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 222 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
820 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
222 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
272 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

343 
WWUS20 KWNS 221929
SEL4  
SPC WW 221929
OKZ000-TXZ000-230000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 44
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
230 PM CDT Mon Mar 22 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  Southwest Oklahoma
  Western North Texas

* Effective this Monday afternoon and evening from 230 PM until
  700 PM CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Scattered damaging winds likely with isolated significant gusts
    to 75 mph possible
  Scattered large hail events to 1 inch in diameter possible
  A tornado or two possible

SUMMARY...A fast-moving cluster of thunderstorms over western North
Texas will race northeastward across the watch area this afternoon,
posing a risk of locally damaging wind gusts and hail.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 75
statute miles east and west of a line from 30 miles north of Altus
OK to 20 miles south southeast of Abilene TX. For a complete
depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU4).

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
1 inch. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 65 knots. A few
cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 400. Mean storm motion vector
24035.

...Hart

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 22, 5:25 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCaddo, Carter, Comanche, Cotton, Garvin, Grady and 12 more65 min
Mar 22, 12:01 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArmstrong, Borden, Briscoe, Childress, Collingsworth, Cottle and 20 more2 hr
Mar 22, 2:51 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrown, Coke, Coleman, Comanche, Concho, Crockett and 14 more2 hr
Mar 22, 4:24 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBailey, Cochran, Crosby, Garza, Hale, Hockley and 5 more66 min
Mar 22, 6:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAnderson, Bell, Blanco, Bosque, Burnet, Collin and 43 more7 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Texas, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Oklahoma, 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.