Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2021

Tornado Watch 17

March 12, 2021Curry County, Quay County, Roosevelt County, New Mexico; 27 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 12, 2021, 2:24 PM MST for Curry County, Quay County, Roosevelt County, New Mexico; 27 counties in Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 12, 2021, 2:24 PM MST (21:24 UTC)
Expired
Mar 12, 2021, 7:38 PM MST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2.5 in
Strongest gust expected
65 kt
All 30 counties

Curry County, NM, Quay County, NM, Roosevelt County, NM, Armstrong County, TX, Bailey County, TX, Briscoe County, TX, Castro County, TX, Childress County, TX, Cochran County, TX, Collingsworth County, TX, Cottle County, TX, Crosby County, TX, Deaf Smith County, TX, Dickens County, TX, Donley County, TX, Floyd County, TX, Garza County, TX, Hale County, TX, Hall County, TX, Hockley County, TX, King County, TX, Lamb County, TX, Lubbock County, TX, Lynn County, TX, Motley County, TX, Parmer County, TX, Randall County, TX, Swisher County, TX, Terry County, TX, Yoakum County, TX

The radar

The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 72 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:29 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
40%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
30%
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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 12, 4:08 PM MSTTornado WarningLUBHale, Lubbock37 min
Mar 12, 4:44 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBCrosby, Hale, Lubbock30 min
Mar 12, 4:50 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBCrosby, Lubbock55 min
Mar 12, 5:00 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBCrosby, Floyd45 min
Mar 12, 5:06 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBFloyd, Hale39 min
Mar 12, 5:11 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMADeaf Smith, Oldham36 min
Mar 12, 5:19 PM MSTTornado WarningLUBCrosby, Dickens, Floyd, Motley26 min
Mar 12, 5:42 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBCrosby, Dickens, Floyd, Motley63 min
Mar 12, 6:20 PM MSTTornado WarningLUBDickens, Motley25 min
Mar 12, 6:34 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBCrosby, Garza26 min
Mar 12, 6:42 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBCottle, Dickens, King, Motley78 min
Mar 12, 6:47 PM MSTTornado WarningLUBCottle, Dickens, King, Motley28 min
Mar 12, 6:58 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBCrosby, Garza46 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 12:00Z, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 106 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 12:00Z on 2021-03-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 66 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Amarillo Airport, TX at 12:00Z on 2021-03-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 345 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
66 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-163 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
619 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
81 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
345 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
390 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

060 
WWUS20 KWNS 122120
SEL7  
SPC WW 122120
NMZ000-TXZ000-130300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 17
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
320 PM CST Fri Mar 12 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Far east-central New Mexico
  Northwest Texas

* Effective this Friday afternoon and evening from 320 PM until
  900 PM CST.

* Primary threats include...
  A couple tornadoes possible
  Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2.5
    inches in diameter possible
  Isolated significant damaging wind gusts to 75 mph possible

SUMMARY...Multiple supercells are expected to develop through this
evening, initially across east-central New Mexico before spreading
into northwest Texas. Scattered large hail, a couple tornadoes, and
isolated severe wind gusts are possible.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 95 statute miles
east and west of a line from 70 miles north northwest of Plainview
TX to 45 miles south southeast of Lubbock TX. For a complete
depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU7).

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 2.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 65 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean
storm motion vector 24035.

...Grams

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 12, 4:58 PM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCurry, Roosevelt2 hr
Mar 12, 12:48 PM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArmstrong, Briscoe, Castro, Childress, Collingsworth, Cottle and 15 more117 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 2021Tornado Watches in New Mexico, 2021Every tornado 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.