Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2021
Tornado Watch 183
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 17, 2021, 4:44 PM CDT for 16 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 17, 2021, 4:44 PM CDT (21:44 UTC)
- Expired
- May 17, 2021, 11:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 3 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 65 kt
Counties Baylor County, TX, Childress County, TX, Cottle County, TX, Fisher County, TX, Foard County, TX, Hardeman County, TX, Haskell County, TX, Jones County, TX, King County, TX, Knox County, TX, Nolan County, TX, Shackelford County, TX, Stonewall County, TX, Taylor County, TX, Throckmorton County, TX, Wilbarger County, TX
The radar
The Dyess AFB radar (KDYX), 132 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:46 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
- 40%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 10%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 60%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 40%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 80%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 80%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 95%
Warnings issued inside it
24 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 5:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | King, Stonewall | 55 min |
| May 17, 5:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SJT | Fisher, Nolan | 61 min |
| May 17, 6:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Dickens, Kent, King, Stonewall | 53 min |
| May 17, 6:18 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LUB | Stonewall | 27 min |
| May 17, 6:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Knox | 67 min |
| May 17, 6:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SJT | Haskell | 52 min |
| May 17, 6:38 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LUB | Stonewall | 31 min |
| May 17, 6:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Foard, Hardeman, Wilbarger | 12 min |
| May 17, 6:45 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SJT | Haskell | 30 min |
| May 17, 7:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Baylor, Knox | 45 min |
| May 17, 7:01 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LUB | King, Stonewall | 26 min |
| May 17, 7:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SJT | Fisher, Nolan | 66 min |
| May 17, 7:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Stonewall | 22 min |
| May 17, 7:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Baylor, Knox | 42 min |
| May 17, 7:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Childress, Cottle, Hall, Motley | 53 min |
| May 17, 8:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Archer, Baylor, Wichita | 45 min |
| May 17, 8:06 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | SJT | Nolan | 3 hr |
| May 17, 8:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Briscoe, Childress, Hall | 35 min |
| May 17, 9:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SJT | Shackelford, Throckmorton | 32 min |
| May 17, 9:11 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SJT | Coke, Nolan, Runnels, Taylor | 64 min |
| May 17, 9:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SJT | Callahan, Jones, Shackelford, Taylor | 51 min |
| May 17, 9:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Briscoe, Childress, Cottle, Hall, Motley | 26 min |
| May 17, 10:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Hardeman | 33 min |
| May 17, 10:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Childress | 29 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, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 242 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
- 1 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1522 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -81 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 24 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
912
WWUS20 KWNS 172141
SEL3
SPC WW 172141
TXZ000-180400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 183
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
445 PM CDT Mon May 17 2021
The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a
* Tornado Watch for portions of
Northwest Texas
* Effective this Monday afternoon and evening from 445 PM until
1100 PM CDT.
* Primary threats include...
A couple tornadoes possible
Widespread large hail and scattered very large hail events to 3
inches in diameter likely
Scattered damaging winds likely with isolated significant gusts
to 75 mph possible
SUMMARY...Discrete supercells developing along a remnant boundary
will pose a primary risk of very large hail through mid-evening. A
broader MCS will likely develop during the evening, increasing the
risk for damaging winds near to after sunset.
The tornado watch area is approximately along and 90 statute miles
north and south of a line from 80 miles northwest of Abilene TX to
60 miles north northeast of Abilene TX. For a complete depiction of
the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS
WOU3).
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.
&&
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 181...WW 182...
AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 3 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 65 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 550. Mean
storm motion vector 24025.
...GramsSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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, 9:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Archer, Baylor, Clay, Foard, Hardeman, Haskell and 10 more | 4 hr |
| May 16, 10:46 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baylor, Cottle, Dickens, Foard, Haskell, King and 3 more | 59 min |
| May 17, 1:09 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Archer, Baylor, Clay, Crosby, Dickens, Fisher and 17 more | 96 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, 1:39 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dallam, Hartley, Oldham | 2 hr |
| May 17, 2:11 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Andrews, Bailey, Borden, Castro, Cochran, Crane and 20 more | 2 hr |
| May 17, 2:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Armstrong, Carson, Collingsworth, Dallam, Donley, Gray and 10 more | 8 hr |
| May 17, 3:04 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Andrews, Bailey, Borden, Briscoe, Castro, Cochran and 39 more | 8 hr |
| May 17, 4:53 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baylor, Callahan, Childress, Cottle, Fisher, Foard and 11 more | 97 min |
| May 17, 5:10 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dallam, Hansford, Hartley, Hutchinson, Moore, Ochiltree and 3 more | 2 hr |
| 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
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.