Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2021
Tornado Watch 185
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 17, 2021, 7:32 PM CDT for 10 counties in Texas. It was in force for 3 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 17, 2021, 7:32 PM CDT (00:32 UTC)
- Expired
- May 17, 2021, 11:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 3 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 80 kt
Counties Brown County, TX, Callahan County, TX, Coke County, TX, Coleman County, TX, Concho County, TX, McCulloch County, TX, Menard County, TX, Runnels County, TX, Schleicher County, TX, Tom Green County, TX
The radar
The San Angelo radar (KSJT), 56 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:31 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
- 40%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 50%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 50%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 50%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 50%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 80%
Warnings issued inside it
4 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 8:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SJT | Coke, Sterling | 36 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, 10:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SJT | Coke | 38 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
- Mesoscale Discussion 653 Tornado watch 183
- Mesoscale Discussion 655 Tornado watch 182
- Mesoscale Discussion 658 Severe potential...watch likely
- Mesoscale Discussion 660 Tornado watch 182...183...185
- Mesoscale Discussion 664 Tornado watch 185
- Mesoscale Discussion 665 Severe potential...severe thunderstorm watch likely
The nearest sounding before it
Midland Regional, TX (KMAF), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 205 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
- 953 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -44 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1920 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 25 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 5 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 36 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.8
The text
As transmitted.
779
WWUS20 KWNS 180030
SEL5
SPC WW 180030
TXZ000-180400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 185
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
735 PM CDT Mon May 17 2021
The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a
* Tornado Watch for portions of
West-central Texas
* Effective this Monday evening from 735 PM until 1100 PM CDT.
* Primary threats include...
A couple intense tornadoes possible
Scattered damaging winds and isolated significant gusts to 90
mph possible
Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 3
inches in diameter possible
SUMMARY...Intense supercells within a broader cluster should spread
southeast across a portion of the Big Country and Concho Valley
region through late evening.
The tornado watch area is approximately along and 45 statute miles
north and south of a line from 15 miles west of San Angelo TX to 95
miles east northeast of San Angelo TX. For a complete depiction of
the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS
WOU5).
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...WW
183...WW 184...
AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 3 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 80 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 600. Mean
storm motion vector 31020.
...GramsSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 7:04 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Archer, Bosque, Brown, Clay, Comanche, Eastland and 15 more | 86 min |
| May 17, 7:23 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Carson, Dallam, Gray, Hansford, Hartley, Hemphill and 8 more | 2 hr |
| May 17, 7:37 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Callahan, Coke, Coleman, Glasscock, Howard, Jones and 6 more | 83 min |
| May 17, 8:04 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Archer, Clay, Comanche, Eastland, Erath, Hamilton and 11 more | 5 hr |
| May 17, 8:34 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atascosa, Dimmit, Frio, La Salle, McMullen, Maverick and 2 more | 116 min |
| May 17, 9:28 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Carson, Collingsworth, Donley, Gray, Hansford, Hemphill and 7 more | 2 hr |
| May 17, 9:44 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Armstrong, Borden, Briscoe, Childress, Collingsworth, Cottle and 15 more | 91 min |
| May 17, 10:23 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Archer, Brown, Callahan, Clay, Coke, Coleman and 16 more | 97 min |
| May 17, 10:35 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Andrews, Borden, Brewster, Crane, Crockett, Dawson and 13 more | 85 min |
| May 17, 10:58 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Andrews, Borden, Brown, Coke, Coleman, Concho and 22 more | 7 hr |
| May 17, 11:37 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bosque, Brown, Comanche, Denton, Eastland, Erath and 9 more | 83 min |
| May 18, 1:02 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Brooks, Duval, Jim Hogg | 58 min |
| May 18, 1:29 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Coke, Concho, Crane, Crockett, Ector, Glasscock and 13 more | 91 min |
| May 18, 5:07 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Coke, Concho, Irion, Reagan, Runnels, Schleicher and 2 more | 53 min |
| May 18, 1:18 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atascosa, Austin, Bastrop, Bexar, Brazos, Burleson and 28 more | 117 min |
| May 18, 1:57 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bailey, Castro, Deaf Smith, Parmer, Randall, Swisher | 3 hr |
| May 18, 2:29 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Anderson, Atascosa, Austin, Bastrop, Bexar, Blanco and 30 more | 7 hr |
| May 18, 2:30 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bowie, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Franklin, Gregg and 12 more | 2 hr |
| May 18, 3:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Bowie, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Franklin, Gregg and 11 more | 5 hr |
| May 18, 3:52 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Fayette, Gonzales, Guadalupe and 2 more | 83 min |
| May 18, 5:10 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | La Salle, McMullen, Webb | 95 min |
| May 18, 5:39 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bowie, Cass, Gregg, Harrison, Marion, Morris and 1 more | 2 hr |
| May 18, 6:07 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Armstrong, Borden, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Cochran and 17 more | 113 min |
| May 18, 6:13 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Austin, Brazos, Burleson, Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette and 14 more | 92 min |
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.