Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2021

Tornado Watch 19

March 13, 2021Curry County, Quay County, Roosevelt County, New Mexico; 14 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 13, 2021, 11:36 AM MST for Curry County, Quay County, Roosevelt County, New Mexico; 14 counties in Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Mar 13, 2021, 11:36 AM MST (18:36 UTC)
Expired
Mar 13, 2021, 5:00 PM MST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt

Counties Curry County, NM, Quay County, NM, Roosevelt County, NM, Bailey County, TX, Castro County, TX, Cochran County, TX, Deaf Smith County, TX, Hale County, TX, Hockley County, TX, Lamb County, TX, Lubbock County, TX, Moore County, TX, Oldham County, TX, Parmer County, TX, Potter County, TX, Randall County, TX, Swisher County, TX

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 76 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:37 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
50%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
30%
Ten or more severe wind reports
20%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
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
70%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 13, 11:47 AM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABQQuay, Union58 min
Mar 13, 12:23 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABQCurry, Quay22 min
Mar 13, 12:54 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMADeaf Smith, Hartley, Oldham51 min
Mar 13, 1:07 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBCastro, Lamb38 min
Mar 13, 1:24 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMADeaf Smith, Oldham66 min
Mar 13, 1:37 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBCastro, Swisher23 min
Mar 13, 1:42 PM MSTTornado WarningAMADallam, Hartley, Moore33 min
Mar 13, 1:56 PM MSTTornado Warning Tornado observedLUBCastro, Swisher19 min
Mar 13, 2:01 PM MSTTornado WarningLUBCastro, Hale, Lamb, Swisher29 min
Mar 13, 2:12 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAArmstrong, Randall63 min
Mar 13, 2:15 PM MSTTornado WarningLUBCastro, Swisher15 min
Mar 13, 2:21 PM MSTTornado WarningAMARandall39 min
Mar 13, 2:28 PM MSTTornado WarningLUBCastro, Swisher32 min
Mar 13, 2:30 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAHartley, Moore, Oldham, Potter60 min
Mar 13, 2:34 PM MSTTornado WarningAMAMoore26 min
Mar 13, 2:43 PM MSTTornado WarningLUBCastro, Swisher32 min
Mar 13, 2:50 PM MSTTornado Warning Tornado observedConsiderable damage threatAMAArmstrong, Randall40 min
Mar 13, 2:57 PM MSTTornado WarningLUBSwisher18 min
Mar 13, 3:00 PM MSTTornado WarningAMAArmstrong, Randall45 min
Mar 13, 3:07 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLUBCastro, Swisher20 min
Mar 13, 3:28 PM MSTTornado Warning Tornado observedLUBBriscoe, Floyd, Hale, Swisher32 min
Mar 13, 3:30 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAHansford, Hutchinson, Moore, Sherman60 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, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 76 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 2021-03-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 188 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 2021-03-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 162 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
188 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-140 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
540 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
73 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
162 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
216 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

281 
WWUS20 KWNS 131833
SEL9  
SPC WW 131833
NMZ000-TXZ000-140000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 19
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
135 PM CDT Sat Mar 13 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

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

* Effective this Saturday afternoon and evening from 135 PM until
  700 PM CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  A few tornadoes and a couple intense tornadoes possible
  Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2.5
    inches in diameter possible
  Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible

SUMMARY...Initial discrete supercells should develop east-northeast
from the east-central New Mexico and northwest Texas border region.
Tornado and large hail will be the primary hazards.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 50 statute miles
east and west of a line from 50 miles northwest of Amarillo TX to 65
miles south southeast of Cannon Afb NM. For a complete depiction of
the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS
WOU9).

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 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean
storm motion vector 21045.

...Grams

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 13, 6:36 AM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHarding, Quay, Union2 hr
Mar 13, 10:48 AM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCurry, Roosevelt117 min
Mar 12, 7:11 PM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaylor, Briscoe, Childress, Cottle, Crosby, Dickens and 18 more64 min
Mar 12, 7:38 PM MSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCArmstrong, Baylor, Briscoe, Carson, Childress, Cochran and 29 more5 hr
Mar 12, 10:08 PM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArmstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Childress, Collingsworth and 26 more2 hr
Mar 13, 12:06 AM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCChildress, Cottle, Foard, Hardeman, Motley54 min
Mar 13, 12:52 PM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArmstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Childress, Collingsworth, Cottle and 9 more113 min
Mar 13, 1:26 PM MSTTornado WatchSPCArmstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Childress, Collingsworth, Cottle and 19 more7 hr
Mar 13, 1:39 PM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAndrews, Borden, Crane, Crockett, Dawson, Ector and 18 more2 hr
Mar 13, 2:23 PM MSTTornado WatchSPCBorden, Coke, Crane, Crockett, Dawson, Fisher and 18 more6 hr
Mar 13, 2:46 PM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArmstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Donley, Floyd, Hale and 5 more59 min
Mar 13, 3:10 PM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArmstrong, Carson, Hutchinson, Randall65 min
Mar 13, 4:46 PM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArmstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Childress, Collingsworth, Cottle and 18 more89 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.