Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Watches in 2021

Tornado Watch 526

October 12, 202125 counties in Oklahoma; 10 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 12, 2021, 11:05 PM CDT for 25 counties in Oklahoma; 10 counties in Texas. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Oct 12, 2021, 11:05 PM CDT (04:05 UTC)
Expired
Oct 13, 2021, 6:00 AM CDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
65 kt
All 35 counties

Alfalfa County, OK, Beaver County, OK, Beckham County, OK, Blaine County, OK, Caddo County, OK, Canadian County, OK, Custer County, OK, Dewey County, OK, Ellis County, OK, Garfield County, OK, Grant County, OK, Greer County, OK, Harmon County, OK, Harper County, OK, Jackson County, OK, Kay County, OK, Kingfisher County, OK, Kiowa County, OK, Logan County, OK, Major County, OK, Noble County, OK, Roger Mills County, OK, Washita County, OK, Woods County, OK, Woodward County, OK, Childress County, TX, Collingsworth County, TX, Donley County, TX, Gray County, TX, Hall County, TX, Hemphill County, TX, Lipscomb County, TX, Ochiltree County, TX, Roberts County, TX, Wheeler County, TX

The radar

The Vance AFB radar (KVNX), 103 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:07 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
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
70%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
40%
Ten or more severe hail reports
20%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
5%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
90%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 12, 11:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatAMABeaver61 min
Oct 13, 12:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMAGray, Hemphill, Roberts, Wheeler59 min
Oct 13, 12:14 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatOUNEllis, Harper, Woods, Woodward61 min
Oct 13, 12:38 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatOUNEllis, Roger Mills, Woodward67 min
Oct 13, 12:50 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMACollingsworth, Donley, Gray, Hemphill, Wheeler55 min
Oct 13, 12:57 AM CDTTornado WarningAMACollingsworth, Donley, Gray, Wheeler33 min
Oct 13, 1:14 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNEllis, Harper, Major, Woods, Woodward61 min
Oct 13, 1:44 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBeckham, Custer, Dewey, Roger Mills46 min
Oct 13, 2:02 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatOUNAlfalfa, Woods29 min
Oct 13, 4:25 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNKay39 min
Oct 13, 5:07 AM CDTTornado WarningOUNCanadian, Oklahoma23 min
Oct 13, 5:44 AM CDTTornado WarningOUNLincoln, Logan, Oklahoma18 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

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 4.1 hours before the alert went out and 152 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, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 2021-10-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 496 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, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 2021-10-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 331 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
496 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-164 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
662 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
331 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
372 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
5.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

749 
WWUS20 KWNS 130403
SEL6  
SPC WW 130403
OKZ000-TXZ000-131100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 526
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
1105 PM CDT Tue Oct 12 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Western and Northern Oklahoma
  Northwest Texas

* Effective this Tuesday night and Wednesday morning from 1105 PM
  until 600 AM CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  A few tornadoes possible
  Scattered damaging winds likely with isolated significant gusts
    to 75 mph possible
  Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible

SUMMARY...Broken quasi-linear clusters of storms will move
east-northeastward across the region overnight. Damaging winds will
be possible through the overnight/early morning hours. A few mostly
brief tornadoes will also be a possibility given the unseasonably
high moisture content and robust low-level shear.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 85 statute miles
east and west of a line from 15 miles north northwest of Alva OK to
20 miles west southwest of Altus OK. For a complete depiction of the
watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU6).

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 522...WW 523...WW
524...WW 525...

AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 65 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 550. Mean
storm motion vector 22035.

...Guyer

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 12, 7:30 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeaver, Beckham, Caddo, Comanche, Cotton, Custer and 10 more2 hr
Oct 12, 9:18 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeaver, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Comanche and 12 more117 min
Oct 13, 1:18 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlfalfa, Beckham, Blaine, Custer, Dewey, Ellis and 7 more87 min
Oct 13, 3:26 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlaine, Caddo, Canadian, Garfield, Grant, Jackson and 6 more94 min
Oct 13, 5:16 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCleveland, Creek, Grady, Lincoln, Logan, McClain and 9 more59 min
Oct 13, 7:34 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCherokee, Craig, Delaware, Hughes, McIntosh, Mayes and 9 more116 min
Oct 13, 3:59 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrown, Coleman, Collin, Comanche, Cooke, Denton and 9 more91 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 2021Tornado Watches in Texas, 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.