Alert archive / Texas / Mesoscale Discussions in 2023

Mesoscale Discussion 1221

June 23, 20234 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Jun 23, 2023, 2:07 PM MDT for 4 states. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 23, 2023, 2:07 PM MDT (20:07 UTC)
Expired
Jun 23, 2023, 4:30 PM MDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Concerning
Severe potential...watch likely
Chance of a watch
80%
All 25 counties

Baca County, CO, Cheyenne County, CO, Kiowa County, CO, Kit Carson County, CO, Prowers County, CO, Greeley County, KS, Hamilton County, KS, Morton County, KS, Stanton County, KS, Cimarron County, OK, Texas County, OK, Armstrong County, TX, Carson County, TX, Castro County, TX, Dallam County, TX, Deaf Smith County, TX, Hale County, TX, Hartley County, TX, Hutchinson County, TX, Moore County, TX, Oldham County, TX, Potter County, TX, Randall County, TX, Sherman County, TX, Swisher County, TX

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 139 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:10 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.

The watches that followed

Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.

The nearest sounding before it

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 12:00Z, 8.1 hours before the alert went out and 140 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 2023-06-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1822 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Amarillo Airport, TX at 12:00Z on 2023-06-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 22 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
1822 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-168 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1283 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
22 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
217 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
5.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

477 
ACUS11 KWNS 232007
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 232007 
TXZ000-OKZ000-KSZ000-COZ000-NMZ000-232230-

Mesoscale Discussion 1221
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
0307 PM CDT Fri Jun 23 2023

Areas affected...southeastern Colorado...southwestern Kansas...the
western Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles...northeastern New Mexico

Concerning...Severe potential...Watch likely 

Valid 232007Z - 232230Z

Probability of Watch Issuance...80 percent

SUMMARY...Scattered intensifying supercells and small organizing
clusters of storms appear possible by 5-7 PM CDT, if not earlier.

DISCUSSION...A seasonably strong belt of west-southwesterly
mid-level flow (40-50 kt around 500 mb) has nosed across the
southern Rockies through the Raton Mesa vicinity and adjacent Great
Plains, downstream of troughing progressing across the eastern Great
Basin and southern Rockies.  Forcing for ascent associated with the
latter feature appears likely to aide ongoing convection now forming
across and to the lee of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

During the next few hours, it appears that initially high-based
thunderstorms will continue to form and advect off the higher
terrain, before beginning to intensify near the eastward mixing
dryline, northeast through east of the Raton Mesa vicinity into the
western Texas Panhandle, as early as 22-00Z.  In the presence of
strong deep-layer shear and large mixed-layer CAPE (supported by
seasonably high moisture content and steep lapse rates), models
indicate that the environment will become conducive to a mix of
discrete supercells and small upscale growing clusters posing a risk
for large hail and damaging wind gusts.  Although low-level
hodographs may remain modest until after dark, it is possible that
the strongest discrete storms may also be accompanied by the risk
for tornadoes.

..Kerr/Guyer.. 06/23/2023

...Please see www.spc.noaa.gov for graphic product...

ATTN...WFO...DDC...GLD...LUB...AMA...PUB...BOU...ABQ...

LAT...LON   35350277 36320330 37890269 38810347 39530281 38170130
            36880149 35720127 34620118 33680183 34390251 35350277

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 23, 2:54 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBaca, Bent, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Prowers7 hr
Jun 23, 4:49 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaca, Bent, Prowers116 min
Jun 22, 6:09 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCaddo, Canadian, Cleveland, Comanche, Cotton, Garvin and 5 more66 min
Jun 22, 7:02 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCimarron58 min
Jun 23, 9:21 AM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlaine, Caddo, Canadian, Cleveland, Custer, Garvin and 7 more114 min
Jun 23, 10:18 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAtoka, Bryan, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Cleveland and 19 more5 hr
Jun 23, 11:47 AM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtoka, Bryan, Carter, Choctaw, Cleveland, Coal and 14 more118 min
Jun 23, 2:43 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Cherokee, Dallas, Ellis, Freestone, Henderson and 10 more2 hr
Jun 23, 3:54 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAnderson, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Freestone and 9 more3 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Texas, 2023Mesoscale Discussions in Colorado, 2023Mesoscale Discussions in Kansas, 2023Every mesoscale discussion in 2023

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.