Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Watches in 2023

Tornado Watch 2

January 2, 20237 counties in Arkansas; 14 counties in Kansas; 38 counties in Oklahoma

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jan 2, 2023, 3:34 PM CST for 7 counties in Arkansas; 14 counties in Kansas; 38 counties in Oklahoma. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jan 2, 2023, 3:34 PM CST (21:34 UTC)
Expired
Jan 2, 2023, 10:00 PM CST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
65 kt
All 59 counties

Benton County, AR, Carroll County, AR, Crawford County, AR, Franklin County, AR, Madison County, AR, Sebastian County, AR, Washington County, AR, Allen County, KS, Bourbon County, KS, Butler County, KS, Chautauqua County, KS, Cherokee County, KS, Cowley County, KS, Crawford County, KS, Elk County, KS, Greenwood County, KS, Labette County, KS, Montgomery County, KS, Neosho County, KS, Wilson County, KS, Woodson County, KS, Adair County, OK, Atoka County, OK, Bryan County, OK, Cherokee County, OK, Choctaw County, OK, Coal County, OK, Craig County, OK, Creek County, OK, Delaware County, OK, Haskell County, OK, Hughes County, OK, Johnston County, OK, Kay County, OK, Latimer County, OK, LeFlore County, OK, Lincoln County, OK, Marshall County, OK, Mayes County, OK, McIntosh County, OK, Muskogee County, OK, Noble County, OK, Nowata County, OK, Okfuskee County, OK, Okmulgee County, OK, Osage County, OK, Ottawa County, OK, Pawnee County, OK, Payne County, OK, Pittsburg County, OK, Pontotoc County, OK, Pottawatomie County, OK, Pushmataha County, OK, Rogers County, OK, Seminole County, OK, Sequoyah County, OK, Tulsa County, OK, Wagoner County, OK, Washington County, OK

The radar

The Tulsa radar (KINX), 38 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:37 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
60%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
40%
Ten or more severe wind reports
70%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
30%
Ten or more severe hail reports
60%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
30%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
95%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 2, 5:04 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMcIntosh, Pittsburg56 min
Jan 2, 5:05 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACraig, Mayes, Rogers, Wagoner40 min
Jan 2, 5:31 PM CSTTornado WarningTSAHaskell, McIntosh, Pittsburg44 min
Jan 2, 5:31 PM CSTTornado WarningTSACraig, Delaware, Mayes44 min
Jan 2, 5:36 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACherokee, Muskogee, Wagoner39 min
Jan 2, 6:01 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACherokee, McIntosh, Muskogee, Sequoyah44 min
Jan 2, 6:09 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACraig, Delaware, Ottawa36 min
Jan 2, 6:30 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAHaskell, McIntosh, Muskogee, Pittsburg45 min
Jan 2, 6:31 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAAdair, Cherokee, Delaware, Muskogee44 min
Jan 2, 6:45 PM CSTTornado WarningTSAHaskell, Muskogee, Pittsburg45 min
Jan 2, 7:18 PM CSTTornado WarningTSAHaskell, Muskogee, Sequoyah42 min
Jan 2, 7:46 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAAdair44 min
Jan 2, 7:59 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSASequoyah17 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

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 143 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2023-01-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2023-01-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 138 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
709 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
138 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
140 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

288 
WWUS20 KWNS 022130
SEL2  
SPC WW 022130
ARZ000-KSZ000-OKZ000-030400-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 2
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
335 PM CST Mon Jan 2 2023

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Northwest Arkansas
  Southeast Kansas
  Eastern Oklahoma

* Effective this Monday afternoon and evening from 335 PM until
  1000 PM CST.

* Primary threats include...
  A few tornadoes likely with a couple intense tornadoes possible
  Scattered damaging winds likely with isolated significant gusts
    to 75 mph possible
  Scattered large hail likely with isolated very large hail events
    to 2 inches in diameter possible

SUMMARY...Thunderstorms will intensify rapidly this afternoon over
eastern Oklahoma and southeast Kansas.  These storms will pose a
risk of large hail, damaging winds, and a few tornadoes.  Activity
will spread eastward into western Arkansas this evening.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 70 statute miles
east and west of a line from 30 miles north northwest of Chanute KS
to 65 miles south southeast of Mcalester OK. For a complete
depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU2).

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 1...

AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 2 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 65 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean
storm motion vector 23035.

...Hart

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 2, 11:34 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBradley, Calhoun, Clark, Cleveland, Columbia, Dallas and 20 more2 hr
Jan 2, 1:22 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCCalhoun, Clark, Cleburne, Cleveland, Columbia, Conway and 39 more8 hr
Jan 2, 2:02 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBenton, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Madison, Sebastian and 1 more118 min
Jan 2, 3:19 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaxter, Boone, Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Izard and 10 more86 min
Jan 2, 5:45 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCMcDonald90 min
Jan 2, 4:45 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCChoctaw90 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 2023Tornado Watches in Kansas, 2023Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 2023Every tornado watch 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.