Alert archive / Oklahoma / Red Flag Warnings in 2026

Red Flag Warning 30, NWS Norman, OK

May 18, 20266 counties in Oklahoma; Foard County, Hardeman County, Texas

NWS Norman, OK issued this red flag warning at May 18, 2026, 1:24 AM CDT for 6 counties in Oklahoma; Foard County, Hardeman County, Texas. It took effect at May 18, 2026, 1:00 PM CDT. It was in force for 8 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 18, 2026, 1:24 AM CDT (06:24 UTC)
In effect from
May 18, 2026, 1:00 PM CDT
Expired
May 18, 2026, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
8 hr
Issued by
NWS Norman, OK

Counties Beckham County, OK, Ellis County, OK, Greer County, OK, Harmon County, OK, Harper County, OK, Roger Mills County, OK, Foard County, TX, Hardeman County, TX

The radar

The Altus AFB radar (KFDR), 119 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:27 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 nearest sounding before it

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 00:00Z, 6.4 hours before the alert went out and 180 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 00:00Z on 2026-05-18Temperature 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2026-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 7 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
5982 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-21 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this red flag warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before this red flag warning went out at May 17, 6:23 PM CDT, 7 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 17, 6:23 PM CDT, 7 hours 1 minute before
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The office that day

Everything else NWS Norman, OK issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 4:07 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementOUNWashita23 min
May 18, 4:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNHarmon, Jackson41 min
May 18, 4:30 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementOUNGreer30 min
May 18, 4:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCuster, Washita25 min
May 18, 4:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGreer, Harmon, Jackson, Kiowa38 min
May 18, 5:07 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementOUNCuster23 min
May 18, 5:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGreer, Jackson, Kiowa35 min
May 18, 5:26 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementOUNWashita34 min
May 18, 5:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBeckham, Custer, Roger Mills, Washita33 min
May 18, 6:00 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementOUNKiowa30 min
May 18, 6:06 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementOUNJackson24 min
May 18, 6:13 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementOUNCuster32 min
May 18, 6:27 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementOUNCuster33 min
May 18, 6:30 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementOUNGreer, Harmon, Jackson30 min
May 18, 6:44 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementOUNMajor31 min
May 18, 4:06 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementOUNHardeman24 min
May 18, 5:02 PM CDTSpecial Weather StatementOUNHardeman28 min

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Oklahoma, 2026Red Flag Warnings in Texas, 2026Every red flag warning in 2026

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.