Oklahoma, 2011

Hail and Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, May 30 to 31, 2011

May 30 to 31, 2011 · NWS OUN · 10 events in 5 counties and zones

Severe thunderstorms developed along and ahead of a sharp dry line over the Texas Panhandle late on the 30th. As the low level jet strengthened across western Oklahoma, enhanced lift and instability allowed these storms to persist well into the morning hours on the 31st, eventually making their way into Oklahoma.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
10

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS OUN wrote it up.

Severe thunderstorms developed along and ahead of a sharp dry line over the Texas Panhandle late on the 30th. As the low level jet strengthened across western Oklahoma, enhanced lift and instability allowed these storms to persist well into the morning hours on the 31st, eventually making their way into Oklahoma. Most of these storms produced marginally severe hail and a few wind gusts exceeding 60 miles per hour across southwest Oklahoma. A few non-severe thunderstorm wind gusts also occurred as a result of decaying thunderstorms.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at May 30, 10:48 PM CST, 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 30, 10:48 PM CST, 12 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1148 PM CDT MON MAY 30 2011

.AVIATION...
CONVECTION ALONG/NEAR COLD FRONT IN KANSAS WILL GRADUALLY
BUILD INTO NORTHWEST KANSAS DURING THE EARLY PART OF
THE TAF CYCLE. LLJ WILL VEER AND WEAKEN WITH TIME DURING THE
OVERNIGHT HOURS SO EXPECTED CONVECTIVE TRENDS WILL BE ON THE
DECREASE...ESPECIALLY AFTER 9Z. FOR NOW WILL ONLY MENTION TSRA AT
GAG/WWR/PNC. WIND SHIFT WITH FRONTAL BOUNDARY SHOULD ONLY MAKE IT
THROUGH PNC/CSM/WWR/GAG.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 803 PM CDT MON MAY 30 2011/

DISCUSSION...
WE EXTENDED THE WIND ADVISORY FOR MUCH OF NORTHERN AND WESTERN
OKLAHOMA WHERE MIXING AHEAD OF INCOMING FRONT WILL LIKELY RESULT
IN CONTINUED GUSTS AOA 40 MPH. STORMS FAILED TO INITIATE ALONG
DRYLINE...BUT EXPECT DRYLINE/FRONT TO HELP FOCUS STORM DEVELOPMENT
TO OUR NORTH LATE THIS EVENING. MOST MODELS SUPPORT IDEA OF AT
LEAST SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS ALONG FRONT AS IT PROGRESSES
INTO NORTHERN OKLAHOMA TOWARD/AFTER MIDNIGHT AND THEN STALLS
ACROSS SOUTHWEST-CENTRAL OKLAHOMA TOMORROW. AT ANY RATE...RELAXED
GRADIENT NEAR FRONT WILL YIELD WEAKER WINDS TOMORROW.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
OKLAHOMA CITY OK  72  89  70  92 /  30  30  20  10
HOBART OK         71  90  68  93 /  30  30  20  10
WICHITA FALLS TX  73  92  71  95 /  20  20  10   0
GAGE OK           59  89  65  92 /  40  20  30  10
PONCA CITY OK     69  87  70  92 /  30  30  20  10
DURANT OK         72  90  70  91 /  10  10  10  10

&&

.OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT TONIGHT FOR OKZ004>007-009>012-
     014>017-021-022-034-035.

TX...NONE.
&&
Hazardous weather outlook, May 30, 9:20 PM CST, 1 hour 40 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1020 PM CDT MON MAY 30 2011

OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-311000-
HARPER-WOODS-ALFALFA-GRANT-KAY-ELLIS-WOODWARD-MAJOR-GARFIELD-NOBLE-
ROGER MILLS-DEWEY-CUSTER-BLAINE-KINGFISHER-LOGAN-PAYNE-BECKHAM-
WASHITA-CADDO-CANADIAN-OKLAHOMA-LINCOLN-GRADY-MCCLAIN-CLEVELAND-
POTTAWATOMIE-SEMINOLE-HUGHES-HARMON-GREER-KIOWA-JACKSON-TILLMAN-
COMANCHE-STEPHENS-GARVIN-MURRAY-PONTOTOC-COAL-COTTON-JEFFERSON-
CARTER-JOHNSTON-ATOKA-LOVE-MARSHALL-BRYAN-HARDEMAN-FOARD-WILBARGER-
WICHITA-KNOX-BAYLOR-ARCHER-CLAY-
1020 PM CDT MON MAY 30 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK COVERS NORTHERN...WESTERN...
CENTRAL...AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA...AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT...

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS FAR NORTHERN
OKLAHOMA.

DISCUSSION...
THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT...PRIMARILY ACROSS
NORTHWEST AND NORTH-CENTRAL OKLAHOMA. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO
NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA AFTER MIDNIGHT AND MOVE SLOWLY SOUTHEAST INTO
WESTERN AND CENTRAL OKLAHOMA AFTER DAYBREAK TUESDAY. SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE NEAR THIS FRONT. A FEW STORMS ACROSS
FAR NORTHERN OKLAHOMA MAY BRIEFLY REACH SEVERE LEVELS AND PRODUCE
LARGE HAIL. THIS THREAT IS PRIMARILY NEAR AND NORTH OF
WOODWARD...ENID...AND PONCA CITY.

PROBABILITY TABLE...
VALID THROUGH 700 AM CDT TUESDAY MAY 31.
PROBABILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING IN THE
              NWS NORMAN COUNTY WARNING AREA...60 PERCENT.
PROBABILITY OF SEVERE STORMS IF STORMS OCCUR...30 PERCENT.

OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS WESTERN AND NORTHERN
OKLAHOMA THROUGH MIDNIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL CONTINUE TUESDAY AS THE COLD FRONT STALLS
ACROSS SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL OKLAHOMA AND THEN LIFTS BACK NORTH. AN
ISOLATED SEVERE STORM OR TWO WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE TUESDAY. STORM
CHANCES WILL END TUESDAY NIGHT AS AN UPPER RIDGE BEGINS TO BUILD
INTO THE REGION.

OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
NONE.

THE NEXT HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED AT 5 AM TUESDAY.

The radar

The Altus AFB radar (KFDR), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:36 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 hail, 3 high wind, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Harmon

When
May 30, 11:00 PM CST
Where
Harmon forecast zone
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.744, -99.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Harmon

When
May 31, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Harmon forecast zone
Measured
56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.744, -99.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Comanche

When
May 31, 1:38 AM CST
Where
Comanche County, Indiahoma
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
34.620, -98.750

The hail report was relayed by KSWO-TV.

Hail, Kiowa

When
May 31, 1:40 AM CST
Where
Kiowa County, Snyder
Measured
1.25 in hail
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
34.660, -98.950

The hail report was relayed by KSWO-TV.

Hail, Comanche

When
May 31, 1:55 AM CST
Where
Comanche County, Cache
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
34.630, -98.630

The hail report was relayed by KSWO-TV.

Thunderstorm Wind, Comanche

When
May 31, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Comanche County, 3 mi W of Medicine Park
Measured
51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
34.730, -98.553

Hail, Grady

When
May 31, 2:35 AM CST
Where
Grady County, Rush Springs
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
Amateur Radio
Coordinates
34.780, -97.960

Hail, Stephens

When
May 31, 2:50 AM CST
Where
Stephens County, 4 mi SW of Duncan
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
34.459, -98.010

Hail, Stephens

When
May 31, 2:55 AM CST
Where
Stephens County, Duncan
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
34.500, -97.960

High Wind, Grady

When
May 31, 3:55 AM CST
Where
Grady forecast zone
Measured
53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
35.017, -97.884 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Oklahoma in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, May 2011

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 315739, 315740, 295707, 295709, 295710, 295712, 295713, 295714, 295715, 315761.