Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, May 19 to 20, 2025

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, May 19 to 20, 2025
Start: 2025-05-19T19:30
End: 2025-05-20T02:00
Location: Oklahoma

May 19 to 20, 2025 · NWS SHV · 6 events in 1 county or zone

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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: 1
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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 SHV wrote it up.

A large upper level trough ejected northeast from the Four Corners Region across the Rockies into the Plains on May 19th-20th, allowing the West Texas dryline to mix east across Westcentral and North Texas. The increase in large scale forcing ahead of this dryline across a very warm, moist, and unstable air mass resulted in multiple complexes of strong to severe thunderstorms to develop across portions of North Texas and Eastern Oklahoma during the afternoon of the 19th, which advanced east-northeast into portions of Southeast Oklahoma and the northern sections of Southwest Arkansas during the evening hours into the early morning hours of the 20th. These storms produced multiple reports of large hail and damaging winds across McCurtain County Oklahoma, before shifting east into Polk and Northern Howard Counties in Southwest Arkansas during the early morning hours before exiting the region to the northeast.

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 Shreveport, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 19, 6:37 PM CST, 53 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

Multiple severe thunderstorms will develop along and north of the I-30 corridor this evening and after sunset.
Severe thunderstorms that do form in this environment will be capable of all hazards with the highest probability of large hail, EF2+ strength tornadoes, and damaging winds further northwest into Oklahoma.
Another round of severe thunderstorms will form tomorrow afternoon as a late-season frontal boundary passage delivers drier air by the middle of the week. Active southwesterly flow aloft and moist southerly surface winds will maintain ample ingredients (3000+J/kg CAPE) for any storms that do form. That also includes kinematics of 30+ 0-1km shear values. Patchy remnant cloud decks have kept more daytime heating from reaching the ground north of I-20, somewhat limiting the beginning of convective activity earlier this afternoon. Temperatures will only fall into the mid-70s tonight as a result of being in the warm sector ahead of the frontal boundary.

Area forecast discussion, May 19, 6:37 PM CST, 53 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Shreveport LA
737 PM CDT Mon May 19 2025

...New UPDATE, AVIATION...

.UPDATE...
Issued at 718 PM CDT Mon May 19 2025

Tornado Watch 297 has been issued until 2 AM for locations
generally along and north of the I-30 corridor. This includes
McCurtain County, OK...Hempstead, Howard, Little River, Miller,
and Sevier counties in Arkansas...and Bowie & Red River counties
in Texas. Strong surface based instability remains in place across
these counties ahead of an approaching dryline and cool front. A
line of convection is already ongoing across South Central-
Southeastern Oklahoma, back into Extreme North Texas. Short-term
progs continue to suggest this convection will push into portions
of the Watch area later this evening. All modes of severe weather
will be possible. Please continue to monitor for updates. /20/

&&

.SHORT TERM...
(This evening through Tuesday Night)
Issued at 332 PM CDT Mon May 19 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Multiple severe thunderstorms will develop along and north of
  the I-30 corridor this evening and after sunset.

- Severe thunderstorms that do form in this environment will be
  capable of all hazards with the highest probability of large
  hail, EF2+ strength tornadoes, and damaging winds further
  northwest into Oklahoma.

- Another round of severe thunderstorms will form tomorrow
  afternoon as a late-season frontal boundary passage delivers
  drier air by the middle of the week.

Active southwesterly flow aloft and moist southerly surface winds
will maintain ample ingredients (3000+J/kg CAPE) for any storms
that do form. That also includes kinematics of 30+ 0-1km shear
values. Patchy remnant cloud decks have kept more daytime heating
from reaching the ground north of I-20, somewhat limiting the
beginning of convective activity earlier this afternoon.
Temperatures will only fall into the mid-70s tonight as a result
of being in the warm sector ahead of the frontal boundary.

&&

.LONG TERM...
(Wednesday through next Sunday)
Issued at 332 PM CDT Mon May 19 2025

By the middle of the week, the most significant difference from
pre-frontal conditions and post-frontal conditions will be with
dew points as the 60-degree isodrosotherm sinks further south of
the I-20 corridor. Above-average temperatures will continue
through the rest of the week with a warm frontal boundary
returning by next weekend (muggy weather will also return by
then). Rain chances will increase gradually later next week in a
more diurnally-driven fashion. /16/

&&

.AVIATION...
(00Z TAFS)
Issued at 718 PM CDT Mon May 19 2025

For the 20/00z TAF period...VFR conditions in place at all
terminals this evening. However, convection is expected to move
into KTXK before midnight, along with low cigs at all locations
overnight. This will bring reduced flight categories to the
region. A cold front will finally sweep through the region on
tomorrow, bringing a return in VFR conditions. It should come
through dry, with the possible exception being at KMLU. So,
decided to add VCTS towards the end of the period at that
terminal. Otherwise, expect gusty conditions to continue through
the period. Winds will be out of the South/Southwest near 15 mph,
with gust as high as 30 mph ahead of the front. Behind the front,
winds will become WNW near 15 mph, with gust as high as 30 mph.

/20/

&&

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
Issued at 224 AM CDT Mon May 19 2025

Spotter activation may be needed this afternoon and evening,
mainly for areas along and northwest of a line from Tyler, TX to
Texarkana.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
SHV  76  92  64  92 /  30  10   0   0
MLU  75  92  63  88 /  20  30  10   0
DEQ  66  83  55  86 /  80   0   0   0
TXK  73  88  60  90 /  60  10   0   0
ELD  71  90  58  89 /  40  20   0   0
TYR  73  86  61  89 /  40   0   0   0
GGG  73  87  59  89 /  40   0   0   0
LFK  75  92  63  91 /  30  10   0   0

&&

.SHV WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AR...None.
LA...None.
OK...None.
TX...None.
&&

SHORT TERM...16
LONG TERM....16
AVIATION...20

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 112 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:30 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, McCurtain

When: May 19, 7:30 PM CST
Where: McCurtain County, 0.38 mi S of Battiest
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 34.395, -94.931

Dime to nickel size hail fell in Battiest.

Hail, McCurtain

When: May 19, 9:11 PM CST
Where: McCurtain County, 0.53 mi WNW of Broken Bow
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 34.032, -94.739

Nickel size hail fell in Downtown Broken Bow.

Thunderstorm Wind, McCurtain

When: May 19, 10:30 PM CST
Where: McCurtain County, 1.83 mi NW of Valliant
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 34.041, -95.139

Trees were blown down on Wheeler Road northwest of Valliant.

Thunderstorm Wind, McCurtain

When: May 20, 1:30 AM CST
Where: McCurtain County, 1.85 mi SSW of Farmers Hill
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 33.896, -95.034

Trees were blown down just north of the intersection of Highway 98 and Highway 37.

Hail, McCurtain

When: May 20, 1:43 AM CST
Where: McCurtain County, 0.53 mi SE of Idabel
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 33.894, -94.824

Nickel size hail fell in Idabel.

Thunderstorm Wind, McCurtain

When: May 20, 2:00 AM CST
Where: McCurtain County, 0.16 mi NW of Holly Creek
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) estimated gust
Injuries: 0 direct, 1 indirect
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 33.982, -94.822

A tree fell onto a home in the Holly Creek community. A resident cut her head while exiting the home.

What these are

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

Every storm in Oklahoma in 2025 Every state in 2025 This day in weather history Warnings in Oklahoma, May 2025

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: 1262739, 1262741, 1262742, 1262743, 1262744, 1262745.