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venture
05-04-2016, 08:49 AM
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Current Conditions



Air TemperatureDewpointWindsRainfall Last 24 Hourshttp://www.mesonet.org/data/public/mesonet/maps/realtime/current.TAIR.grad.png (http://www.mesonet.org/index.php/weather/map/air_temperature/air_temperature)http://www.mesonet.org/data/public/mesonet/maps/realtime/current.TDEW.grad.png (http://www.mesonet.org/index.php/weather/map/dewpoint/dewpoint_humidity)http://www.mesonet.org/data/public/mesonet/maps/realtime/current.gustbarbs.gif (http://www.mesonet.org/index.php/weather/map/wind_speed_gusts_with_barbs/wind)http://www.mesonet.org/data/public/mesonet/maps/realtime/rainrfc.24hr.png (http://www.mesonet.org/index.php/weather/map/24_hr_rainfall_accumulation/rainfall)

Advisory TableNWS Norman Warning AreaNWS Tulsa Warning Area

[*=left]Tornado Warning
[*=left]Tornado Watch
[*=left]Severe T-Storm Warning
[*=left]Severe T-Storm Watch
[*=left]Blizzard Warning
[*=left]Blizzard Watch
[*=left]Winter Storm Warning
[*=left]Winter Storm Watch
[*=left]Ice Storm Warning
[*=left]Red Flag Warning
[*=left]Winter Weather Advisory
[*=left]Wind Chill Advisory
[*=left]Wind Chill Warning
[*=left]Freezing Rain Advisory

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Radar & Satellite for Oklahoma


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Severe Weather Outlooks & Products



Day 1 (Today) OutlookDay 2 (Tomorrow) OutlookDay 3 OutlookOutlook for Days 4 through 8http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day1otlk.gif (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day1otlk.html)http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day2otlk.gif (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day2otlk.html)http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day3otlk.gif (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/day3otlk.html)http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/exper/day4-8/day48prob.gif (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/exper/day4-8/)

National Advisory MapSPC Mesoscale Discussions (MCD or MD)Regional Live Lightning Imagehttp://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/png/US.png (http://www.nws.noaa.gov/largemap.php)http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/validmd.png (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/)

SPC Watches

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/validww.png (http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/)http://images.blitzortung.org/Images/image_b_tx.png



Additional information is always available via:
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Anonymous.
05-04-2016, 09:12 AM
Nice quiet weather during this break. Next event timeframe is around late this coming weekend. Looks like another potent severe storm setup.

bchris02
05-04-2016, 12:28 PM
What are you thinking about tornadoes for this upcoming system? The SPC outlook seems to focus mostly on a large hail threat at this time.

LocoAko
05-04-2016, 05:24 PM
What are you thinking about tornadoes for this upcoming system? The SPC outlook seems to focus mostly on a large hail threat at this time.

Definitely a possibility though it is too low to pinpoint where the highest threat may be. As of now some of the issues that were present with last Tuesday's threat seem to be at least somewhat mitigated in comparison (though aren't perfect).

bchris02
05-05-2016, 12:42 PM
The SPC forecast seems to still be focusing on large hail and damaging winds as the primary threat for Day 4 (Sunday). It now has Monday's threat shifted east of our area.

Anonymous and LocoAko, would you agree with this?

Anonymous.
05-05-2016, 01:47 PM
Yea it looks like Sunday is a late afternoon-evening dryline setup in W OK. Then Monday is remnants from Sunday into eastern OK, with an additional refire in the afternoon in eastern OK.

John1744
05-15-2016, 10:32 AM
Looks like the panhandle could have some big ugly storms tomorrow.

Achilleslastand
05-15-2016, 12:34 PM
When is the rain moving in today? This afternoon?

bchris02
05-15-2016, 10:15 PM
Only a couple more weeks before storm season starts winding down. Are there any big days on the horizon? I know tomorrow could be significant in the panhandle, but what about central Oklahoma?

Anonymous.
05-15-2016, 11:00 PM
Tomorrow looks like a potent very local setup for TX PH. Could see HP supercells drift into W OK heading into the evening hours. Maybe a wind threat overnight if storms develop into a complex of some type.

This week in general looks relatively cool and has chances of rain/storms throughout.

I don't see any major days on the horizon at this time. But several storms systems will be hanging around.

Anonymous.
05-16-2016, 04:56 PM
Storm complexes forming in TX PH now. Models are turning these into little bow echos overnight and sending them across OK. Damaging wind and heavy rain will be primary concerns.

Anonymous.
05-16-2016, 11:49 PM
Line of storms coming towards C OK is capable of 70+ mph winds.

bchris02
05-17-2016, 12:25 PM
Looks like our next severe chances may be next Sunday/Monday. Thoughts? Does it look particularly high-end?

Out of curiosity, when looking at this..

http://www.weatherstreet.com/states/gfsx-300-forecast.htm

..it shows the inverted trough up in the panhandle and southwest Kansas. Does that mean that is the area most likely for high-end severe weather?

baralheia
05-17-2016, 02:58 PM
Picked up an inch and a half of rain from the storms last night at my place on the south side. Good soaking. The winds were pretty crazy though and a neighbor lost the top of her tree, which took out the electrical service drop to a couple of homes.

Bobby821
05-17-2016, 03:20 PM
Question, I am planning on shooting off fireworks for the 4th of July this year and was wondering if the outlooks for now through early July. how do the long range outlooks look for rain vs dry for early July. Basically does it look like we will stay in a wetter pattern till then or will things be drying up and we be looking at drought conditions?

jn1780
05-17-2016, 03:59 PM
Question, I am planning on shooting off fireworks for the 4th of July this year and was wondering if the outlooks for now through early July. how do the long range outlooks look for rain vs dry for early July. Basically does it look like we will stay in a wetter pattern till then or will things be drying up and we be looking at drought conditions?

Things are not going to deteriorate that fast where your not going to be able to shoot off fireworks in July especially after all this rain we have been seeing. Besides, Mid-June through late-August its dry anyway, but there is plenty of green vegetation to keep fire risk at bay.

bchris02
05-17-2016, 04:57 PM
Question, I am planning on shooting off fireworks for the 4th of July this year and was wondering if the outlooks for now through early July. how do the long range outlooks look for rain vs dry for early July. Basically does it look like we will stay in a wetter pattern till then or will things be drying up and we be looking at drought conditions?

In most years, early July is still fine. June is our wettest month and things are still pretty green around the 4th. It doesn't get extremely dry until late July into August.

Bobby821
05-18-2016, 08:32 AM
It looks like a more typical May severe weather pattern is setting up for Oklahoma starting next week into at least the 1st of June. We have seen a rather mild May so far but that is likely to change starting next week.

Anonymous.
05-18-2016, 09:14 AM
Sunday looks like a TX PH type setup in the plains, but we will have to watch where the dryline fires.

The days following Sunday looks like severe weather is likely across a broad area of OK, we will be able to pinpoint better once we get to this weekend.

Bobby821
05-18-2016, 09:19 AM
Sunday looks like a TX PH type setup in the plains, but we will have to watch where the dryline fires.

The days following Sunday looks like severe weather is likely across a broad area of OK, we will be able to pinpoint better once we get to this weekend.

Yeah I am seeing some days with cape values over 6000 J/KG that potent

Soonerman12
05-19-2016, 08:56 AM
Just a heads up, the SPC has a 15% for Day 5 for Oklahoma. This includes OKC and Tulsa. Be weather aware as the Severe weather looks to really ramp back up next week, possibly several chances for our state.


ZCZC SPCSWOD48 ALL
ACUS48 KWNS 190916
SPC AC 190916

DAY 4-8 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0416 AM CDT THU MAY 19 2016

VALID 221200Z - 271200Z

...DISCUSSION...
AN INCREASINGLY SEVERE-CONDUCIVE PATTERN IS EXPECTED LATE THIS
WEEKEND THROUGH THE EARLY/MIDDLE PART OF NEXT WEEK...ESPECIALLY
ACROSS PARTS OF THE PLAINS. THIS WILL GENERALLY BE ATTRIBUTABLE TO
SEMI-PERSISTENT TROUGHING WEST OF THE ROCKIES AND
NORTHWARD-DEVELOPING LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE...WITH A PARTICULARLY
MOISTURE-RICH/POTENTIALLY UNSTABLE AIR MASS EXPECTED ACROSS THE
SOUTHERN PLAINS. EVEN IN THE ABSENCE OF GRAPHICALLY DEPICTED SEVERE
RISKS BEYOND MONDAY /DUE TO GREATER GUIDANCE VARIABILITY AND
MESOSCALE UNCERTAINTIES/...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY THROUGH
THE MIDDLE PART OF NEXT WEEK ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE SOUTH-CENTRAL
CONUS.

DAY 4/SUNDAY...A LEAD PORTION OF THE WESTERN STATES TROUGH IS LIKELY
TO SHIFT NORTHEASTWARD OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS/CENTRAL HIGH
PLAINS...WHILE LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE TRANSITIONS NORTHWARD. THE
DAKOTAS/WESTERN NEB AND OTHER PARTS OF THE CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS
APPEAR TO WARRANT A 15-PERCENT ORGANIZED SEVERE RISK NEAR AN
ADVANCING FRONT AND A SHARPENING LEE TROUGH...WHILE OTHER SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS INCLUDING
WESTERN OK AND WEST/NORTHWEST TX IN VICINITY OF THE DRYLINE.

DAY 5/MONDAY...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS COULD OCCUR AS FAR NORTH AS
MN/IA...BUT A SOMEWHAT MORE CERTAIN SEVERE RISK IS EXPECTED ACROSS
THE SOUTH-CENTRAL PLAINS INCLUDING PARTS OF KS/OK INTO NORTH/WEST TX
NEAR THE DRYLINE.

DAYS 6/7 TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY...SEVERE WEATHER CAN BE EXPECTED BOTH
DAYS...WITH PARTS OF THE SOUTH-CENTRAL PLAINS /KS-OK-NORTH TX/ TO
LOWER MO VALLEY/OZARKS APPEARING MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE SEVERE
WEATHER PER LATEST GUIDANCE. CURRENT INDICATIONS ARE THAT AT LEAST
CATEGORICAL SLIGHT RISKS ARE PLAUSIBLE ON BOTH DAYS AS FORECAST
DETAILS ARE BETTER RESOLVED.

..GUYER.. 05/19/2016


http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/exper/day4-8/day5prob.gif?1463665917787

bchris02
05-19-2016, 10:21 AM
It's starting to look like Monday is the big day to worry about..and possibly Tuesday.

Right now, is this looking like a classic high-end setup or do things still have to come together?

I know high CAPE alone doesn't necessarily mean a significant tornado outbreak. You also have to have lower-level wind shear and a CAP that isn't too weak or two strong. Are things looking to set up in that manner?

Soonerman12
05-19-2016, 10:46 AM
You are right, you can get pretty violent tornadoes with only CAPE 1,000-2,000 j/kg but they could be pretty isolated like the storms were that hit Sulphur, OK a few weeks back. As of now all modes will be possible, that could change and be better or worse.

SoonerDave
05-19-2016, 11:30 AM
It's starting to look like Monday is the big day to worry about..and possibly Tuesday.

Right now, is this looking like a classic high-end setup or do things still have to come together?

I know high CAPE alone doesn't necessarily mean a significant tornado outbreak. You also have to have lower-level wind shear and a CAP that isn't too weak or two strong. Are things looking to set up in that manner?

For something that far out, you just can't get that precise yet. And even when the "variables" seem really well orchestrated, and they do feel confident enough to give a Day 5 outlook, sometimes it *still* doesn't come together, a la a few Tuesdays ago. Best plan this far out is to just be aware, and see how things evolve.

bchris02
05-19-2016, 11:44 AM
For something that far out, you just can't get that precise yet. And even when the "variables" seem really well orchestrated, and they do feel confident enough to give a Day 5 outlook, sometimes it *still* doesn't come together, a la a few Tuesdays ago. Best plan this far out is to just be aware, and see how things evolve.

So far, the TV meteorologists seem to be taking the "wait and see" approach on this as opposed to hyping it. Hopefully this doesn't evolve into something like we had during the last week of May in 2013.

Anonymous.
05-19-2016, 01:29 PM
Obviously, this gets muddier the further out you go. General synopsis, be aware.

Sunday evening - W OK (see PH) dryline action

Monday evening - C OK dryline action

Tuesday evening - C (eventual E) OK front/dryline action

Wednesday evening - E OK front action

Thursday - E (maybe C) OK action

Friday - W and C OK action

Saturday - C and E OK action

Sunday - C and E OK action

Further out - looks like general severe weather chances continue into June.

AP
05-19-2016, 01:49 PM
Someone please tell me the likelihood of rain on June 4th. I'm getting married that day and I'm #Praying4Rain

Anonymous.
05-19-2016, 01:54 PM
So you want rain? Models are garbage that far out, but as it stands today, there is indeed rain/storms in OK per GFS.

AP
05-19-2016, 01:56 PM
Kind of jokingly. I bought my fiance's engagement ring at BC Clark and they do the Pray4Rain promotion. I'm not super serious but noticed that accuweather predicted rain on that day. Might be nice to get 5k of the ring back.

Bellaboo
05-19-2016, 01:57 PM
So you want rain? Models are garbage that far out, but as it stands today, there is indeed rain/storms in OK per GFS.

He wants that ring paid for !

I know a couple that got some of theirs paid for.

LakeEffect
05-19-2016, 02:41 PM
5k of the ring back. OF the ring? :)

Hoping for rain just for you.

AP
05-19-2016, 02:46 PM
Haha man, that promotion would be incredible! I meant "a full refund (excluding sales tax) of the purchase price of that ring, up to a maximum of $5,000"

Soonerman12
05-19-2016, 03:10 PM
Hope your wife doesn't see this, you cheap bastard!





Ahh what am I saying I do the same damn thing lol

bchris02
05-20-2016, 09:48 AM
Damon Lane is saying next week's severe threat will be the highest seen so far this year, and its pretty much every day all week. Mike Morgan seems to be going with Tuesday as being the biggest day with the highest threat in western Oklahoma. Not sure if too soon to try to pinpoint it like that, but I hope that is the case.

Soonerman12
05-20-2016, 09:49 AM
Heads up, SPC has a 15% area for much of Oklahoma now for Thursday, DAY 7.

ZCZC SPCSWOD48 ALL
ACUS48 KWNS 200900
SPC AC 200900

DAY 4-8 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0400 AM CDT FRI MAY 20 2016

VALID 231200Z - 281200Z

...DISCUSSION...
AN INCREASINGLY SEVERE-CONDUCIVE PATTERN IS EXPECTED THROUGH EARLY
NEXT WEEK...ESPECIALLY ACROSS PARTS OF THE CENTRAL/SOUTHERN PLAINS
TO THE MO VALLEY/MIDWEST. THIS WILL GENERALLY BE ATTRIBUTABLE TO
SEMI-PERSISTENT TROUGHING WEST OF THE ROCKIES AND
NORTHWARD-DEVELOPING LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE...WITH A PARTICULARLY
MOISTURE-RICH/STRONGLY UNSTABLE AIR MASS EXPECTED ACROSS THE
SOUTH-CENTRAL PLAINS IN THE ABSENCE OF LOCALIZED CONVECTIVE
OVERTURNING.

CURRENT INDICATIONS ARE THAT AT LEAST CATEGORICAL SLIGHT RISKS ARE
PLAUSIBLE EACH DAY THROUGH AT LEAST THE MIDDLE PART OF THE WEEK /DAY
7 THURSDAY/. IT SHOULD ALSO BE NOTED THAT GRAPHICAL RISK ADJUSTMENTS
WILL UNDOUBTEDLY BE NEEDED AS MESOSCALE DETAILS ARE RESOLVED.

DAY 4/MONDAY...WHILE RESIDUAL DAY 3 CONVECTION AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT
CASTS SOME UNCERTAINTY...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS COULD OCCUR AS FAR
NORTH AS MN/IA. A SOMEWHAT MORE CERTAIN SEVERE RISK IS EXPECTED
ACROSS THE SOUTH-CENTRAL PLAINS INCLUDING PARTS OF KS/OK INTO
NORTH/WEST TX NEAR THE DRYLINE.

DAY 5 TUESDAY...INCREASING/NORTHWARD RETURNING LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE
AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT/DRYLINE...IN CONJUNCTION WITH A
LOWER-AMPLITUDE TROUGH OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS...SHOULD LEAD TO
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS RISKS ACROSS PARTS OF THE CENTRAL/SOUTHERN
PLAINS TO LOWER/MIDDLE MO VALLEY.

DAY 6/WEDNESDAY...AS THE DEAMPLIFYING TROUGH OVERSPREADS THE UPPER
MIDWEST/GREAT LAKES...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS COULD OCCUR ACROSS PARTS
OF WI/IL/MI AND MIDDLE MS VALLEY/OZARKS... SOUTHWESTWARD TO NEAR THE
SOUTHERN PLAINS DRYLINE VICINITY WHERE THE SEVERE RISK MAY BE MORE
ISOLATED/CONDITIONAL WITHIN A VERY UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENT. WHILE
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED ON WEDNESDAY...THE POSSIBILITY
OF EARLY-DAY CONVECTION ACROSS THE MIDWEST AND RELATED MESOSCALE
UNCERTAINTIES CURRENTLY PRECLUDES A GRAPHICALLY DEPICTED SEVERE
RISK.

DAY 7/THURSDAY...WHILE CONFIDENCE IN SPATIAL DETAILS IS NOT OVERLY
HIGH...EARLY INDICATIONS ARE THAT A NORTHEASTWARD-EJECTING SOUTHERN
STREAM TROUGH IN CONJUNCTION WITH STRENGTHENING WESTERLIES ALOFT
WILL OVERSPREAD A VERY MOIST/UNSTABLE WARM SECTOR ACROSS THE
SOUTH-CENTRAL PLAINS TO MO VALLEY/MIDWEST.

..GUYER.. 05/20/2016

TheTravellers
05-20-2016, 10:36 AM
Someone please tell me the likelihood of rain on June 4th. I'm getting married that day and I'm #Praying4Rain

Congrats, we'll be celebrating our 22nd anniversary that day also (most likely in a completely different way than you're going to be celebrating, though :))!

bchris02
05-20-2016, 12:19 PM
Very nervous about next week.

Is there any good news i.e. anything at play to prevent this from being similar to the final week of May in 2013?

ou48A
05-20-2016, 12:25 PM
There were predictions made many weeks ago by some of the TV guys that the last part of May would be super active for sever weather….. Looks like they may have been right.

jn1780
05-20-2016, 01:01 PM
Very nervous about next week.

Is there any good news i.e. anything at play to prevent this from being similar to the final week of May in 2013?

I wouldn't really be too nervous about it. Just have to take one day at a time.

SoonerDave
05-20-2016, 01:44 PM
Very nervous about next week.

Is there any good news i.e. anything at play to prevent this from being similar to the final week of May in 2013?

You are taking for granted the idea it will be "similar" to May 2013. Every "May" has the potential to be similar to every other "May", because May is generally storm season...In all honesty, no snarkiness or disrespect intended, but if the advance forecasts give you that much anxiety, I think I'd stop paying them so much attention.

That is, someone could come on here and post a note saying "oh, yeah, NOTHING will happen next week," and the peace it might induce would be just as artificial as the angst generated by someone *else* showing up and saying "massive storm outbreak guaranteed!" Just take it a day at a time.

bchris02
05-20-2016, 06:53 PM
You are taking for granted the idea it will be "similar" to May 2013. Every "May" has the potential to be similar to every other "May", because May is generally storm season...In all honesty, no snarkiness or disrespect intended, but if the advance forecasts give you that much anxiety, I think I'd stop paying them so much attention.


I find the more I know, the better. What causes the most anxiety, at least for me, is a very muddy forecast combined with hype from the TV meteorologists. I have really appreciated David Payne's calmer forecasts this year. Tonight's was excellent. Another TV meteorologist who I will not name compared this upcoming week to the last week of May in 2013. I don't see how that does anybody any good and all it does is incite panic.

I would like to learn more about the models like GFS, NAM, etc myself and also learn how to interpret weather balloon soundings.

LocoAko
05-20-2016, 08:38 PM
I find the more I know, the better. What causes the most anxiety, at least for me, is a very muddy forecast combined with hype from the TV meteorologists. I have really appreciated David Payne's calmer forecasts this year. Tonight's was excellent. Another TV meteorologist who I will not name compared this upcoming week to the last week of May in 2013. I don't see how that does anybody any good and all it does is incite panic.

I would like to learn more about the models like GFS, NAM, etc myself and also learn how to interpret weather balloon soundings.

Just stick with the NWS and SPC then. They know what they're doing and have much less incentive to hype. Not everything is going to wind up like May of 2013. The forecast for this week is muddy because there's going to be extreme instability present and a bunch of pieces of energy ejecting through the Plains throughout the week. The wind fields don't look super top-end on any of the days (for now), but they do look more than sufficient for supercells and possibly tornadoes for most of the week. Just take it a day at a time and don't always assume the worst. You'd be surprised how much has to go right to get a tornado outbreak... it's not as easy as people make it sound. :P

bchris02
05-20-2016, 09:02 PM
You'd be surprised how much has to go right to get a tornado outbreak... it's not as easy as people make it sound. :P

Thanks for letting me know about the wind fields as that was something I was wondering about. Where can I get this information and what is conductive to a high-end outbreak and what isn't? This year, and reading coverage leading up to that PDS day a few weeks ago has taught me that. You have to have instability + shear + updraft + cap not too weak or strong + dry line in right spot + no/little rain or cloudcover throughout the day are all necessary. Boundaries and triple point location are also important and in multi-day setups like what is coming next week, what happens one day can effect what happens the next. If one of these things isn't there or not positioned just right, a high-end forecast can be a bust. For instance, too much instability and too weak of a cap can cause explosive development that conglomerates into a huge mess that doesn't pack the punch of discreet tornadic supercells.

SoonerDave
05-21-2016, 07:05 AM
Thanks for letting me know about the wind fields as that was something I was wondering about. Where can I get this information and what is conductive to a high-end outbreak and what isn't? This year, and reading coverage leading up to that PDS day a few weeks ago has taught me that. You have to have instability + shear + updraft + cap not too weak or strong + dry line in right spot + no/little rain or cloudcover throughout the day are all necessary. Boundaries and triple point location are also important and in multi-day setups like what is coming next week, what happens one day can effect what happens the next. If one of these things isn't there or not positioned just right, a high-end forecast can be a bust. For instance, too much instability and too weak of a cap can cause explosive development that conglomerates into a huge mess that doesn't pack the punch of discreet tornadic supercells.

A "strong cap" means the atmosphere won't allow the convection necessary for storms to form and lift. The stronger the cap, the less likely storms are able to form. When you have a strong storm system coming in, it can provide vertical "forcing" sufficient to "break the cap." That's where you hear mets talk about "keeping a lid" on storms...big cap, few if any storms can form.

Early morning storms can mess up a forecast because they "beat up" and stabilize the atmosphere sometimes long enough to prevent afternoon heating from *de*stabilizing it enough to facilitate later storm development.

ou48A
05-21-2016, 09:13 AM
Thanks for letting me know about the wind fields as that was something I was wondering about. Where can I get this information and what is conductive to a high-end outbreak and what isn't? This year, and reading coverage leading up to that PDS day a few weeks ago has taught me that. You have to have instability + shear + updraft + cap not too weak or strong + dry line in right spot + no/little rain or cloudcover throughout the day are all necessary. Boundaries and triple point location are also important and in multi-day setups like what is coming next week, what happens one day can effect what happens the next. If one of these things isn't there or not positioned just right, a high-end forecast can be a bust. For instance, too much instability and too weak of a cap can cause explosive development that conglomerates into a huge mess that doesn't pack the punch of discreet tornadic supercells.

Many people mistake a 30% or 40% of rain as a low chance for tornadoes when in fact many of our worst tornadoes occur with this percentage of rain… it’s because the supercells stay discrete, few in number and pull in all the surrounding energy.

SoonerDave
05-21-2016, 11:52 AM
Thanks for letting me know about the wind fields as that was something I was wondering about. Where can I get this information and what is conductive to a high-end outbreak and what isn't? This year, and reading coverage leading up to that PDS day a few weeks ago has taught me that. You have to have instability + shear + updraft + cap not too weak or strong + dry line in right spot + no/little rain or cloudcover throughout the day are all necessary. Boundaries and triple point location are also important and in multi-day setups like what is coming next week, what happens one day can effect what happens the next. If one of these things isn't there or not positioned just right, a high-end forecast can be a bust. For instance, too much instability and too weak of a cap can cause explosive development that conglomerates into a huge mess that doesn't pack the punch of discreet tornadic supercells.

There's a great example of the variability of these forecasts in the Day 3 (Monday) SPC summary from NOAA. Look here (emphasis mine):



INITIALLY...CURRENT THINKING IS THAT A MCS MAY BE ONGOING/MOVE
SOUTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE LOWER MO VALLEY/OZARKS MONDAY MORNING. THIS
POSSIBLE MCS CASTS UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE DEGREE OF DESTABILIZATION
IN ITS WAKE...PARTICULARLY WITH NORTHWARD EXTEND ALONG THE FRONT
FROM KS INTO EAST-CENTRAL NEB...WITH SPECULATIONS THAT RELATED
OUTFLOW/DIFFERENTIAL HEATING COULD INDUCE AN EFFECTIVE TRIPLE POINT
SOMEWHERE ACROSS KS. CURRENT THINKING IS THAT GREATEST SEVERE RISK
MONDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING WILL EXIST FROM THIS POSSIBLE TRIPLE POINT
VICINITY SOUTHWESTWARD ACROSS WESTERN PORTIONS OF OK AND TX IN
VICINITY OF THE DRYLINE...WHERE MIDDLE/UPPER 60S F SURFACE DEWPOINTS
WILL CONTRIBUTE TO STRONG DESTABILIZATION /3000+ J PER KG MLCAPE/.
SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF LARGE HAIL AND FEW TORNADOES CAN BE EXPECTED
ESPECIALLY LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY/MID-EVENING...WITH SOME
POTENTIAL FOR ONE OR MORE MCS/S TO EVOLVE MONDAY NIGHT WITH A
DAMAGING WIND THREAT.

While the overall discussion is consistent with the general advisory about the potential for severe weather Monday, look at a couple of very important qualifiers I've bolded a couple of things:

1. "CURRENT THINKING" - Much of the *gross* analysis is provided by the models, GFS, NAM, EURO. But despite the advance of computer-based algorithmic simulation of weather, there's a great deal of thought that goes into the *fine-grained* analysis in these forecasts. It's the "current thinking." That's based on the expertise of the people who assemble the forecasts, their review of data beyond the models, air flow, moisture, the whole schmear. You *have* to have this kind of analysis, because relying solely on the models will Get You In Trouble. They're *one* important tool in weather forecasting. And, to a degree, its instinctive, its experience-based, and as such necessarily can't be reduced to an algorithm. There may be a general consensus among forecasters, but it's not merely a recitation of what the models show.

2. "An MCS....[leads to] uncertainty about destabilization" - That's the met's $10 way of saying crapvection throws a huge monkeywrench into...everything. It's precisely what we were talking about before - if you get an early morning/mid-day system that beats up the atmosphere early, it may have limited or no time to "recover" and become sufficiently unstable such that all the *later* convection and moisture and airmass collision can happen. Again, that's something *very* hard to model. But the mets who interpret the models also know all to well about crapvection and know that mitigates the certainty of any such forecast.

All this is to say these forecasts even two or three days out have to be taken for what they are - advisories that combine the expertise of trained meteorologists (which I am most certainly not, although I love to try and study it) with all the tools at their disposal - the models and satellites and hodographs and wind graphs and everything else. There are so many variables, it's precisely what makes the severe forecasting job so incredibly difficult. It's like predicting how a leaf will fall from a tree - you know eventually it will hit the ground, but the path it takes to get there may be anything but a straight line. And the folks who insist things are "guaranteed" more than a few days out usually have another agenda (ratings chief among them).

So what do we take from this Day 3 outlook? Severe storms are possible in NW OK, and early storms make the forecast going N/NE of there much trickier. Bottom line? Just keep aware of what's up.

jn1780
05-22-2016, 09:43 AM
Looks like a bumpy week. Looks more like an isolated tornado threat Monday and Tuesday. Thursday or Friday could see a more elevated threat depending on how things evolve.

bchris02
05-22-2016, 11:33 AM
Looks like a bumpy week. Looks more like an isolated tornado threat Monday and Tuesday. Thursday or Friday could see a more elevated threat depending on how things evolve.

Yeah Thursday and Friday especially look like they could be the big show depending on how things set up.

What's interesting is I haven't heard a lot of details or threat levels from the TV meteorologists this time. They seem to be taking a "wait and see" approach, which is different from the way they have been hyping it and issuing tornado indexes a week out all season long. Is it simply because its a muddy forecast?

SoonerDave
05-22-2016, 02:26 PM
Yeah Thursday and Friday especially look like they could be the big show depending on how things set up.

What's interesting is I haven't heard a lot of details or threat levels from the TV meteorologists this time. They seem to be taking a "wait and see" approach, which is different from the way they have been hyping it and issuing tornado indexes a week out all season long. Is it simply because its a muddy forecast?

Because being that alarmist about conditions six days away just doesn't really help anyone. The situation that far out just isn't that fixed.

Anonymous.
05-23-2016, 09:15 AM
This morning's stuff is clearing out. Should have a solid day of sun and heating things up to a very unstable environment.

Models fire storms up in the S TX PH and into WC OK later today and move them off to the east in these sort-of complexes. It will likely be similar to yesterday where they start as individual HP supercells and evolve into clusters with embedded supercells. Anything remaining isolated will pose greatest threats.

Thursday and Friday look like potential PDS type of days, at this time.

SoonerDave
05-23-2016, 10:14 AM
Thursday and Friday look like potential PDS type of days, at this time.

Ugh. Sure hope that changes in the next couple of days. Thurs is the last day of school for Moore...be nice to get out of an entire storm season without a serious storm threat during the school year, especially in that area.

bchris02
05-23-2016, 10:21 AM
Ugh. Sure hope that changes in the next couple of days. Thurs is the last day of school for Moore...be nice to get out of an entire storm season without a serious storm threat during the school year, especially in that area.

Yeah. Things aren't looking good for Thursday from everything I've seen and that could turn out to be the big day, with central OK directly under the gun. I've seen different forecasts regarding Friday. Hopefully things change between now and then.

Jesseda
05-23-2016, 11:01 AM
Yeah kind a stressing since we just had the third year anniversary of what happened and of course thanks to facebook there is that memory section lol. All I know is since my kids school currently doesn't have a shelter, I am not taking that chance and they will be checked out early if anything starts to happen close by. I will be keeping a close eye on the weather updates this week. I was hoping for a slow storm season, already had a shake up with tornados this year, my daughter was down at the ymca camp by davis when that tornado went just north of them, one of the adult volunteers at the camp snapped picture of it, cant believe it was that close to them a entire 5th grade school from moore was down there when all that went down

bchris02
05-23-2016, 02:03 PM
Thursday and Friday look like potential PDS type of days, at this time.

Is it too early to tell where the dryline sets up? GFS has it out near the OK/Texas ph border while NAM brings it eastward with a bow around I-40 and very high CAPE in southwestern and north central Oklahoma. If it's out near the OK/Texas border, that usually bodes better for the metro.

Anonymous.
05-23-2016, 02:22 PM
Tonight's show is about to start.


http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/mcd0695.gif

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0695
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0218 PM CDT MON MAY 23 2016

AREAS AFFECTED...SOUTHWEST KS...EAST TX/OK PANHANDLES...WEST OK

CONCERNING...SEVERE POTENTIAL...TORNADO WATCH LIKELY

VALID 231918Z - 232115Z

PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE...95 PERCENT

SUMMARY...ISOLATED SURFACE-BASED STORMS SHOULD INITIATE ALONG THE
DRYLINE AND NEAR A LARGE-SCALE OUTFLOW BOUNDARY. A MODERATE TO
STRONGLY UNSTABLE AIR MASS WILL SUPPORT SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF
SIGNIFICANT SEVERE HAIL. BACKED SURFACE WINDS NEAR THE BOUNDARIES
SHOULD ALSO FOSTER A RISK FOR A COUPLE TORNADIC SUPERCELLS.

DISCUSSION...19Z SURFACE ANALYSIS PLACED A 1004 MB SURFACE NEAR THE
OK PANHANDLE/SOUTHWEST KS BORDER WITH AN ATTENDANT DRYLINE ARCING
SOUTH ACROSS THE EAST TX PANHANDLE TO THE PERMIAN BASIN. AN OUTFLOW
BOUNDARY WAS EVIDENT ACROSS NORTH-CENTRAL OKLAHOMA INTO
SOUTH-CENTRAL KS...WITH THE NORTH PART OF THIS BOUNDARY SURGING
WEST. INCREASINGLY AGITATED CU HAS BEEN NOTED NEAR THESE BOUNDARIES
AND LINGERING MLCIN SHOULD BECOME MINIMAL IN THE NEXT 1-2 HOURS. AIR
MASS BETWEEN THE DRYLINE AND OUTFLOW ACROSS WEST OK AND THE EAST TX
PANHANDLE IS BECOMING STRONGLY UNSTABLE WITH MLCAPE LIKELY BETWEEN
2500-3500 J/KG GIVEN UPPER 60S TO LOWER 70S SURFACE DEW POINTS.
SUFFICIENT DEEP-LAYER SHEAR FOR SUPERCELLS SHOULD PROMOTE LARGE HAIL
AS THE PRIMARY THREAT. ALTHOUGH LOW-LEVEL WINDS ARE MODEST AT
PRESENT...BACKED SURFACE WINDS /ESPECIALLY NEAR THE OUTFLOW
BOUNDARY/ AND DEGREE OF BUOYANCY SHOULD FAVOR A COUPLE TORNADIC
SUPERCELLS AS WELL.

..GRAMS/HART.. 05/23/2016

Anonymous.
05-23-2016, 02:25 PM
Is it too early to tell where the dryline sets up? GFS has it out near the OK/Texas ph border while NAM brings it eastward with a bow around I-40 and very high CAPE in southwestern and north central Oklahoma. If it's out near the OK/Texas border, that usually bodes better for the metro.

If you are referring to Thursday, it is very early to tell. But my ballpark is generally from Woodward-Elk City-Altus, line.

John1744
05-23-2016, 03:32 PM
Hopefully people are paying attention Friday as they head to the lake and things.

GoThunder
05-23-2016, 04:30 PM
Can I play golf in OKC today at 6?

jn1780
05-23-2016, 04:33 PM
Can I play golf in OKC today at 6?

yes

bchris02
05-23-2016, 05:22 PM
Hopefully people are paying attention Friday as they head to the lake and things.

I've seen different forecasts for Friday. Some are saying it's going to be bad while others are not. Everybody should be weather aware all week.

If there is one day that looks particularly ominous for the OKC area it's Thursday.

In terms of Thursday, is there any chance of morning convection messing things up for the afternoon?