Severe Thunderstorm Watch Covers Oklahoma City in Okc Weather Alert
Okc weather shifted today as the Storm Prediction Center issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for a large portion of central to eastern Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City, Ardmore and Tulsa. The watch also covers southeast Kansas and western-northern Texas, with large hail and damaging winds possible through the afternoon and evening.
Storm Prediction Center Watch
The same outlook placed southeastern Kansas, central and eastern Oklahoma, and northern Texas under a Slight Risk. That risk area includes Tulsa and Oklahoma City in Oklahoma and Wichita Falls in Texas, putting the region into a weather setup that can support scattered severe thunderstorms rather than isolated showers.
Forecasters said scattered large hail up to 2 inches in diameter and wind gusts up to 75 mph are possible. Large hail and damaging winds are the primary impacts from thunderstorms today, and an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out.
Oklahoma City And Tulsa
The watch reaches several populated areas that sit inside the main concern zone, including Oklahoma City, Ardmore and Tulsa. For readers in those cities, the practical issue is the same one the watch addresses: conditions are favorable for severe storms across a broad swath of central to eastern Oklahoma during the part of the day when thunderstorms are expected to develop.
A cold front sinking southward and a pool of cooler air aloft are helping fuel scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. A pair of fronts and vigorous upper-air winds are also helping produce scattered severe thunderstorms across the southern Plains to the Gulf Coast states this afternoon and evening.
Southern Plains Setup
The broader pattern extends beyond Oklahoma. A nearly stalled front and upper-air energy moving eastward are helping fuel a few gusty thunderstorms from eastern Texas eastward to northern Florida, and cities such as Houston, New Orleans, Jackson, Mobile and Tallahassee are at risk for a strong to locally severe thunderstorm this afternoon.
For Oklahoma readers, the watch means the afternoon and evening are the most important window. The combination of a watch and a Slight Risk points to conditions that can produce severe weather, while the listed hazards — hail up to 2 inches in diameter and wind gusts up to 75 mph — are the immediate threats to plan around.
