The Storm Prediction Center has issued a rare high risk area across Oklahoma and Kansas for a major tornado outbreak this afternoon. The outbreak is expected to be centered across Oklahoma, extreme northern Texas, and southern Kansas, with a lower (but still elevated) risk of a major tornado outbreak across northwestern Arkansas, northern Texas (including Dallas/Ft. Worth), most of the rest of Kansas, and western Missouri this afternoon.
A PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situation) tornado watch has been issued for parts of Texas and Oklahoma for the threat of very large, long track, destructive tornadoes, hail larger than baseballs, and destructive wind gusts over 70 MPH.
Jump the fold for information on this upcoming tornado outbreak, as well as a map to make more sense of what I said above. The newest updates will appear at the top of the text below the fold.
Keep dickish and political comments out of here. Politics should and do go out the window when stuff like this happens. Consider yourself warned.
Updates
Update 27 637PM CDT
Unbelievably intense damage in Washington OK with the tornado a little while ago (see updates below). The grass is ripped from the ground, homes are scrubbed to the slabs. I'm so damn tired of seeing stuff like this. Screenshots from KWTV.
Update 26 613PM CDT
The US Air Force has taken over for the Storm Prediction Center, as they've evacuated the building and are in their tornado shelter.
Update 25 604PM CDT
The tornado is cycling between really small and really large in Moore, OK. First picture is from storm chasers in Moore, and the second is from a KWTV news helicopter near Moore as well.
Update 24 558PM CDT
OKC Police reporting a tornado on the ground in West Moore OK. Stovepipe tornado on 149th Street in Moore, from KWTV:
Update 23 548PM CDT
Tornado EMERGENCY in effect for Moore and Norman OK, as well as surrounding areas.
Update 22 546PM CDT
Another large, violent tornado on the ground near Criner OK moving northeast towards Washington, Noble and Slaughter OK.
Update 21 543PM CDT
2 killed in Canadian County with that large wedge tornado earlier.
Large violent tornado about to move through Moore and Norman, Oklahoma right now. These are the same areas devastated by the F5 in 1999. Get underground NOW.
Update 20 525PM CDT
Tornado in Chickasha is about twice the size now, moving east-northeast. Anyone near this thing needs to get underground NOW.
Update 19 519PM CDT
Large tornado near Chickasha, OK moving northwest. From KWTV:
Here's the radar wind velocities from that storm:
Update 18 511PM CDT
Radar velocity image from KWTV clearly showing the tornado moving through towards Cimarron City, Seward, and Guthrie.
Update 17 504PM CDT
Radar from KWTV showing the large debris ball on radar. You can see the homes it's destroying by looking at the neighborhoods on the map. The tornado is the very dark spot above and to the left of the word "Alan."
Update 16 457PM CDT
Large tornado on the ground near Piedmont, OK. Power flashes, homes leveled, lots of debris. Huge debris ball on radar.
Radar, tornado is the dark spot on radar, showing all the bits of homes and other debris swirling around this tornado. Law enforcement reporting a large line of damage across Canadian County, OK as a result of this tornado.
Update 15 430PM CDT
Extremely intense wedge tornado on the ground near El Reno, OK northwest of Oklahoma City. The storm relative wind velocities look exactly like the Tuscaloosa/B'ham tornado last April. Wow.
Update 14 400PM CDT
Large, wedge tornado (at least 3/4 mile wide) near Calumet, OK. It's so large that they can't see the right edge of the tornado. Screenshot from KWTV.
Update 13 446PM EDT
Two new tornado watches in effect:
PDS Tornado Watch #360 for central/south Kansas until 1100PM CDT:
Tornado Watch #361 in effect for northern North Carolina and southern Central Virginia until 1000PM Eastern Time, including the Greensboro/High Point/Winston Salem area.
Update 12 432PM EDT
Local news reporting a tornado on the ground near Pilot Mountain NC and will approach Surry and Stokes Counties in NC soon. Radar indicating possibility for 4.00" hail in this storm as well.
Update 11 429PM E DT
Weather radio, emergency alert system, and sirens way off in the distance for a tornado warning near me. I might disappear for a while.
Update 10 321PM CDT
Large tornado on the ground near Canton, Oklahoma. News helicopters were chasing it before they had to leave for safety reasons. Tornado is now rain-wrapped and getting larger. It's close to being a wedge tornado now. Here are a few screenshots from KWTV's chopper:
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Update 9 315PM CDT
Tornado warning for Prowers County, Colorado. Law enforcement reports a tornado on the ground near Lamar, CO.
Tornado on the ground near Canton Lake, OK. News helicopter chasing it.
Update 8 310PM CDT
KWTV in Oklahoma has amazing live coverage and live helicopter footage of some of the storms that are firing up out there. Click here to watch it on their website.
Update 7 304PM CDT
Tornado warning for Blaine, Dewey, Major, Woods Counties in OK.
Update 6 357PM EDT
Ironically, most of our tornado warnings are in the mid-Atlantic now. The boxes next to the radars show what cities/communities will be impacted by the rotation, and at what time (all times Eastern).
VA: Lee, Scott, Wise Counties under a tornado warning.
NC: Surry, Wilkes, Yadkin Counties under a tornado warning.
Update 5 325PM EDT
Randomness, but a tornado warning in western North Carolina one county to my west. Warning for Alleghany, Surry and Wilkes Counties in western NC.
Update 4 214PM CDT
Two tornado warnings in effect, one in KS and one in CO:
KS: Grant, Haskell, Seward and Stevens Counties. Towns of Moscow and Cave in the path of rotation.
CO: Huerfano and Las Animas Counties. Tyrone, Simpson, Model, Earl, Patterson Crossing and Walts Corner are in the path of this storm.
Update 3 208PM Central
This storm went from nothing to producing tennis ball sized hail in 20 minutes -- 7 frames of the radar. Like I said, this stuff is going to explode like crazy. Severe t'storm warning for Dewey and Custer Counties in OK for this storm.
Update 2 143PM Central
Here's a satellite from the College of DuPage showing clouds building up, where the storms will fire shortly. I've circled areas where the clouds are building the quickest, and will probably form into storms first.
A meta note, I won't update the watches below anymore for new or cancelled/expired severe t'storm watches. I'll only do it for tornado watches now, as they're the most serious threat today.
Update 1 130PM Central
Again, pardon me if I screw up the times, I'm still not used to living in Eastern.
A new tornado watch has been issued for eastern Colorado and western Kansas until 1000PM CDT. Click here to see it, I will update the watches below shortly. Big storms in Colorado already, with a supercell developing in southwestern Kansas. I'll start posting radars when tornado warnings go up.
We're waiting for this dryline to move east into Oklahoma, where the ripest conditions are located. Drylines move in big leaps as opposed to constant motion like cold or warm fronts. As soon as it hits the right conditions, storms will literally explode in 20-30 minutes from nothing to possibly tornadic.
Here are some maps from the Storm Prediction Center, because they can tell you more than I ever could. You can access the outlook maps HERE, and the watch maps HERE.
Watches
Tornado Watch #358-- Parts of CO and KS until 1000PM CDT
Severe T'Storm Watch #357-- Parts of TN, KY, WV, VA until 800PM EDT
PDS Tornado Watch #356 -- Parts of TX and OK until 1000PM CDT
Severe T'Storm Watch #355 -- Parts of NC, VA, MD until 800PM EDT
Severe T'Storm Watch #354 -- Parts of WV, VA NC until 500PM EDT
Severe T'Storm Watch #352 -- Parts of KY, WV, VA, NC until 200PM EDT
Today's Severe Weather Outlook
Today's Tornado Threat
Today's Hail Threat
Today's Damaging Wind Threat
The cities that have the largest risk for severe weather are Wichita, KS, Tulsa, OK and Oklahoma City, OK. Areas in and around these cities need to take extreme caution to protect life and property on short notice this afternoon and evening.
I will continue to update this diary and operate it as a liveblog as the storms get going. I know that the threat for severe weather is very widespread today, but I'm going to focus on the Midwest from Dallas up through Kansas, and east into NW AR and W MO.
