2020 Oklahoma City Tornado Outbreak

One day on May, 22nd, 2020 there was an outbreak that would change meteorology for the years to come, and here's the story.

The Beginning

Earlier, on May, 22nd, the National weather service issued a Moderate Risk for Hail up to 2" in diameter, winds up to 75 MPH, and the possibility for a few tornadoes, with the possibility that there would be a long tracked one. It was also mentioned that the wind shear was capped, meaning that there was a block of uplift. Also, the times for the worst storms would be between 4PM-9PM.

The Watch

At about 12PM, there was an announcement that there would be a tornado watch for the OKC metro until 11PM, and said it was also because of a dryline. The National Weather Service also upgraded the risk level to a High Risk, for winds up to 80 MPH, Hail up to 3" diameter, and a tornado outbreak. There were also reports of thunderstorms forming around 100 miles from OKC, and that the line of storms would hit the OKC metro between 5PM and 7PM.

Beginning of an Outbreak

At around 2:30PM, there were already severe thunderstorm warnings being issued around 75 miles away from Oklahoma City, and the clouds were starting to darken around Oklahoma City. Also, a Wind Advisory was issued because there were already non-thunderstorm gusts at around 35-45MPH. And also, businesses in and around the OKC area were leaving their places because of the storm.

Another Update

At around 3:30PM,The national weather service announced that ahead of the line, there were thunderstorms forming that could turn tornadic, and that they were expected to hit Oklahoma City at around 4:30PM, and could produce large hail, strong winds, and weak tornadoes. There were also Severe Thunderstorm Warnings being issued around the OKC metro at the time.

First Tornado

At 3:55PM, there was a tornado warining for central Caddo County until 4:45PM for strong rotation being reported, and that if the supercell lived long enough, it could hit the OKC metro. A few minutes after that, at 4:02PM, there was a report of a tornado touching down in Gracemont, and it was moving at 45 MPH, and could hit Oklahoma City. But short after that, the tornado dissipated and there was an estimate that the winds were 85MPH at the strongest, and the path was about 2.5 miles.

Another One

At 4:13, there was a tornado warning issued for Northern Canadian County until 5:00PM for a tornado confirmation, but like the first one, that one dissipated quickly after forming, and the estimated path length was 1.7 miles, with winds were at 80 MPH at the strongest.