SPC Flags Near-Term Tornado Threat as Central U.S. Severe Outbreak Continues Overnight

Overview

• SPC forecasters, in late Sunday discussions, warned that far southeast Kansas faces an immediate tornado risk as a 30–35 kt low-level jet boosts spin in the lowest few thousand feet.
• Supercells earlier in Oklahoma and north Texas produced brief tornadoes and very large hail up to 3–4 inches, including a long-lived storm near the Dallas–Fort Worth area.
• Storms that started as discrete cells over Arkansas evolved into a bowing line into northern Louisiana, shifting the main hazard to damaging straight-line winds.
• Multiple watches remained active and new or extended watches were considered from Missouri into Kansas as elevated storms expanded with a growing hail threat.
• The setup features extreme instability of 3000–4000 J/kg and strong wind shear with storm-relative helicity near 450 m²/s², which favors supercells capable of tornadoes and very large hail through the night.