SPC Issues New Tornado Watches as Plains Supercells Intensify Sunday

Overview

• Multiple watches were posted Sunday afternoon and evening for parts of eastern Kansas, Missouri, southern Oklahoma, and western north Texas as storms organized along boundaries.
• Supercells near the Red River in southern Oklahoma and western north Texas are producing very large hail up to 3 inches with a growing tornado risk as evening instability and wind shear increase.
• Far southeast Kansas and northeast Oklahoma face a heightened threat for strong tornadoes, with forecasters citing a focused low‑level jet and very high storm‑relative helicity.
• Earlier overnight and into Sunday morning, storms over southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana merged into a line that shifted the main hazard to damaging straight‑line winds and embedded spin‑ups.
• A watch signals that conditions favor severe storms, so people in the boxes should prepare for warnings that call out specific towns and take steps to protect cars, roofs, and anyone outdoors from large hail and 60–75 mph winds.