Thunderstorm Wind in Woodward County, Oklahoma

Freedom (FREE) Mesonet observation.

Between the very late evening of the 22nd and the early morning of the 24th, multiple severe convective regimes developed across the WFO Norman Forecast Area. This convective event was triggered by a slow-moving upper-level system and its associated lead impulses. Initially, thunderstorms formed a broken line as they traversed northern Oklahoma. The presence of a reservoir of instability increased the potential for wind damage for a short time, with the system weakening as it approached the I-35 corridor. By the early evening of the 23rd, another round of severe weather emerged along a trailing cold front across eastern and southeastern Oklahoma. The combination of sufficient wind shear and instability during this event resulted in large hail and damaging wind gusts.