Alert archive / Oklahoma / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1986

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 41, NWS Norman, OK

March 31, 1986Woods County, Woodward County, Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 31, 1986, 8:50 PM CST for Woods County, Woodward County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 55 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Mar 31, 1986, 8:50 PM CST (02:50 UTC)
Expired
Mar 31, 1986, 9:45 PM CST
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS Norman, OK
Area
Whole counties

Counties Woods County, OK, Woodward County, OK

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 31, 8:57 PM CSTHail 2Woodward, OK
Mar 31, 9:29 PM CSTHail 1.75Woodward, OK
Mar 31, 9:55 PM CSTHail 0.75Woods, OK

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 00:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 150 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 1986-04-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 749 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 1986-04-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 55 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
749 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2309 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
55 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
149 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 31, 3:16 PM CST, 5 hours 34 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Mar 31, 7:53 PM CST, 57 minutes before
UPDATED OKLAHOMA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OKLAHOMA CITY OK
745 PM CST MON MAR 31 1986

   THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHWESTERN
OKLAHOMA GENERALLY NORTH OF A LINE FROM PONCA CITY TO ARNETT TO
BEAVER THIS EVENING. THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO NORTHWESTERN
OKLAHOMA WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR AND WILL SPREAD ACROSS ALL BUT
SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA BY SUNRISE. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY
PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MILES PER HOUR.

   A COLD FRONT EXTENDS FROM EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA TO A WEAK
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IN THE NORTHWESTERN CORNER OF THE TEXAS PANHANDLE
THIS EVENING. A DRYLINE EXTENDS FROM THE LOW THROUGH THE EASTERN
TEXAS PANHANDLE. THE POTENTIAL FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ALONG
THE DRYLINE HAS DIMINISHED WITH THE LOSS OF SURFACE HEATING. AN
AREA OF WARM AIR ALOFT IN THE VICINITY OF THE DRYLINE THIS AFTERNOON WAS
SOMEWHAT STRONGER THAN EXPECTED..AND NO THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY DEVELOPED
IN THAT AREA.

HOWEVER..THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN QUITE ACTIVE ALONG THE COLD FRONT
NORTH OF OKLAHOMA. THIS COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS ALL BUT THE
SOUTHEASTERN PART OF OKLAHOMA BY SUNRISE. THERE IS SUFFICIENT
INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE TO SUPPORT THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY ALONG THE
FRONT DURING THE NIGHTTIME HOURS..ALTHOUGH THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE
ACTIVITY WILL DIMINISH AFTER MIDNIGHT. GRADIENT WINDS BEHIND THE
COLD FRONT ARE LIKELY TO GUST TO NEAR 50 MILES PER HOUR IN NORTH-
WESTERN OKLAHOMA BUT WILL DIMINISH SOMEWHAT AS THE FRONT MOVES
SOUTHEASTWARD.

   WE RECOMMEND THAT SPOTTER NETWORKS IN NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA REMAIN
ON STANDBY FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS. ANYONE WITH PROPERTY WHICH COULD
BE DAMAGED BY STRONG WINDS SHOULD CONSIDER TAKING STEPS TO PROTECT
IT BEFORE THE COLD FRONT ARRIVES.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Norman, OK issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 31, 8:02 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNWoods58 min
Mar 31, 8:10 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNAlfalfa3 hr
Mar 31, 8:10 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCuster, Dewey, Roger Mills3 hr
Mar 31, 8:12 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNHarper, Woodward48 min
Mar 31, 9:24 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNDewey, Ellis51 min
Mar 31, 9:45 PM CSTTornado WarningOUNEllis, Roger Mills30 min
Mar 31, 9:50 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNWoods, Woodward30 min
Mar 31, 9:50 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNAlfalfa30 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Oklahoma, 1986Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1986

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.