Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 1986
Tornado Warning 2, NWS Norman, OK
NWS Norman, OK issued this tornado warning at Mar 31, 1986, 9:45 PM CST for Ellis County, Roger Mills County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 30 min. 2 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, 9:45 PM CST (03:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 31, 1986, 10:15 PM CST
- In force
- 30 min
- Issued by
- NWS Norman, OK
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Ellis County, OK, Roger Mills 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 10:00 PM CST | Hail 0.75 | Ellis, OK | |
| Mar 31, 10:15 PM CST | Hail 0.75 | Roger Mills, 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
Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 00:00Z, 3.8 hours before the alert went out and 196 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 3564 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 16 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 35 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 34 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KOKC 010347 TOROKC OKC045-129-010415- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OKLAHOMA CITY OK 945 PM CST MON MAR 31 1986 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1015 PM CST FOR PERSONS IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA...SOUTHERN ELLIS AND ROGER MILLS AT 945 PM, RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 7 MILES SOUTH OF HARMON AND WAS MOVING TOWARD THE SOUTH SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH. PERSONS IN ANGORA SHOULD TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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, 7:53 PM CST, 1 hour 52 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 8:02 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Woods | 58 min |
| Mar 31, 8:10 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Alfalfa | 3 hr |
| Mar 31, 8:10 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Custer, Dewey, Roger Mills | 3 hr |
| Mar 31, 8:12 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Harper, Woodward | 48 min |
| Mar 31, 8:50 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Woods, Woodward | 55 min |
| Mar 31, 9:24 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Dewey, Ellis | 51 min |
| Mar 31, 9:50 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Woods, Woodward | 30 min |
| Mar 31, 9:50 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Alfalfa | 30 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 1986Every tornado warning in 1986Tornadoes 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.