Alert archive / Oklahoma / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 53, NWS Norman, OK

March 22, 1987Ellis County, Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 22, 1987, 6:15 PM CST for Ellis County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 45 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 22, 1987, 6:15 PM CST (00:15 UTC)
Expired
Mar 22, 1987, 7:00 PM CST
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Norman, OK
Area
Whole counties

County Ellis 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 22, 6:30 PM CSTHail 1.5Ellis, OK
Mar 22, 6:45 PM CSTTornado F2Ellis, OK
Mar 22, 7:10 PM CSTTornado F0Ellis, 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, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 173 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 1987-03-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 603 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 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 1987-03-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 144 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
603 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-21 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1151 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
144 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
215 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.5
Supercell composite
4.2

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 22, 3:41 PM CST, 2 hours 34 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Mar 22, 3:50 PM CST, 2 hours 25 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OKLAHOMA CITY OK
325 PM CST SUN MAR 22 1987

... A TORNADO WATCH IS INEFFECT FOR SOUTHWEST OKLAHOMA UNTIL 11PM ...

... A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA
                      UNTIL 8PM TONIGHT ...

AT 325PM... A LINE OF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WAS LOCATED ACROSS THE
OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS PANHANDLES FROM LIBERAL KANSAS SOUTH ALONG THE
TEXAS/BEAVER COUNTY LINE TO NEAR SPEARMAN AND SHELLEYTOWN TEXAS.

MOVEMENT WAS NORTH NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.
Special weather statement, Mar 22, 4:33 PM CST, 1 hour 42 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OKLAHOMA CITY OK
430 PM CST SUN MAR 22 1987]

...A WINTER STORM WATCH FOR POSSIBLE HEAVY SNOW IS IN EFFECT FOR THE
OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE FOR MONDAY...

THE SAME MAJOR UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM LOCATED OVER NORTHERN ARIZONA
THIS AFTERNOON IS EXPECTED TO HEAD TOWARD OKLAHOMA AND MOVE ACROSS
NORTHWESTERN PARTS OF THE STATE MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. AS THE UPPER
LEVEL STORM APPROACHES OKLAHOMA..A SURFACE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM NOW OVER
NORTHERN NEW MEXICO WILL ALSO MOVE EASTWARD IN ADVANCE OF THE UPPER
LEVEL STORM. THE COUNTERCLOCKWISE WINDS AROUND THE SURFACE LOW WILL
PULL COLD AIR INTO THE PANHANDLE DURING THE DAY ON MONDAY AND WILL
BRING ABUNDANT MOISTURE INTO THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF THE SURFACE LOW.
THIS SCENARIO WOULD DEVELOP HEAVY SNOW IN THE PANHANDLE AND SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE ESPECIALLY OVER THE WESTERN
COUNTIES OF CIMARRON AND TEXAS.

THE ABOVE SCE#NARIO IS ALMOST IDENTICAL TO THE STORM LAST WEEK THAT
DROPPED HEAVY SNOW IN THE PANHANDLE. PERSONS PLANNNING TRAVEL IN THAT
SECTION OF THE STATE ON MONDAY ARE ADVISED TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF
THIS DEVELOPING WINTER STORM.
Special weather statement, Mar 22, 5:02 PM CST, 1 hour 13 minutes before
RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OKLAHOMA CITY OK
530 PM CST SUN MAR 22 1987

AT 430 PM...A LINE OF THUNDERSHOWER WAS LOCATED OVER THE TEXAS AND
OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES AND INTO KANSAS. THE LINE EXTENDED THROUGH
BEAVER COUNTY IN OKLAHOMA.

LINE MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 10 MILES AN HOUR WHILE CELL
MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTH NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.
Special weather statement, Mar 22, 5:09 PM CST, 1 hour 6 minutes before
CORRECTED RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OKLAHOMA CITY OK
450 PM CST SUN MAR 22 1987

AT 430 PM...A LINE OF THUNDERSHOWER WAS LOCATED OVER THE TEXAS AND
OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES AND INTO KANSAS. THE LINE EXTENDED THROUGH
BEAVER COUNTY IN OKLAHOMA.

LINE MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 10 MILES AN HOUR WHILE CELL
MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTH NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.
Special weather statement, Mar 22, 5:37 PM CST, 38 minutes before
RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OKLAHOMA CITY OK
535 PM CST SUN MAR 22 1987

AT 530 PM...A LINE OF THUNDERSHOWERS WAS LOCATED FROM THE TEXAS
INTO BEAVER COUNTY IN THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE AND EXTENDS NORTH TO
DODGE CITY KANSAS.

LINE MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT 15 MILES AN HOUR WHILE CELL
MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTH AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 22, 6:30 PM CSTTornado WarningOUNEllis30 min
Mar 22, 6:53 PM CSTTornado WarningOUNHarper37 min
Mar 22, 6:57 PM CSTTornado WarningOUNEllis33 min
Mar 22, 7:38 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNRoger Mills37 min
Mar 22, 7:55 PM CSTTornado WarningOUNHarper, Woods45 min
Mar 22, 8:09 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBeckham, Roger Mills36 min
Mar 22, 8:43 PM CSTTornado WarningOUNRoger Mills32 min
Mar 22, 8:47 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNDewey43 min
Mar 22, 8:57 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNEllis, Harper48 min
Mar 22, 9:20 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNRoger Mills25 min
Mar 22, 9:42 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNRoger Mills48 min
Mar 22, 10:42 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBeckham48 min
Mar 22, 10:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNDewey, Woodward45 min
Mar 22, 11:42 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNJackson48 min
Mar 23, 12:29 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNJackson46 min
Mar 23, 12:35 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGreer, Kiowa40 min
Mar 23, 5:02 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNPayne28 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Oklahoma, 1987Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1987

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.