Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Norman, OK

July 17, 1987Comanche County, Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this tornado warning at Jul 17, 1987, 3:57 PM CDT for Comanche County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 33 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
Jul 17, 1987, 3:57 PM CDT (20:57 UTC)
Expired
Jul 17, 1987, 4:30 PM CDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Norman, OK
Area
Whole counties

County Comanche 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
Jul 17, 4:08 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 61Comanche, OK
Jul 17, 4:27 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 0Comanche, 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

Fort Sill, OK (KFSI), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 7 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, Fort Sill, OK at 12:00Z on 1987-07-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 955 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Fort Sill, OK at 12:00Z on 1987-07-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 281 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
955 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
574 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
281 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
259 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.7
Supercell composite
4.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KOKC 172104 COR
TOROKC
OKC031-172130-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING...CORRECTED FOR GARBLING OF TORNADO LOCATION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OKLAHOMA CITY OK
357 PM CDT FRI JUL 17 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  430 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...

IN SOUTHWEST OKLAHOMA
          ...WESTERN COMANCHE

AT 357 PM AN INTENSE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF
CACHE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 20 MILES PER HOUR. THIS STORM PRODUCED A
TORNADO AROUND 330 PM EAST OF ALTUS...AND THE STORM APPEARS TO BE
STENGTHENING ONCE AGAIN. PERSONS IN CACHE SHOULD TAKE SHELTER AS THE
STORM PASSES.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 17, 3:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNComanche, Kiowa40 min
Jul 17, 4:34 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNComanche, Kiowa, Tillman31 min
Jul 17, 4:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCaddo, Grady51 min
Jul 17, 5:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCaddo, Comanche, Grady47 min
Jul 17, 5:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGarvin, Grady, McClain49 min
Jul 17, 6:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCleveland, McClain60 min
Jul 17, 6:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNPottawatomie53 min
Jul 17, 6:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGarvin, Grady32 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 1987Every tornado warning in 1987Tornadoes 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.