Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 20, 1989Muskogee County, Okmulgee County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at May 20, 1989, 2:09 AM CDT for Muskogee County, Okmulgee County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 66 min. 6 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
May 20, 1989, 2:09 AM CDT (07:09 UTC)
Expired
May 20, 1989, 3:15 AM CDT
In force
66 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

Counties Muskogee County, OK, Okmulgee 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
May 20, 2:15 AM CDTTornado F0Muskogee, OK
May 20, 2:15 AM CDTHail 1Okmulgee, OK
May 20, 2:30 AM CDTHail 1Muskogee, OK
May 20, 2:30 AM CDTHail 0.75Muskogee, OK
May 20, 3:10 AM CDTHail 1.75Muskogee, OK
May 20, 3:10 AM CDTHail 0.88Okmulgee, 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

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 7.2 hours before the alert went out and 163 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, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 1989-05-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1625 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, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 1989-05-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 23 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
1625 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-199 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2005 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
23 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
78 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTUL 200709
TORTUL
OKC101-111-200815-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
209 AM CDT SAT MAY 20 1989
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  300 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
          ...NORTHWESTERN MUSKOGEE
IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
          ...EASTERN OKMULGEE
 
AT 206 AM CDT RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO LOCATED 6 MILES WEST
OF HASKELL OK. LITTLE MOVEMENT WAS INDICATED WITH THIS STORM.
 
WATCH FOR SIGNS OF DEVELOPING STORMS.  LARGE HAILSTONES AND UNUSUALLY
LOW SWIRLING CLOUDS ARE MANY TIMES SEEN NEAR DEVELOPING TORNADOES.
STRONG DAMAGING WINDS AND TORNADOES OFTEN PRODUCE A LOUD ROARING
SOUND THAT CAN BE HEARD IN THE VICINITY OF STORMS. FREQUENT AND
DANGEROUS LIGHTNING OCCURS WITH MOST SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 20, 12:18 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMuskogee42 min
May 20, 12:55 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOkmulgee50 min
May 20, 1:09 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAWagoner66 min
May 20, 1:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMuskogee47 min
May 20, 1:50 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOkmulgee55 min
May 20, 2:20 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMayes, Rogers55 min
May 20, 2:50 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOkmulgee40 min
May 20, 3:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMuskogee59 min
May 20, 3:15 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSAMuskogee, Okmulgee3 hr
May 20, 3:35 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMcIntosh, Okmulgee55 min
May 20, 3:43 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSASequoyah62 min
May 20, 4:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAAdair, Cherokee55 min
May 20, 4:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACreek, Okmulgee64 min
May 20, 4:50 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMcIntosh55 min
May 20, 4:50 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSASequoyah55 min
May 20, 5:14 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSALeFlore61 min
May 20, 5:47 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSASequoyah28 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 1989Every tornado warning in 1989Tornadoes in 1989

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.