Alert archive / Oklahoma / Flash Flood Warnings in 1990

Flash Flood Warning 11, NWS Norman, OK

April 21, 1990Carter County, Johnston County, Murray County, Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this flash flood warning at Apr 21, 1990, 5:42 PM CDT for Carter County, Johnston County, Murray County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 21, 1990, 5:42 PM CDT (22:42 UTC)
Expired
Apr 21, 1990, 7:45 PM CDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
NWS Norman, OK
Area
Whole counties

Counties Carter County, OK, Johnston County, OK, Murray County, OK

The radar

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

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 103 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 12:00Z on 1990-04-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 369 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 12:00Z on 1990-04-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 86 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
369 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-102 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
789 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
86 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
85 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KOKC 212243 RRA
FFWOKC
OKC019-069-099-220045-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OKLAHOMA CITY OK
542 PM CDT SAT APR 21 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OKLAHOMA CITY HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  745 PM CDT
FOR THE FOLLOWING OKLAHOMA LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA
 
   ...EASTERN CARTER COUNTY...JOHNSTON COUNTY...SOUTHERN MURRAY COUNTY
 
AT 542 PM RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING TORRENTIAL
RAINFALL FROM GENE AUTRY...TO JUST SOUTH OF SULPHUR...TO NEAR
TISHOMINGO. THE STORMS WERE DRIFTING VERY SLOWLY SOUTHWARD PRODUCING
LOCALLY VERY HEAVY RAINFALL AMOUNTS. WATER 2 FEET DEEP HAS BEEN
REPORTED IN TISHOMINGO FROM THESE STORMS.
 
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT.  MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY.  NEVER TRY TO CROSS A F(LOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL
ONE...ON FOOT.  TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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, Apr 21, 12:53 PM CDT, 4 hours 49 minutes before
OKZALL-221200-

OKLAHOMA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OKLAHOMA CITY OK
100 PM CDT SAT APR 21 1990

NO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST IN OKLAHOMA THIS AFTERNOON
OR TONIGHT. WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP THIS AFTER
NOON DUE TO HEATING AND AN ABUNDANCE OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE...BUT
THEY ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BECOME SEVERE.

LOW CLOUDS AND FOG WHICH BLANKETED MUCH OF THE STATE EARLY THIS
MORNING WERE BURNING OFF BY MIDDAY. HOWEVER DEWPOINTS REMAIN
FAIRLY HIGH AND IF AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES RISE INTO THE LOW AND
MID 80S WIDELY SCATTETED THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP IN MOST ANY
SECTION OF THE STATE. THE WIND PATTERNS IN THE MID LEVELS OF THE
ATMOSPHERE ARE RATHER WEAK AND UNFAVORABLE FOR THE OCCURENCE OF
ORGANIZED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...HOWEVER ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT
FORM THIS AFTERNOON COULD PRODUCE BRIEF GUSTY WIND.
Special weather statement, Apr 21, 5:35 PM CDT, 7 minutes before
TXZ020-212330-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA FALLS TX
535 PM CDT SAT APR 21 1990

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR JACK AND MONTAGUE
COUNTIES UNTIL 9 PM CDT...

AT 530 PM CDT THE WICHITA FALLS RADAR SHOWED VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
OVER SOUTHWEST MONTAGUE AND EXTREME NORTHEAST JACK COUNTIES. THESE
STORMS AND PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAINS AND COULD ALSO PRODUCE STRONG WINDS
AND SMALL HAIL. THESE STORMS ARE MOVING ACROSS AREAS THAT HAVE RECEIVED
VERY HEAVY RAINS DURING THE AFTERNOON. SOME MINOR FLOODING OF LOW-LYING
FLOOD PRONE AREAS MAY BE EXPERIENCED.

MOVEMENT WAS SLOWLY TO THE EAST AT LESS THAN 10 MPH.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 21, 1:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCoal32 min
Apr 21, 2:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCoal47 min
Apr 21, 2:33 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningOUNCoal117 min
Apr 21, 3:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNJohnston42 min
Apr 21, 3:48 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningOUNJohnston117 min
Apr 21, 4:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCarter, Johnston, Marshall57 min
Apr 21, 5:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBryan, Johnston49 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Oklahoma, 1990Every flash flood warning in 1990

Sources

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