Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 1990
Tornado Warning 26, NWS Norman, OK
NWS Norman, OK issued this tornado warning at May 15, 1990, 6:02 PM CDT for Canadian County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 58 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
- May 15, 1990, 6:02 PM CDT (23:02 UTC)
- Expired
- May 15, 1990, 7:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 58 min
- Issued by
- NWS Norman, OK
- Area
- Whole counties
County Canadian 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 6:05 PM CDT | Tornado F1 | Canadian, OK | |
| May 15, 6:38 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Canadian, OK | |
| May 15, 7:00 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Canadian, 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 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 64 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
- 1460 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -270 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 866 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 30 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 268 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 211 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KOKC 152304 TOROKC OKC017-160000- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OKLAHOMA CITY OK 602 PM CDT TUE MAY 15 1990 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OKLAHOMA CITY HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 700 PM CDT FOR THE FOLLOWING OKLAHOMA LOCATIONS... IN CENTRAL OKLAHOMA ...CANADIAN COUNTY AT 602 PM A DEVELOPING TORNADO WAS LOCATED ALONG I40 AT THE BLAINE COUNTY LINE SOUTHWEST OF CALUMET. MOVEMENT WAS TOWARD THE EAST AT 30 MPH. 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.
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, May 15, 1:03 PM CDT, 4 hours 59 minutes before
OKZALL-161200- OKLAHOMA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OKLAHOMA CITY OK 100 PM CDT TUE MAY 15 1990 ...REFER TO TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 236 VALID UNTIL 4 PM FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHCENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA... OTHERWISE THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ACROSS ALL BUT PANHANDLE AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST SECTIONS OF OKLAHOMA. A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS COVERS EXTREME SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA TONIGHT. THE HIGH RISK AREA IS LOCATED EAST OF A LINE FROM ARNETT TO THE KANSAS LINE NORTH OF BUFFALO...AND NORTHWEST OF A LINE FROM WAURIKA...TO PAULS VALLEY...TO POTEAU. THIS IS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION WITH THE POSSIBILTY OF TORNADOES...VERY LARGE HAIL...AND DAMAGING STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS. BY EARLY AFTERNOON LOW PRESSURE WAS CENTERED IN CENTRAL KANSAS WITH A DRYLINE EXTENDING SOUTHWESTWARD ACROSS THE EASTERN TEXAS PANHANDLE. ACROSS OKLAHOMA VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR WAS FLOWING NORTHWARD. WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING ACROSS PORTIONS OF SOUTHCENTRAL AND NORTHCENTRAL OKLAHOMA. ALTHOUGH ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA THIS AFTERNOON...THE MAIN FOCUS FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE FURTHER WEST. BY MID AFTERNOON THE DRYLINE IS EXPECTED TO PUSH INTO NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA WHERE THE AIRMASS WILL HAVE BECOME EXTREMELY UNSTABLE. RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED BY LATE AFTERNOON ACROSS WESTERN OKLAHOMA WITH STORMS MOVING EASTWARD DURING THE EVENING. LATEST DATA INDICATES THAT A FEW SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP WITH TORNADOES AND VERY LARGE HAIL THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREATS. INITIAL THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS EXPECTED BETWEEN 4 AND 5 PM NEAR A FREEDOM...CHEYENNE...HOLLIS LINE. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WILL MONITOR THE DEVELOPING SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON. CIVIL DEFENSE AND SPOTTER GROUPS ACROSS OKLAHOMA SHOULD PREPAR0E FOR ACTIVATION THIS AFTERNOON. RESIDENTS ARE URGED TO LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND SEVERE WEATHER WATCHES AND WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
Local storm report, May 15, 1:43 PM CDT, 4 hours 19 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT...DELAYED REPORTS FROM EVENING OF MAY 14 NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OKLAHOMA CITY OK 140 PM CDT TUE MAY 15 1990 TIME(CDT) COUNTY EVENT 840 PM WOODWARD HALF 5DOLLAR SIZE HAIL JUST EAST OF QUINLAN 845 PM MAJOR QUARTER SIZE HAIL 5 NORTH OF BOUSE JUNCTION
Special weather statement, May 15, 4:32 PM CDT, 1 hour 30 minutes before
TXZ019-020-152230- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA FALLS TX 430 PM CDT TUE MAY 15 1990 AT 428 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A VERY STRONG THUNDRSTORM JUST SOUTH OF THE KNOX COUNTY LINE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. THIS STORM IS TRACKING TOWARD THE COMMUNITY OF MUNDAY. SMALL HAIL IS LIKELY WITH THIS STORM ALONG WITH VERY HEAVY RAINS. STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE ALSO A POSSIBILITY. ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED DURING THE AFTERNOON.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Norman, OK issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 14, 7:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Ellis, Roger Mills | 47 min |
| May 14, 7:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Grant | 48 min |
| May 14, 7:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Dewey, Woodward | 58 min |
| May 14, 8:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Major, Woods, Woodward | 56 min |
| May 14, 9:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Alfalfa, Woods | 55 min |
| May 15, 3:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Dewey | 52 min |
| May 15, 3:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Major | 43 min |
| May 15, 4:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Blaine, Dewey, Major | 48 min |
| May 15, 5:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Blaine, Garfield, Kingfisher, Major | 55 min |
| May 15, 5:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Blaine, Caddo, Custer | 42 min |
| May 15, 5:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Blaine, Canadian, Kingfisher, Major | 61 min |
| May 15, 5:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Garfield, Logan | 61 min |
| May 15, 6:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Canadian | 33 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.