Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 27, NWS Norman, OK

May 15, 1990Payne County, Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this tornado warning at May 15, 1990, 7:31 PM CDT for Payne County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 44 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
May 15, 1990, 7:31 PM CDT (00:31 UTC)
Expired
May 15, 1990, 8:15 PM CDT
In force
44 min
Issued by
NWS Norman, OK
Area
Whole counties

County Payne 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 15, 7:41 PM CDTTornado F3Payne, OK
May 15, 8:23 PM CDTHail 0.88Payne, 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, 0.5 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 00:00Z on 1990-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2163 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, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 1990-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 158 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
2163 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-38 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1065 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
158 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
196 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.9
Supercell composite
8.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KOKC 160033
TOROKC
OKC119-160115-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OKLAHOMA CITY OK
731 PM CDT TUE MAY 15 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OKLAHOMA CITY HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  815 PM CDT
FOR THE FOLLOWING OKLAHOMA LOCATIONS...
 
IN CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
 
   ...PAYNE COUNTY
 
AT 730 PM A TORNADO WAS DEVELOPING BETWEEN LAKE CARL BLACKWELL AND
STILLWATER MOVING 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

Local storm report, May 15, 1:43 PM CDT, 5 hours 48 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, 2 hours 59 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.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 7:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGarfield, Logan, Noble40 min
May 15, 7:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNLincoln63 min
May 15, 8:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNPayne49 min
May 15, 8:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGarfield48 min
May 15, 8:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNNoble61 min
May 15, 8:57 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNLincoln, Payne33 min
May 15, 9:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGarfield59 min
May 15, 10:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNNoble39 min
May 16, 12:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCaddo, Comanche49 min
May 16, 7:51 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBryan54 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.