Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 1991

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 16, 1991Okmulgee County, Tulsa County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at May 16, 1991, 6:05 PM CDT for Okmulgee County, Tulsa County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 40 min. 5 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 16, 1991, 6:05 PM CDT (23:05 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 1991, 6:45 PM CDT
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

Counties Okmulgee County, OK, Tulsa County, OK

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 16, 6:09 PM CDTTornado F1Okmulgee, OK
May 16, 6:18 PM CDTTornado F0Tulsa, OK
May 16, 6:20 PM CDTTornado F1Okmulgee, OK
May 16, 6:24 PM CDTHail 0.88Tulsa, OK
May 16, 6:40 PM CDTHail 1.75Tulsa, 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, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 150 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 1991-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2191 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 1991-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 270 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
2191 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-84 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
681 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
270 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
314 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.3
Supercell composite
16.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTUL 162306
TORTUL
OKC111-143-162345-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
605 PM CDT THU MAY 16 1991
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  645 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ...
 
IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
 
   ...NORTHERN OKMULGEE COUNTY...SOUTHERN TULSA COUNTY
 
AT 605 PM SPOTTERS REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD 4 MILES NORTH OF BEGGS
MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH. PERSONS IN BIXBY...SOUTHERN TULSA
AND BROKEN ARROW ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW.
 
 
WATCH FOR SIGNS OF DEVELOPING STORMS.  LARGE HAILSTONES AND UNUSUALLY
LOW SWIRLING CLOUDS ARE MANY TIMES SEEN NEAR DEVELOPING TORNADOE S.
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 16, 5:19 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOsage41 min
May 16, 6:07 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOsage, Washington53 min
May 16, 8:43 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAWagoner47 min
May 16, 9:31 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMayes, Wagoner44 min
May 16, 10:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACherokee40 min
May 16, 5:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACreek, Okmulgee, Tulsa49 min
May 16, 6:28 PM CDTTornado WarningTSACreek47 min
May 16, 6:42 PM CDTTornado WarningTSATulsa33 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 1991Every tornado warning in 1991Tornadoes in 1991

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.