Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 1991

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 16, 1991Tulsa County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at May 16, 1991, 6:42 PM CDT for Tulsa County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 33 min. 1 report 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, 6:42 PM CDT (23:42 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 1991, 7:15 PM CDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

County Tulsa County, OK

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 16, 7:22 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, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 166 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°0°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 162342
TORTUL
OKC143-170015-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
642 PM CDT THU MAY 16 1991
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  715 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ...
 
IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
 
   ...SOUTHERN TULSA COUNTY
 
AT 640 PM RADAR AND SPOTTERS CONTINUED TO INDICATE A TORNADO 3 MILES
SOUTH OF GLENPOOL MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 10 MPH. PEOPLE IN
BIXBY...GLENPOOL...AND THE SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE CITY OF TULSA SHOULD
TAKE COVER NOW!
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE IN THE
PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF AVAILABLE.
OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE.
STAY AWAY FROM OUTSIDE WALLS AND AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND
MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET IN A GROUND DEPRESSION.
 
REPORT ANY SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND
ASK THEM TO RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

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 16, 1:29 PM CDT, 5 hours 13 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
125 PM CDT THU MAY 16 1991

TIME(CDT)     COUNTY        REPORT

 525 AM       OSAGE         DIME SIZE HAIL FELL 3 MILES EAST OF
                            BURBANK.
 610 AM       OSAGE         DIME SIZE HAIL AT OKESA.

 630 AM       WASHINGTON    3/4 INCH HAIL ONE MILE WEST OF DEWEY.
Special weather statement, May 16, 5:15 PM CDT, 1 hour 27 minutes before
OKZ029-030-031-162315-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
514 PM CDT THU MAY 16 1991

AT 510 PM RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORM IN WESTERN
OKMULGEE COUNTY. CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THIS THUNDERSTORM TO
INTENSIFY.

PERSONS IN NORTHERN OKMULGEE COUNTY SHOULD BE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY
CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR FURTHER INFORMATION FROM
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

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, 6:05 PM CDTTornado WarningTSAOkmulgee, Tulsa40 min
May 16, 6:28 PM CDTTornado WarningTSACreek47 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.