Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 1991
Tornado Warning 17, NWS Tulsa, OK
NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at May 16, 1991, 7:42 PM CDT for Tulsa County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 33 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 16, 1991, 7:42 PM CDT (00:42 UTC)
- Expired
- May 16, 1991, 8:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 33 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tulsa, OK
- Area
- Whole counties
County Tulsa County, OK
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 7:55 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Tulsa, OK | |
| May 16, 8:08 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Tulsa, 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, 0.7 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 290 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -157 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2237 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 30 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 68 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 88 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KTUL 170043 TORTUL OKC143-170115- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 742 PM CDT THU MAY 16 1991 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 815 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ... IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA ...SOUTHERN TULSA COUNTY AT 740 PM RADAR AND SPOTTERS REPORTED A POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR 131ST AND YALE STREETS IN SOUTHERN TULSA. THIS STORM IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 10 MPH. PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN TULSA AND BROKEN ARROW 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
Special weather statement, May 16, 5:15 PM CDT, 2 hours 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 7:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Rogers, Wagoner | 57 min |
| May 16, 7:15 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | Creek | 30 min |
| May 16, 7:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Tulsa | 42 min |
| May 16, 7:58 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Rogers, Wagoner | 62 min |
| May 16, 8:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Tulsa | 50 min |
| May 16, 8:37 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | Rogers | 53 min |
| May 16, 9:26 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | Mayes, Rogers | 49 min |
| May 16, 10:16 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Craig, Mayes | 44 min |
| May 16, 11:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Delaware | 66 min |
| May 16, 11:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Ottawa | 51 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.