Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 1991

Tornado Warning 19, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 16, 1991Mayes County, Rogers County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at May 16, 1991, 9:26 PM CDT for Mayes County, Rogers County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 49 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, 9:26 PM CDT (02:26 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 1991, 10:15 PM CDT
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

Counties Mayes County, OK, Rogers County, OK

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 16, 9:45 PM CDTHail 0.75Rogers, OK
May 16, 9:55 PM CDTHail 0.75Mayes, 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

Springfield, MO (KUMN), launched 00:00Z, 2.4 hours before the alert went out and 157 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, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 1991-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2446 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, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 1991-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 118 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
2446 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
920 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
118 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
165 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.4
Supercell composite
6.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTUL 170225
TORTUL
OKC097-131-170315-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
926 PM CDT THU MAY 16 1991
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1015 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES ...
 
IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
 
   ...NORTHERN MAYES COUNTY...ROGERS COUNTY
 
AT 926 PM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR IN TULSA SHOWED A
POSSIBLE TORNADO 5 MILES EAST OF CLAREMORE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST
AT 15 MILES AN HOUR.
 
WATCH FOR SIGNS OF DEVELOPING STORMS.  LARGE HAILSTONES AND UNUSUALLY
LOW SWIRLING CLOUDS ARE MANY TIMES SEEN NEAR DEVELOPING TORNADOES.
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.

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, 4 hours 11 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, 7:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSARogers, Wagoner57 min
May 16, 7:15 PM CDTTornado WarningTSACreek30 min
May 16, 7:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSATulsa42 min
May 16, 7:42 PM CDTTornado WarningTSATulsa33 min
May 16, 7:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSARogers, Wagoner62 min
May 16, 8:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSATulsa50 min
May 16, 8:37 PM CDTTornado WarningTSARogers53 min
May 16, 10:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACraig, Mayes44 min
May 16, 11:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSADelaware66 min
May 16, 11:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOttawa51 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.