Alert archive / Oklahoma / Flash Flood Warnings in 1995

Flash Flood Warning 5, NWS Tulsa, OK

April 16, 1995Osage County, Tulsa County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this flash flood warning at Apr 16, 1995, 8:07 PM CDT for Osage County, Tulsa County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 16, 1995, 8:07 PM CDT (01:07 UTC)
Expired
Apr 16, 1995, 11:15 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

Counties Osage County, OK, Tulsa County, OK

The radar

The Tulsa radar (KINX), 59 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:06 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 170 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 1995-04-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1535 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 00:00Z on 1995-04-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 47 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
1535 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
816 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-66 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTUL 170108
FFWTUL
OKC113-143-170415-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
807 PM CDT SUN APR 16 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1115 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
 
   ...SOUTHERN OSAGE COUNTY...NORTHERN TULSA COUNTY
 
THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DUMPED BETWEEN 1 AND 2 INCHES OF RAIN IN A NARROW
BAND ACROSS OSAGE AND TULSA COUNTIES FROM NEAR HOMINY TO SKIATOOK AND
INTO EXTREME NORTHERN TULSA COUNTY. THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO
CONTINUE TO TRACK ACROSS THESE AREAS THROUGH 10PM AND THIS WILL LIKELY
CAUSE FLASH FLOODING ALONG DITCHES AND CREEKS IN THESE AREAS. DITCHES IN
THE SKIATOOK AREA WERE REPORTED BANKFULL...WITH HEAVY RAINS MOVING INTO
SKIATOOK AS OF 805 PM.
 
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS LIKELY OR HAS BEEN
REPORTED.  STAY ALERT AND WATCH FOR RAPIDLY RISING WATER.
REMEMBER...IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE RELATIVE TO THE
NEAREST STREAM...CREEK OR RIVER WHICH CAN BECOME A KILLER DURING
PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN.
 
MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT DRIVE YOUR
VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY.  THE WATER
MAY BE TOO DEEP TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY.  IF YOUR
VEHICLE GETS CAUGHT IN RISING WATER...ABANDONED IT QUICKLY.  THEN
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
 
KEEP TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER BULLETINS.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Apr 16, 3:41 PM CDT, 4 hours 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 16, 3:41 PM CDT, 4 hours 26 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
340 PM CDT SUN APR 16 1995

NOT MUCH TIME FOR DISCUSSION WITH SEVERE WEATHER MOVING INTO THE NW
PART OF THE FCST AREA. LIKED THE ETA MODEL THE BEST WITH THE MORE SRN
TRACK OF THE SFC LOW AND IT MAY EVEN GO FURTHER SOUTH THAN THE ETA
INITIALLY. POSITION BY 48 HOURS IS PROBABLY CLOSE THOUGH. WEAK SFC LOW
NEAR EMP AT 20Z WILL MOVE OFF TO THE EAST THIS EVENING AND ALLOW THE
COLD FRONT TO DROP DOWN INTO NE OK OVERNIGHT. PROBLEM IS IN DETERMINING
HOW FAR SOUTH THIS FRONT WILL GO BEFORE STALLING EARLY MONDAY. BEST
GUESS NOW IS NEAR TULSA. WILL GO LIKELY POPS IN NE OK TONIGHT AND TAPER
DOWN TO JUST 20% IN EXTREME SE OK.

FRONT WILL MOVE BACK NORTH AS A WARM FRONT MONDAY AS UPPER SYSTEM MOVES
OUT OF THE ROCKIES IN THE WRN PLAINS. DRYLINE WILL MOVE INTO CENTRAL OK
BY AFTERNOON AND PACIFIC COLD FRONT WILL MERGE WITH THE DRYLINE MONDAY
NIGHT AND SWEEP ACROSS ALL OF ERN OK BY EARLY TUESDAY. GUIDANCE POPS
TOO LOW AS WIDESPREAD TSTMS EXPECTED IN THE VERY JUICY AIR EAST OF THE
DRYLINE. A SQUALL LINE IS ALSO LIKELY TO DEVELOP RIGHT ALONG THE
DRYLINE SO WILL HAVE LIKELY TO CATEGORICAL POPS MONDAY AND LIKELY POPS
MONDAY NIGHT EXCEPT IN THE FAR WRN ZONES WHERE THE DRYLINE WILL BE
CLOSE BY 00Z.

WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE OF EARLY MORNING SHOWERS AND TSTMS IN FAR SE
OK TUESDAY BUT OTHERWISE TUESDAY LOOKS MOSTLY SUNNY AND MILD ALBEIT A
BIT ON THE WINDY SIDE.

GUIDANCE TEMPS LOOK REASONABLE EXCEPT SEEM MUCH TOO WARM FOR MINS
MONDAY NIGHT.

TUL 62/75/45/73  6950   FSM 64/78/48/77  3761   MLC 67/78/46/76  3850
BVO 58/73/42/72  6940   FYV 62/77/44/72  586-   IDB 65/78/50/79  2662
BYV 61/77/45/72  4861

.TUL...NONE.

PLATE

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 16, 2:30 PM CDT, 5 hours 37 minutes before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-029-OKZ054>077-171200-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
230 PM CDT SUN APR 16 1995

...UPDATE...

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS PARTS OF
NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE RISK AREA IS
WEST OF A LINE FROM SOUTH COFFEYVILLE IN NOWATA COUNTY TO MILFAY IN
CREEK COUNTY. A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT  FOR OSAGE...PAWNEE...
WASHINGTON...NOWATA AND CREEK COUNTIES UNTIL 900 PM.

A WEAKENING CAP AND A WEAK DISTURBANCE IN THE MID LEVELS COMBINED
WITH A FRONT STRETCHING FROM WESTERN OKLAHOMA TO SOUTH CENTRAL
KANSAS HAS RESULTED IN THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS THIS
AFTERNOON ACROSS WESTERN OKLAHOMA...SEVERAL OF WHICH HAVE BEEN
SEVERE. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AND MAY AFFECT PARTS OF
NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING IN AREAS TO THE NORTH
AND WEST OF TULSA. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE POSSIBLE WITH
THESE STORMS. THERE IS ALSO THE POTENTIAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
TORNADOES.

CIVIL DEFENSE AGENCIES AND STORM SPOTTER GROUPS IN THE TORNADO
WATCH AREA SHOULD BE ACTIVATING NOW.

THERE IS ALSO A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDEdRSTORMS TONIGHT FOR
NORTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA AND THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF ARKANSAS NORTH OF
A LINE FROM BRISTOW TO TAHLEQUAH TO FAYETTEVILLE.
Local storm report, Apr 16, 4:31 PM CDT, 3 hours 36 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
429 PM CDT SUN APR 16 1995

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....   ST   EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0428 PM    3 MI SOUTH HWYS 99 & 10   OK   0.88 INCH HAIL
04/16/95   OSAGE
Local storm report, Apr 16, 7:36 PM CDT, 31 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
735 PM CDT SUN APR 16 1995

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....   ST   EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0729 PM    CLEVELAND                 OK   0.75 INCH HAIL
04/16/95   PAWNEE
Local storm report, Apr 16, 7:46 PM CDT, 21 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
745 PM CDT SUN APR 16 1995

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....   ST   EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0737 PM    CLEVELAND                 OK   1.25 INCH HAIL
04/16/95   PAWNEE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Tulsa, OK issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 16, 7:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOsage45 min
Apr 16, 7:53 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSARogers3 hr
Apr 16, 8:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSATulsa40 min
Apr 16, 8:51 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSAPawnee3 hr
Apr 16, 9:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACreek48 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Oklahoma, 1995Every flash flood warning in 1995

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.