Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Norman, OK

April 28, 1996Kay County, Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this tornado warning at Apr 28, 1996, 12:15 AM CDT for Kay County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 45 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Apr 28, 1996, 12:15 AM CDT (05:15 UTC)
Expired: Apr 28, 1996, 1:00 AM CDT
In force: 45 min
Issued by: NWS Norman, OK
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Kay County, OK

The radar

The Vance AFB radar (KVNX), 92 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:14 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where
Apr 28, 12:25 AM CDT	Hail 4.5	Peckham, OK
Apr 28, 12:37 AM CDT	Hail 1.75	Newkirk, OK
Apr 28, 12:50 AM CDT	Hail 4.5	Peckham, 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 184 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1118 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -65 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1297 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 64 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 204 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 405 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.4
Supercell composite: 7.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KOKC 280516
TOROKC
OKC071-280600-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OKLAHOMA CITY OK
1215 AM CDT SUN APR 28 1996

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OKLAHOMA CITY HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 100 AM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE
FOLLOWING COUNTIES

IN NORTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA
     KAY

INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS
     BLACKWELL...BRAMAN...KILDARE...NARDIN...NEWKIRK AND SUMPTER

AT 1215 AM CDT DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO JUST WEST
OF BRAMAN. 

THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

TAKE COVER NOW. THE SAFEST PLACE IS A BASEMENT UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.  OTHERWISE...SEEK
SHELTER IN A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR
BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED
BUILDING OR LIE FLAT IN A DITCH OR CULVERT.


LAT...LON 3684  9674 3672  9744 3702  9750 3704  9696

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 27, 11:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Grant, Kay	51 min
Apr 28, 12:58 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Kay	32 min
Apr 28, 5:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Pushmataha	43 min
Apr 28, 6:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Pushmataha	50 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 1996 Every tornado warning in 1996 Tornadoes in 1996

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.