Alert archive / Oklahoma / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 11, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 22, 1996Latimer County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this flash flood warning at May 22, 1996, 2:56 AM CDT for Latimer County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 22, 1996, 2:56 AM CDT (07:56 UTC)
Expired
May 22, 1996, 6:00 AM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

County Latimer County, OK

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 199 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 1996-05-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1247 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 00:00Z on 1996-05-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 24 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
1247 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-82 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1006 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
270 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
1.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTUL 220757
FFWTUL
OKC077-221100-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
256 AM CDT WED MAY 22 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  600 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA
 
   ...SOUTHERN LATIMER COUNTY
 
WEATHER RADAR RAINFALL ESTIMATES INDICATE 2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN HAVE
FALLEN ACROSS SOUTHERN LATIMER COUNTY BETWEEN HIGGENS AND BENGAL.
AN ADDITIONAL INCH OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE IN THE NEXT HOUR FROM CONTINUED
HEAVY RAIN IN THE WARNED AREA.  THIS RAINFALL IS SUFFICIENT TO TRIGGER
FLOODING.
 
 
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.
 
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 May 21, 9:06 PM CDT, 5 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 21, 9:06 PM CDT, 5 hours 50 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
905 PM CDT TUE MAY 21 1996

STNRY FNT OVR NRN TX/SE OK/CTRL AR HAS FOCUSED SOME TRW OVR FAR NRN
TX AND OVR AR.  MDLS...ESP ETA...SUGGESTS DVLPG LLJ/LLVL MOISTR
RETURN OVR TX PNDL/WRN OK TNGT.  SOME INGRED APPEAR TO COME TOGTHR
FOR LT NGT CONVCTN/PSBL MCS W OR SW OF FCST AREA.  ETA MDL SHOWS
850 MB THETA-E RDG ALNG RED RIVER VLY...KPS IT OVR FAR SRN OK/N AND
NW TX THRU MDNGT THEN LIFTS NWD ACRS CTRL AND NW OK TWRD DAWN.
ALOFT...500 MB S/W RDG FCST TO MOVE OVR KS/OK TNGT.  WK 700 MB S/W
TROF/VORT MAX OVR WRN OK/NW TX WL MOVE E OF AREA LT TNGT...MDLS
SHOW STGR 700 MB S/W TROF APRCHG SRN HI PLAINS TWRD DAWN.

IF MCS DVLPMNT OCCURS NXT SVRL HRS...IT WL BE OVR NRN TX/XTRM SRN
OK WHICH WUD SLIDE SE AND NOT AFFECT FCST AREA.  IF THE CRNT NRN TX
CNVCTN DOESNT BLOCK MOISTR RETURN...AND SUFF MOISTR RETURN OCCURS
FOR MCS DVLPMNT OVR TX PNDL/FAR WRN OK...SUCH DVLPMNT WUD LKLY BE
AFTR MDNGT AND WUD ONLY THREATEN SRN PART OF FCST AREA PROB TWRD
DAWN.  ANY ORGANIZED DVLPMNT FURTHR N ACRS WRN KS WHCH CUD AFFCT
REST OF FCST AREA APPRS UNLKLY ATTM GIVEN FURTHR S PLACEMENT OF
LLVL THETA-E RDG MOST OF NGT.  WL FOLLOW CRNT FCST KEEPING 20 POPS
FOR TRW MAINLY ALNG AND S OF TUL TO FSM LN...MAY WORD SOMETHING
LIKE AFTR 3AM OR TWRD DAWN MOST ZNS.

LOW CLDNSS OVR MUCH OF FCST AREA DCRSG A LTL...BUT MAY HOLD
TOGETHER IN ISENTRPC LIFT N OF SFC/850 MB FNTL BNDRY.  DWPTS VARY
FROM MID/UPR 50S FAR N TO LWR 70S S.  MAY MAKE MINOR ADJSTMNTS TO
TEMP/WIND FCST TNGT IN SOME ZNS BASED ON LATEST INFORMATION...NO
MAJOR CHGS ANTICIPATED.

NO CHGS TO LTR PDS...STG CAP MOVES IN TMRW/TMRW NGT...WITH ANY MCS
DVLPMNT TMRW NGT LKLY TO REMAIN WELL N OF FCST AREA.  MED RNG MDLS
STILL SUGGEST GOOD POTNTL FOR HI PLAINS CONVCTN...BUT CHCS OF RAIN
FOR FCST AREA NOT GREAT GIVEN STG CAP XPCTD AND MID LVL COOLG HELD
W OF SRN PLAINS AS UPR LOW BCMS ANCHORED OVR SWRN STATfES. NEW ECMWF
SHOWS SAME THING...WITH UPR SYS PSBLY BEING KICKED OUT OVR PLAINS
SUN NGT/MON BY NEXT S/W TO APRCH PACFC NW STATES.  WE'LL SEE...

PW
.TUL...
OK...NONE.
AR...NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 22, 2:25 AM CDT, 31 minutes before
OKZ073-075-076-220830-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
225 AM CDT WED MAY 22 1996

...VERY HEAVY RAINS ACROSS PARTS OF SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA...

THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINS WERE MOVING SLOWLY ACROSS PARTS OF
SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA EARLY THIS MORNING. MOST OF THE HEAVY RAINS AT 220 AM
WERE OCCURRING ACROSS EASTERN PITTSBURG...SOUTHERN LATIMER...AND SOUTHERLE FLORE COUNTIES.

SOME HEAVY RAINS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA THROUGH THE
EARLY MORNING HOURS. AREAS AROUND HAILEYVILLE...BENGAL...WISTER...
HIGGINS AND TALIHINA MAY EXPERIENCE MINOR FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS
THROUGH 400 AM. SOME MINOR FLOODING OF ROADWAYS MAY ALSO
OCCUR...ESPECIALLY NEAR ^HIGHWAYS 2 AND 63 SOUTH OF WILBURTON.

STAY TUNED TO COMMERCIAL RADIO OR TELEVISION OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR
THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 22, 2:59 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSALatimer46 min
May 22, 4:41 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSAPittsburg3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Oklahoma, 1996Every flash flood warning 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.