Alert archive / Oklahoma / Flash Flood Warnings in 1996

Flash Flood Warning 23, NWS Tulsa, OK

September 26, 1996McIntosh County, Okmulgee County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this flash flood warning at Sep 26, 1996, 9:15 AM CDT for McIntosh County, Okmulgee 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
Sep 26, 1996, 9:15 AM CDT (14:15 UTC)
Expired
Sep 26, 1996, 12:30 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

Counties McIntosh County, OK, Okmulgee County, OK

The radar

The Tulsa radar (KINX), 77 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:17 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 12:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 147 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 12:00Z on 1996-09-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 12:00Z on 1996-09-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -123 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
617 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-123 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-28 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTUL 261416
FFWTUL
OKC091-111-261715-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
915 AM CDT THU SEP 26 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1230 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
 
   ...MCINTOSH COUNTY
 
IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
 
   ...SOUTHERN OKMULGEE COUNTY
 
THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE MOVING ACROSS MCINTOSH AND
SOUTHERN OKMULGEE COUNTIES THIS MORNING. THE TORRENTIAL RAINS WILL
CONTINUE THROUGH THE LATE MORNING HOURS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS MAY TOTAL UP
TO 5 INCHES IN A FEW LOCATIONS ACROSS MCINTOSH AND SOUTHERN OKMULGEE
COUNTY BEFORE THE RAIN TAPERS OFF BEFORE NOON.
 
AREAS NEAR HENRYETTA...CHECOTAH...AND FOUNTAINHEAD STATE PARK CAN
EXPECT FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS AND ROADS.
 
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 WEAT*HER 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 Sep 26, 3:49 AM CDT, 5 hours 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 26, 3:49 AM CDT, 5 hours 26 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
350 AM CDT THU SEP 26 1996

MCS CONTINUES OVR NRN OKLA EARLY THIS MORN...AND SOME SVR WX AND
HEAVY RAINS HAVE ALRDY OCCURRED IN AREAS N OF TUL.  MARGINAL INSTBY
HAS KEPT SVR WEATHER LIMITED OVR FA SO FAR DESPITE IMPRESSIVE SHEAR
PROFILE. COLD FRONT AT 08Z WAS ON THE MOVE ACRS SE KS AND NORTHERN
OKLA.

XPCT COLD FRONT TO CONT MOVG SEWD THIS MORN BEFORE SLOWING SE OF TUL
BY THIS AFTN IN RESPONSE TO POWERFUL SHORTWV MOVG SEWD THRU ROCKIES.
WITH STG LO LVL JET CONTG AHD OF CURRENT ACTIVITY THIS MORN...BELIEVE
THERE IS SOME THREAT FOR EXCESSIVE RAINS ACRS NW ARK AND SE OK THRU
THIS EVE. WL ISSUE A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR AREAS S AND E OF TUL WHERE
THE BIGGEST THREAT SHUD BE BY LATER THIS MORN.

THE MAIN SVR WX THREAT TDA SHUD BE ACRS SE OK NEAR THE SPC MODT RISK.
THE AIRMASS SHUD BE MOST UNSTABLE THIS AREA AND WIND PROFILE PROGD TO
BE FAVBL FOR LONG LIVED STORMS.

COLD FRONT SHUD START MOVG AGAIN THIS EVE AND SHUD BE ACRS EXTRM SE
OK BY 12Z FRI.  HI POPS TO CONT BEHIND THE FRONT TONITE/FRI AS
ISENTROPIC LIFT OF RICH LO LVL MSTR CONTS.  PCPN TO TAPER OFF FROM
THE NW ON FRI AFTN AS COLDER/DRIER AIR DEEPENS. FRI WL BE A RATHER
CHILLY DAY ACRS NRN ZONES AS MO CLDY SKIES AND AREAS OF RAIN KEEPS
TEMPS IN 50S FOR MAXES.

TUL 70/50/59/45 +741     MLC 79/55/62/46 9863
BVO 66/47/56/44 +631     IDB 83/62/72/52 8873
FYV 77/55/59/46 ++63     FSM 78/61/66/49 9+63
                                                      /9
.TUL...
OK...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVENING/TONIGHT
     ZONES 62 63 65>77.

AR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH TONIGHT ZONES 1 2 10 11 19 29.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 26, 6:01 AM CDT, 3 hours 14 minutes before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-029-OKZ054>077-271200-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
600 AM CDT THU SEP 26 1996

A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVER MUCH OF EASTERN
OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TODAY AND TONIGHT.  THE SEVERE
WEATHER WILL OCCUR MAINLY SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 44...BUT THE
PRIMARY THREAT LATER TODAY WILL BE SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40.

NUMEROUS SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVED THROUGH PARTS OF NORTHEAST
OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS DURING THE LATE NIGHTTIME HOURS.
HOWEVER...THE STORMS WEAKENED AROUND 300 AM AND HAVE NOT BEEN
SEVERE DURING THE PREDAWN HOURS.  NEVERTHELESS VERY HEAVY RAINS
HAVE ACCOMPANIED THE STORMS.  ALTHOUGH SOME HIGH WIND GUSTS AND
LARGE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
...THE PRIMARY THREAT WILL BE THE POTENTIAL OF FLASH FLOODING.

ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATER
TODAY AS A POWERFUL UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM APPROACHES FROM THE WEST.
IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS...THE ATMOSPHERE
REMAINS QUITE UNSTABLE AS IT HAS NOT BEEN AFFECTED BY THE LATE
NIGHTTIME THUNDERSTORMS WHICH DEVELOPED FARTHER NORTH.  STORMS
DEVELOPING IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS MAY
INTENSIFY QUICKLY AND BECOME SEVERE.

THE PRIMARY THREAT IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS
WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS.  THE VERTICAL WIND
PROFILE THERE IS ALSO CONDUCIVE FOR ISOLATED SUPERCELLS AND POSSIBLE
TORNADOES.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS AND STORM SPOTTERS SHOULD MONITOR
WEATHER CONDITIONS CLOSELY AND BE READY FOR ACTIVATION TODAY
THROUGH TONIGHT.

THIS IS A SPECIAL ISSUANCE OF THE EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST
ARKANSAS THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK.  THESE OUTLOOKS ARE ISSUED DAILY
FROM MID MARCH TO MID JUNE.  DURING THE REST OF THE YEAR...THEY
WILL BE ISSUED AS NEEDED.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 25, 11:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOsage55 min
Sep 26, 12:04 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAWashington41 min
Sep 26, 12:14 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOsage46 min
Sep 26, 12:20 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSANowata55 min
Sep 26, 12:45 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACraig60 min
Sep 26, 1:34 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOttawa41 min
Sep 26, 1:36 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAPawnee39 min
Sep 26, 2:10 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAPawnee50 min
Sep 26, 4:27 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSAOsage, Rogers, Tulsa3 hr
Sep 26, 4:27 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSADelaware, Mayes3 hr
Sep 26, 6:26 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSAAdair3 hr
Sep 26, 6:26 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSACherokee, Wagoner3 hr
Sep 26, 6:26 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSATulsa3 hr
Sep 26, 8:46 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSAAdair3 hr
Sep 26, 8:46 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSACherokee, Muskogee3 hr
Sep 26, 9:32 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSAAdair3 hr
Sep 26, 9:32 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSACherokee3 hr
Sep 26, 10:48 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSAHaskell, Latimer, Pittsburg, Sequoyah3 hr
Sep 26, 11:29 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSAAdair3 hr
Sep 26, 12:22 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSALeFlore3 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.