Alert archive / Oklahoma / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 2, NWS Tulsa, OK

January 17, 1996Creek County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jan 17, 1996, 7:00 PM CST for Creek County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 45 min. 1 report 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
Jan 17, 1996, 7:00 PM CST (01:00 UTC)
Expired
Jan 17, 1996, 7:45 PM CST
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

County Creek County, OK

The radar

The Tulsa radar (KINX), 79 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:04 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jan 17, 7:10 PM CSTHail 1Drumright, 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, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 120 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 1996-01-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 810 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 1996-01-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 350 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
810 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-70 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
961 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
350 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
494 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.3
Supercell composite
5.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS1 KTUL 180101 RRA
SVRTUL
OKC037-180145-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
700 PM CST WED JAN 17 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  745 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
 
   ...CREEK COUNTY
 
AT 700 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED TWO SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO CREEK COUNTY. ONE STORM WAS 2 MILES WEST OF
SHAMROCK...WITH THE OTHER STORM 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DEPEW. THESE STORMS
WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.
 
HAIL TO THE SIZE OF DIMES AND WIND GUSTS TO 65 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED
IN THE WARNED AREA.
 
KEEP TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER BULLETINS.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jan 17, 3:20 PM CST, 3 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 17, 3:20 PM CST, 3 hours 40 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
300 PM CST WED JAN 17 1996

WILL CONT WIND ADVSY THRU TONIGHT AND THURS FOR ALL OF FA. WINDS
SHUD LESSEN SOME THIS EVE BUT WITH TIGHT GRAD WINDS SHUD REMAIN IN
15 TO 30 MPH RANGE. WINDS WILL STAY STRONG BEHIND FNT OVR MOST OF
FA ON THURS.

MODELS ARE SIMILAR WITH SFC AND UPPER FEATURES...BUT ETA IS A LTL
FURTHER SOUTH WITH VORT MAX IN BASE OF H5 TROF AT 36 HRS. SFC LOW
PROGGED TO BE NEAR GAG AT 00Z WITH ARCTIC FNT DROPPING THRU NW KS.
FNT WENT THRU GLD ARND 1PM AND NW WNDS WERE GUSTING OVER 45 KNTS ON
LATEST OBS. MODELS MOVE GAG SFC LOW AND H5 TROF ALMOST DUE E
BETWEEN 00Z AND 06Z TONIGHT WITH SFC LOW NEAR TUL AT 6Z. BEST H3
DVRG AND H7 UVV ARE ALSO OVR E OK AT 6Z. MID LVL BASED RW HAVE BEEN
INCREASING IN NE OK SINCE 2PM BUT BIG STORMS SHUD WAIT UNTIL SFC
FEATURES AND UPPER DYNAMICS MOVE INTO E OK THIS EVE. LATEST VIS SAT
PICS SHOW LN OF TC EXTENDING FROM C KS INTO WRN OK THAT CUD BE THE
START OF BUSY EVE/OVRNIGHT FOR LATER SHFTS. WILL KEEP MENTION OF
SVR IN ALL ZNS TONIGHT AND GO WITH 90-100% POPS.

MODELS MOVE STRONG UVV FIELDS AND RW/TRW E OF FA EARLY THURS MORN
WITH ARCTIC BNDRY PROGGED THRU ALL BUT FAR E/SE PARTS OF FA BY
THEN. VRY DRY AIR IN LLVLS SHUD KEEP CHC FOR MEASURABLE SNOW SMALL
OVR MOST OF E OK...BUT DRY AIR MAY BE A LTL SLOWER MOVING INTO NW
ARK AND ADJACENT OK ZNS. ETA/NGM BOTH SHOW FROM .1 TO .2 INCHES OF
LIQUID PCP FALLING IN THIS AREA WITH FWC AT HRO SHOWING 2-4 INCH 12
HR SNOW AMT ENDING THURS EVE. ETA/NGM ALSO BOTH INDICATE SOME QVEC
CONV AT H7 AND H85 IN THIS SAME AREA. WILL CONT 40-50% POPS FOR
SNOW IN E ZNS AND TAPER TO 20% IN WESTERN AREAS.

CONSIDERED WINT WX ADVSY FOR SNOW/WIND CHILL THURS BUT SINCE IT IS
IN 2ND PERIOD OF FCST WILL ISSUE ANOTHER SPS AND LET LATER SHIFTS
DECIDE WHAT ADVSY TO ISSUE. WONT MENTION SNOW AMTS IN ZNS BUT WILL
MENTION 1-3 INCHES PSBL FAR NE AND 1 INCH OR LESS ELSEWHERE IN SPS.

NGM KEEPS WRAPARND CLDS IN NE ZNS THRU 42 HRS BUT CLDS SHUD CLR BY
FRI MORN. VRY TIGHT TEMP GRADIENT BEHIND FNT WILL MAKE TONIGHTS
MIN/THURS MAX TEMP FCST TUF. WILL FAVOR COOLER FAN TMPS AND COUNT
ON SLIGHTLY FASTER MOVMT OF ARCTIC AIR THAN FWC INDICATES. WITH
CLRNG SKY AND DWPTS BLO 0 WILL FCST MINS WELL BLO FWC THURS NIGHT
AND STAY CLOSE TO FAN IN LATER PERIODS.

/13
TUL  022/024 004/028 022 +200
FSM  040/040 008/030 019 +5-0
MLC  030/030 004/031 022 +200
BVO  017/0194 000/028 020 +200
FYV  035/035 004/026 018 +5-0
IDB  045/045 010/030 019 +4-0
BYV  037/037 003/025 015 +6-0

.TUL...
OK...WIND ADVISORY TONIGHT AND THURS ZNS 54>77.
AR...WIND ADVISORY TONIGHT AND THURS ZNS 1/2/10/11/19/29

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 17, 4:10 PM CST, 2 hours 50 minutes before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-029-OKZ054>077-181200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
410 PM CST WED JAN 17 1996

...BITTERLY COLD WEATHER HEADED FOR EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST
ARKANSAS...

A MAJOR CHANGE IN THE WEATHER IS HEADED FOR EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS...BEGINNING WITH SPRING-LIKE THUNDERSTORMS
TONIGHT AND BITTERLY COLD WEATHER AND POSSIBLY SNOW ON THURSDAY.
AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL RACE SOUTH INTO NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA AFTER
MIDNIGHT AND ON ACROSS ALL BUT FAR SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA BY DAYBREAK
THURSDAY. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL STORM WILL ACOMPANY THE FRONT.
THIS FRONT WILL USHER THE COLDEST AIR OF THE SEASON
INTO EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.

STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL ALLOW LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TO CONTINUE TO
INCREASE OVER THE REGION THIS EVENING AND SET THE STAGE FOR
STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE AREA OVERNIGHT.

BY DAYBREAK THURSDAY...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD HAVE MOVED
EAST OF THE AREA. BITTERLY COLD AIR WILL POUR INTO THE AREA BEHIND THE
FRONT WITH FALLING DAYTIME TEMPERATURES. SKIES WILL REMAIN CLOUDY WITH
STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS GUSTING OVER 30 MPH CREATING WIND CHILLS AS COLD
AS -20 DEGREES BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON. AREAS OF SNOW MAY ALSO SPREAD
OVER THE AREA. THE SNOW WILL BE MOSTLY LIGHT...BUT THE NORTHWEST
CORNER OF ARKANSAS AND ADJACENT AREAS OF NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA COULD SEE
FROM 1 TO 2 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION. OTHER AREAS IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA
AND WESTCENTRAL ARKANSAS MAY SEE AN INCH OR LESS OF SNOW BEFORE IT ENDS
LATE THURSDAY.

CLEARING SKIES AND DIMINISHING WINDS THURSDAY NIGHT WILL ALLOW
TEMPERATURES TO FALL INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS BY FRIDAY MORNING. SOME
AREAS OF NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS MAY FALL TO THE 0
DEGREE MARK.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING TRAVEL ON THURSDAY...PREPARE FOR WINTER DRIVING
CONDITIONS. WITH THE VERY COLD WIND CHILLS IT MAY BECOME DANGEROUS TO
BE OUTSIDE FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME.

STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION FROM THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONCERNING AND THE BITTERLY COLD WEATHER.
Special weather statement, Jan 17, 4:19 PM CST, 2 hours 41 minutes before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-029-OKZ054>077-181200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
410 PM CST WED JAN 17 1996

...BITTERLY COLD WEATHER HEADED FOR EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST
ARKANSAS...

A MAJOR CHANGE IN THE WEATHER IS HEADED FOR EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS...BEGINNING WITH SPRING-LIKE THUNDERSTORMS
TONIGHT AND BITTERLY COLD WEATHER AND POSSIBLY SNOW ON THURSDAY.
AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL RACE SOUTH INTO NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA AFTER
MIDNIGHT AND ON ACROSS ALL BUT FAR SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA BY DAYBREAK
THURSDAY. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL STORM WILL ACOMPANY THE FRONT.
THIS FRONT WILL USHER THE COLDEST AIR OF THE SEASON
INTO EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.

STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL ALLOW LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TO CONTINUE TO
INCREASE OVER THE REGION THIS EVENING AND SET THE STAGE FOR
STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE AREA OVERNIGHT.

BY DAYBREAK THURSDAY...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD HAVE MOVED
EAST OF THE AREA. BITTERLY COLD AIR WILL POUR INTO THE AREA BEHIND THE
FRONT WITH FALLING DAYTIME TEMPERATURES. SKIES WILL REMAIN CLOUDY WITH
STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS GUSTING OVER 30 MPH CREATING WIND CHILLS AS COLD
AS -20 DEGREES BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON. AREAS OF SNOW MAY ALSO SPREAD
OVER THE AREA. THE SNOW WILL BE MOSTLY LIGHT...BUT THE NORTHWEST
CORNER OF ARKANSAS AND ADJACENT AREAS OF NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA COULD SEE
FROM 1 TO 2 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION. OTHER AREAS IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA
AND WESTCENTRAL ARKANSAS MAY SEE AN INCH OR LESS OF SNOW BEFORE IT ENDS
LATE THURSDAY.

CLEARING SKIES AND DIMINISHING WINDS THURSDAY NIGHT WILL ALLOW
TEMPERATURES TO FALL INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS BY FRIDAY MORNING. SOME
AREAS OF NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS MAY FALL TO THE 0
DEGREE MARK.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING TRAVEL ON THURSDAY...PREPARE FOR WINTER DRIVING
CONDITIONS. WITH THE VERY COLD WIND CHILLS IT MAY BECOME DANGEROUS TO
BE OUTSIDE FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME.

STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION FROM THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONCERNING AND THE BITTERLY COLD WEATHER.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 17, 6:16 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACherokee29 min
Jan 17, 7:25 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSALatimer50 min
Jan 17, 7:32 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOsage, Pawnee, Tulsa43 min
Jan 17, 7:44 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACreek46 min
Jan 17, 8:37 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSARogers53 min
Jan 17, 8:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAWagoner45 min
Jan 17, 9:14 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOkfuskee46 min
Jan 17, 10:09 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSADelaware51 min
Jan 17, 10:20 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMcIntosh, Pittsburg40 min
Jan 17, 10:23 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMuskogee52 min
Jan 17, 10:34 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAWagoner41 min
Jan 17, 11:13 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACherokee47 min
Jan 17, 11:44 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSALeFlore61 min
Jan 17, 11:47 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSADelaware43 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Oklahoma, 1996Every severe thunderstorm 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.