Alert archive / Oklahoma / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 497, NWS Norman, OK

October 8, 1997Oklahoma County, Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Oct 8, 1997, 8:00 PM CDT for Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 45 min. 2 reports 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
Oct 8, 1997, 8:00 PM CDT (01:00 UTC)
Expired
Oct 8, 1997, 8:45 PM CDT
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Norman, OK
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Oklahoma County, OK

The radar

The Norman radar (KTLX), 27 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:00 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
Oct 8, 8:05 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 52Oklahoma City, OKSevere thunderstorm winds reached 60 mph at Memorial Road and I-35.
Oct 8, 8:30 PM CDTHail 0.88Oklahoma City, OKoccurred at I-35 and Waterloo Road

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Oct 8, 5:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 37 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 1997-10-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2384 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 1997-10-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 138 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
2384 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
800 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
138 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
192 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.7
Supercell composite
9.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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 Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Oct 8, 3:41 PM CDT, 4 hours 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 8, 3:41 PM CDT, 4 hours 19 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
340 PM CDT WED OCT 8 1997

A RATHER IMPRESSIVE DRY LINE IS MOVING ACROSS NORTHWEST AND WEST
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA AS SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FORM JUST
AHEAD OF IT.  EXPECT THE AREA BEHIND THE DRY LINE TO HAVE GENERALLY
CLEAR SKIES THIS EVENING...WHILE THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST AREA
DEALS WITH THE STORMS.  A COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE AREA TONIGHT AND
SHOULD STALL NEAR THE RED RIVER TOMORROW...THEN BEGIN TO DRIFT BACK
NORTH.  RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE NEAR THE FRONT ONCE
IT MERGES WITH THE DRY LINE.

SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT...MAINLY IN NORTH CENTRAL
OKLAHOMA...BUT MOST OF THE UPPER SUPPORT WILL BE FARTHER NORTH.  WILL
PROBABLY REFRAIN FROM MENTIONING SEVERE IN THE ZONE FORECAST UNLESS
THERE IS ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING OF STORMS IN THE NEXT HALF HOUR.

AM KIND OF GOING OUT ON A LIMB WITH THE FORECAST FOR TOMORROW AND
TOMORROW NIGHT.  IT APPEARS THAT THE FRONT WILL BE FAR ENOUGH SOUTH
TO ALLOW MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES ACROSS THE NORTHERN PART OF THE FORECAST
AREA...BUT THIS MAY BE TOO OPTIMISTIC.

IN THE EXTENDED FORECAST...A RATHER SIMILAR SCENARIO TO TODAY OCCURS
AGAIN ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY.  THE MRF SHOWS A VERY TIGHT PRESSURE
GRADIENT ACROSS MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA ON SATURDAY...SO WILL
MENTION WINDY CONDITIONS IN THE CORRESPONDING FORECAST.  MONDAY LOOKS
LIKE IT SHOULD BE RAIN FREE...BUT COOLER.

FCSTID = 23 = CMS

OKC   58  80  60  80 /  40  10  10  10
HBR   55  83  58  82 /  20  10  10  10
SPS   60  84  62  84 /  40  30  20  20
GAG   46  82  55  82 /   0   0  10  10
PNC   55  79  60  80 /  60   0   0  10
DUA   67  80  65  84 /  50  30  20  30

.OKC...
OK...NONE.
TX...NONE.

CMS

In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 8, 6:52 PM CDT, 1 hour 8 minutes before
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Local storm report, Oct 8, 6:55 PM CDT, 1 hour 5 minutes before
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Local storm report, Oct 8, 7:13 PM CDT, 47 minutes before
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Local storm report, Oct 8, 7:15 PM CDT, 45 minutes before
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Local storm report, Oct 8, 7:55 PM CDT, 5 minutes before
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Local storm report, Oct 8, 8:00 PM CDT, 0 minutes before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 8, 7:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNLincoln, Logan, Payne43 min
Oct 8, 8:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNLincoln, Payne61 min
Oct 8, 8:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCaddo37 min
Oct 8, 8:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGarvin, Grady35 min
Oct 8, 9:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNLogan45 min
Oct 8, 9:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNLincoln46 min
Oct 8, 10:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNLincoln51 min
Oct 8, 11:00 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningOUNOklahoma2 hr
Oct 8, 11:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNComanche, Grady41 min
Oct 8, 11:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNComanche, Stephens53 min
Oct 8, 11:55 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningOUNComanche2 hr
Oct 9, 4:50 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningOUNJefferson3 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Oklahoma, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997

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.