Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 20, NWS Norman, OK
NWS Norman, OK issued this tornado warning at May 25, 1997, 6:41 PM CDT for Murray County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 34 min. 1 report 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
- May 25, 1997, 6:41 PM CDT (23:41 UTC)
- Expired
- May 25, 1997, 7:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 34 min
- Issued by
- NWS Norman, OK
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
County Murray County, OK
The radar
The Norman radar (KTLX), 87 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:42 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 | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 7:07 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Joy, OK | A brief tornado was observed east of Joy. No reported damage. |
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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 3:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 79 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 491 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -51 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 928 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 49 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 115 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 133 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
545
WFUS1 KOKC 252344 RRA
TOROKC
OKC099-260015-
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
641 PM CDT SUN MAY 25 1997
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORMAN HAS ISSUED A TORNADO
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 715 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES
IN SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA
NORTHERN MURRAY
AT 641 PM CDT DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO NEAR
WYNNEWOOD MOVING EAST-SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH. PERSONS FROM WYNNEWOOD
SOUTHEASTWARD INTO NORTHERN MURRAY COUNTY NORTH OF HIGHWAY 7 SHOULD
TAKE COVER THE HIGHWAY PATROL REPORTED A BRIEF TORNADO NEAR ANTIOCH IN
GARVIN COUNTY FROM THIS STORM.
DOPPLER RADAR ALSO INDICATES THIS STORM MAY PRODUCE DESTRUCTIVE
HAIL TO THE SIZE OF BASEBALLS...OR LARGER.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES THAT A TORNADO
MAY FORM AT ANY TIME -- TAKE COVER NOW. ABANDON MOBILE HOMES
AND VEHICLES. MOVE TO SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF POSSIBLE.
OTHERWISE...MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM OR HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
LAT...LON 3455 9702 3456 9713 3462 9718 3458 9686
DA
&The office that day
Everything else NWS Norman, OK issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 8:58 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Beckham | 47 min |
| May 24, 9:35 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Beckham, Roger Mills | 40 min |
| May 24, 9:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Dewey, Roger Mills | 49 min |
| May 24, 10:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Custer, Dewey | 46 min |
| May 24, 11:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Blaine, Custer | 45 min |
| May 24, 11:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Blaine, Custer | 45 min |
| May 24, 11:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Beckham, Washita | 51 min |
| May 25, 1:29 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Canadian, Grady | 46 min |
| May 25, 2:36 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Cleveland, McClain | 39 min |
| May 25, 4:45 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Garvin, Grady, McClain | 45 min |
| May 25, 7:25 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Coal, Hughes, Pontotoc | 35 min |
| May 25, 8:42 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Atoka, Pushmataha | 48 min |
| May 25, 3:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Grady | 52 min |
| May 25, 4:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Cleveland, McClain | 60 min |
| May 25, 4:03 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OUN | Grady, McClain | 42 min |
| May 25, 4:40 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OUN | Cleveland, McClain | 65 min |
| May 25, 4:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Caddo, Comanche | 46 min |
| May 25, 5:03 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OUN | Caddo, Comanche | 42 min |
| May 25, 5:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Cotton, Garvin, Stephens | 60 min |
| May 25, 5:37 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OUN | Cleveland, McClain, Pottawatomie | 53 min |
| May 25, 5:40 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OUN | Grady | 35 min |
| May 25, 6:04 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OUN | Stephens | 41 min |
| May 25, 6:07 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OUN | Garvin | 68 min |
| May 25, 6:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Grady | 30 min |
| May 25, 6:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | McClain, Pontotoc | 59 min |
| May 25, 6:45 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OUN | Stephens | 45 min |
| May 25, 6:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Grady | 24 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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.