Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 32, NWS Norman, OK

May 25, 1997Kay County, Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this tornado warning at May 25, 1997, 9:39 PM CDT for Kay County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 51 min. 3 reports 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, 9:39 PM CDT (02:39 UTC)
Expired
May 25, 1997, 10:30 PM CDT
In force
51 min
Issued by
NWS Norman, OK
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Kay County, OK

The radar

The Vance AFB radar (KVNX), 90 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:38 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
May 25, 10:05 PM CDTHail 1.75Newkirk, OK
May 25, 10:10 PM CDTTornado F0Newkirk, OKA tornado downed a swath of trees northwest of Newkirk.
May 25, 10:15 PM CDTThunderstorm WindHardy, OKSevere thunderstorm winds downed trees.

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
May 25, 8:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 186 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 1997-05-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 360 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 1997-05-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 82 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
360 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-169 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1368 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
82 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
124 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

676 
WFUS1 KOKC 260240 RRA
TOROKC
OKC071-260330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
939 PM CDT SUN MAY 25 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORMAN HAS ISSUED A TORNADO
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1030 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES

IN NORTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA
     NORTHERN KAY

INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS
     BLACKWELL...BRAMAN AND NEWKIRK

AT 939 PM CDT DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO 6
MILES NORTHEAST OF BRAMAN.

THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST-SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

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.

TORNADOES ARE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS AT NIGHT BECAUSE THEY ARE
HARD TO SEE -- TAKE COVER NOW.  IF A BASEMENT IS NOT
AVAILABLE...MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM OR HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR.  LEAVE MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED  STORM SHELTER.
STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND ABANDON VEHICLES.


LAT...LON 3682  9699 3678  9740 3698  9742 3699  9683
WR

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 25, 7:13 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNMurray62 min
May 25, 7:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGarvin46 min
May 25, 7:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNPontotoc60 min
May 25, 7:27 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNJohnston, Pontotoc48 min
May 25, 7:27 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNCarter33 min
May 25, 7:59 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNCarter46 min
May 25, 8:05 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNCoal, Johnston, Pontotoc55 min
May 25, 8:36 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNJohnston, Marshall39 min
May 25, 8:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCarter44 min
May 25, 8:59 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNAtoka, Johnston31 min
May 25, 9:07 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNKay38 min
May 25, 9:15 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNBryan, Marshall45 min
May 25, 9:25 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNAtoka, Pushmataha35 min
May 25, 9:57 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNAtoka48 min
May 25, 10:00 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNBryan45 min
May 25, 10:26 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNKay44 min
May 25, 10:45 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNAtoka, Pushmataha45 min
May 25, 11:30 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNChoctaw, Pushmataha45 min
May 26, 6:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNSeminole50 min
May 26, 6:30 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNSeminole30 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.