Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 228

May 1, 19979 counties in Oklahoma

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 1, 1997, 6:45 PM CDT for 9 counties in Oklahoma. It was in force for 4 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 1, 1997, 6:45 PM CDT (23:45 UTC)
Expired: May 1, 1997, 11:00 PM CDT
In force: 4 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Alfalfa County, OK, Blaine County, OK, Dewey County, OK, Ellis County, OK, Harper County, OK, Major County, OK, Roger Mills County, OK, Woods County, OK, Woodward County, OK

Warnings issued inside it

9 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 1, 7:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Harper	55 min
May 1, 8:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Ellis, Harper, Woods, Woodward	60 min
May 1, 9:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Ellis, Woodward	55 min
May 1, 9:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Alfalfa, Major, Woods	55 min
May 1, 9:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Blaine, Caddo, Custer	40 min
May 1, 10:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Roger Mills	35 min
May 1, 10:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Alfalfa, Garfield, Grant, Major, Woods	64 min
May 1, 10:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Dewey, Woodward	64 min
May 1, 10:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Roger Mills	44 min

The nearest sounding before it

Lamont, OK (KLMN), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 159 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1752 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 67 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 67 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

010 
WWUS9 KMKC 012314
SEL8  
MKC WW 012314
OKZ000-020400-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 228
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
614 PM CDT THU MAY 1 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA                           

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 645 PM UNTIL
1100 PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 3/4 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 55 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 60 MILES SOUTHEAST OF GAGE OKLAHOMA TO 65 MILES
NORTHEAST OF GAGE OKLAHOMA.


REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

DISCUSSION...ISOLATED SUPERCELL STORM CONTINUES MOVING NORTHEAST
ACROSS ROGER MILLS COUNTY. SHEAR PROFILE IS STILL CONDUCIVE FOR
SUPERCELL TORNADOES. OTHER STORMS FORMING OVER THE OKLAHOMA
PANHANDLE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE WATCH AREA DURG THE NEXT FEW HOURS.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 3/4 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
450.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25030.


...VESCIO

354,0995 365,0995 365,0975 354,0980

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 1, 4:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Beaver, Texas	6 hr
May 1, 4:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Beckham, Custer, Greer, Harmon, Jackson, Kiowa and 2 more	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 1997 Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.