Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 457

June 16, 19978 counties in Arkansas; 40 counties in Oklahoma; 9 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jun 16, 1997, 10:00 PM CDT for 8 counties in Arkansas; 40 counties in Oklahoma; 9 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 16, 1997, 10:00 PM CDT (03:00 UTC)
Expired
Jun 17, 1997, 4:00 AM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 57 counties

Crawford County, AR, Franklin County, AR, Howard County, AR, Little River County, AR, Polk County, AR, Scott County, AR, Sebastian County, AR, Sevier County, AR, Atoka County, OK, Bryan County, OK, Caddo County, OK, Canadian County, OK, Carter County, OK, Choctaw County, OK, Cleveland County, OK, Coal County, OK, Comanche County, OK, Cotton County, OK, Custer County, OK, Garvin County, OK, Grady County, OK, Haskell County, OK, Hughes County, OK, Jefferson County, OK, Johnston County, OK, Kiowa County, OK, Latimer County, OK, LeFlore County, OK, Lincoln County, OK, Love County, OK, Marshall County, OK, McClain County, OK, McCurtain County, OK, McIntosh County, OK, Murray County, OK, Muskogee County, OK, Okfuskee County, OK, Oklahoma County, OK, Okmulgee County, OK, Pittsburg County, OK, Pontotoc County, OK, Pottawatomie County, OK, Pushmataha County, OK, Seminole County, OK, Sequoyah County, OK, Stephens County, OK, Tillman County, OK, Washita County, OK, Archer County, TX, Clay County, TX, Cooke County, TX, Fannin County, TX, Grayson County, TX, Lamar County, TX, Montague County, TX, Red River County, TX, Wichita County, TX

The radar

The Norman radar (KTLX), 55 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:03 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.

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 16, 10:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGarvin, Stephens50 min
Jun 16, 10:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNSeminole49 min
Jun 16, 10:23 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSASebastian4 hr
Jun 16, 10:23 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSAHaskell, McIntosh, Muskogee, Pittsburg4 hr
Jun 16, 10:23 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSALatimer, LeFlore4 hr
Jun 16, 10:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMcIntosh48 min
Jun 16, 10:29 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningOUNStephens106 min
Jun 17, 2:40 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningSHVHoward, Sevier4 hr
Jun 17, 3:06 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVHoward, Little River, Sevier54 min

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 52 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 1997-06-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3446 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 1997-06-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 23 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
3446 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1173 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
23 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
116 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.4
Supercell composite
6.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

028 
WWUS9 KMKC 170223
SEL7  
MKC WW 170223
OKZ000-TXZ000-ARZ000-170900-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 457
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
923 PM CDT MON JUN 16 1997

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

   SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL OKLAHOMA                           
   EXTREME NORTHERN TEXAS                              
   EXTREME WESTERN ARKANSAS                           

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING FROM 1000 PM UNTIL
400 AM 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 80 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES WEST OF FORT SILL OKLAHOMA TO 45
MILES EAST OF PAGE 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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 453...WW 454...WW
455...WW 456...

DISCUSSION...CLUSTER OF SEVERE AND TORNADIC THUNDERSTORMS
CONTINUING AS SURFACE BOUNDARIES ADVANCE INTO EXTREMELY UNSTABLE
AIR. APPROACH OF UPPER VORT AXIS WITH INCREASING FLOW AND DRY AIR
AT MID LEVELS INDICATE CONTINUED THREAT OF TORNADOES...DAMAGING
DOWNBURSTS AND VERY LARGE HAIL.


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
550.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.


...ROGASH

354,0990 355,0934 333,0934 332,0990

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 16, 7:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCBradley, Calhoun, Clark, Cleburne, Cleveland, Conway and 22 more6 hr
Jun 16, 11:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCBradley, Columbia, Lafayette, Miller, Union7 hr
Jun 17, 1:30 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCCrittenden, Desha, Phillips5 hr
Jun 17, 6:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAshley, Chicot, Desha, Drew6 hr
Jun 16, 11:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBurnet, Concho, Edwards, Gillespie, Kerr, Kimble and 10 more5 hr
Jun 17, 6:30 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAngelina, Hardin, Jasper, Liberty, Newton, Polk and 4 more6 hr
Jun 17, 10:30 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAustin, Brazoria, Caldwell, Calhoun, Chambers, Colorado and 22 more6 hr
Jun 17, 4:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAransas, Bee, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, Duval and 18 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 1997Tornado Watches in Texas, 1997Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 1997Every 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.