Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Watches in 1997
Tornado Watch 49
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 20, 1997, 1:45 PM CST for 21 counties in Oklahoma. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 20, 1997, 1:45 PM CST (19:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 20, 1997, 7:00 PM CST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 21 counties
Atoka County, OK, Bryan County, OK, Choctaw County, OK, Coal County, OK, Haskell County, OK, Hughes County, OK, Johnston County, OK, Latimer County, OK, LeFlore County, OK, Marshall County, OK, McCurtain County, OK, McIntosh County, OK, Muskogee County, OK, Okfuskee County, OK, Okmulgee County, OK, Pittsburg County, OK, Pontotoc County, OK, Pottawatomie County, OK, Pushmataha County, OK, Seminole County, OK, Sequoyah County, OK
The radar
The Norman radar (KTLX), 123 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:49 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
4 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 20, 5:27 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | SHV | McCurtain | 4 hr |
| Feb 20, 5:47 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | TSA | Latimer, LeFlore | 4 hr |
| Feb 20, 6:48 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | TSA | Adair, Sequoyah | 3 hr |
| Feb 20, 6:48 PM CST | Flash Flood Warning | TSA | Haskell, Pittsburg | 3 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 12:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 130 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 593 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -70 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 32 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
435 WWUS9 KMKC 201919 SEL9 MKC WW 201919 OKZ000-210100- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 49 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 119 PM CST THU FEB 20 1997 A...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PARTS OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING UNTIL 700 PM CST. TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 65 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES NORTH OF ARDMORE OKLAHOMA TO 10 MILES NORTHEAST 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. $$ C...TORNADOES AND A FEW SVR TSTMS WITH HAIL SFC AND ALF TO 2 INCHES. EXTRM TURBC AND SFC WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CBS WITH MAX TOPS TO 500. MEAN WIND VECTOR 21045. D...LN STG TSTMS MOVG NEWD ACRS S CNTRL OK. STG PRES FALLS AND INCRG SFC CNVRGNC ALG WITH MDTLY UNSTBL AMS SUPPORT PTNTL FOR SUPERCELLS AND ISOLD TORNADOS ALG AND AHD OF LN. HELICITIES OFF VAD FROM RELEVANT 88-D RADARS TO 350 G/KG. E...OTR TSTMS... CONT..WW 47..WW 48.. ...HALES
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 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.