Alert archive / Oklahoma / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 106, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 2, 1997Craig County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 2, 1997, 12:21 PM CDT for Craig County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 39 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 2, 1997, 12:21 PM CDT (17:21 UTC)
Expired: May 2, 1997, 1:00 PM CDT
In force: 39 min
Issued by: NWS Tulsa, OK
Area: Whole counties

County Craig County, OK

The radar

The Tulsa radar (KINX), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:22 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 2, 12:35 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Vinita, OK	A severe thunderstorm produced dime size hail 1 mile north of Vinita.

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 nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 126 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: 915 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 283 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 413 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.

000 
TTAA00 KTUL 021723 RRA
SVRTUL
OKC035-021800-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1221 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  100 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
 
   ...CRAIG COUNTY
 
AT 1221 PM...RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES WEST OF WHITE
OAK. THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. VINITA AND WHITE OAK ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM.
 
 
HAIL TO THE SIZE OF DIMES AND WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED
IN THE WARNED AREA.
 
DURING THE STORM MOVE INDOORS AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM LIGHTNING DO NOT USE THE TELEPHONE
OR HAND HELD ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES...UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY.
MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR WATER ON ROADWAYS AND NEVER
DRIVE ONTO A FLOODED ROAD.
 
KEEP TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER BULLETINS.
 
 \

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 2, 12:05 PM CDT, 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 2, 12:05 PM CDT, 16 minutes before

FPUS3 KTUL 021705
AFDTUL

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1205 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997

WILL BE LOWERING POPS A LITTLE OVER SRN ZONES. SFC WINDS HAVE
VEERED AND ARE NOW SWLY THERE...LIMITING CONVERGENCE ALONG THE DRY
LINE. AFTER LOOKING AT LATEST MODEL DATA...APPEARS THAT THERE IS
NOT MUCH CHANCE OF BACKING THESE WINDS. INSTABILITY IS EXTREMELY
HIGH NEAR RED RIVER SO BEARS WATCH. COULD ALSO SEE STORMS ALONG
COLD FRONT/DRY LINE INTERSECTION OVER NE OK AND NW AR TODAY. ONE
STORM TRIED TO GET GOING N OF TUL IN THE LAST HOUR BUT FIZZLED.
WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR. /26

.TUL...
OK...NONE.
AR...NONE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 2, 9:56 AM CDT, 2 hours 25 minutes before

STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
956 AM CDT FRI MAY 02 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0115 AM    OILTON                    OK   WIND DAMAGE
05/02/97   CREEK                          FEW LARGE TREE LIMBS DOWN

0130 AM    SHELL LAKE                OK   60 MPH TSTM GUST
05/02/97   OSAGE                          7 NW SAND SPRINGS

Local storm report, May 2, 10:00 AM CDT, 2 hours 21 minutes before

STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
956 AM CDT FRI MAY 02 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0115 AM    OILTON                    OK   WIND DAMAGE
05/02/97   CREEK                          FEW LARGE TREE LIMBS DOWN

0130 AM    SHELL LAKE                OK   60 MPH TSTM GUST
05/02/97   OSAGE                          7 NW SAND SPRINGS

Special weather statement, May 2, 10:54 AM CDT, 1 hour 27 minutes before

OKZ054>076-ARZ001-002-010-011-019-029-031200-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1100 AM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997

A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA
AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THIS AFTERNOON.

THE THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SOUTH AND EAST OF A
LINE FROM EUFAULA TO MUSKOGEE TO FAYETTEVILLE UNTIL 6 PM.

LATE THIS MORNING...A SURFACE COLD FRONT WAS LOCATED FROM MIAMI TO
BRISTOW TO ARDMORE WITH ABUNDANT LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE AHEAD OF THE
FRONT.  THE ATMOSPHERE HAS BECOME VERY UNSTABLE IN THIS AREA AND
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT AS IT MOVES
SOUTHEAST DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS.  DUE TO THE AMOUNT OF
INSTABILITY AND STRONG WINDS ALOFT...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS
WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS ALTHOUGH ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE
POSSIBLE.

BY EVENING THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO BE EAST OF THE AREA AND THE
THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL END.

THIS THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK WILL BE UPDATED AGAIN AROUND 1 PM THIS
AFTERNOON.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES AND STORM SPOTTER ORGANIZATIONS
ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS SHOULD BE PREPARED
FOR ACTIVATION THIS AFTERNOON.  MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER
INFORMATION AND LISTEN FOR POSSIBLE WATCHES AND WARNINGS.

Special weather statement, May 2, 11:00 AM CDT, 1 hour 21 minutes before

OKZ054>076-ARZ001-002-010-011-019-029-031200-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1100 AM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997

A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA
AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THIS AFTERNOON.

THE THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SOUTH AND EAST OF A
LINE FROM EUFAULA TO MUSKOGEE TO FAYETTEVILLE UNTIL 6 PM.

LATE THIS MORNING...A SURFACE COLD FRONT WAS LOCATED FROM MIAMI TO
BRISTOW TO ARDMORE WITH ABUNDANT LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE AHEAD OF THE
FRONT.  THE ATMOSPHERE HAS BECOME VERY UNSTABLE IN THIS AREA AND
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT AS IT MOVES
SOUTHEAST DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS.  DUE TO THE AMOUNT OF
INSTABILITY AND STRONG WINDS ALOFT...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS
WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS ALTHOUGH ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE
POSSIBLE.

BY EVENING THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO BE EAST OF THE AREA AND THE
THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL END.

THIS THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK WILL BE UPDATED AGAIN AROUND 1 PM THIS
AFTERNOON.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES AND STORM SPOTTER ORGANIZATIONS
ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS SHOULD BE PREPARED
FOR ACTIVATION THIS AFTERNOON.  MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER
INFORMATION AND LISTEN FOR POSSIBLE WATCHES AND WARNINGS.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 2, 12:09 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Osage, Pawnee	51 min
May 2, 12:55 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Creek, Osage, Pawnee, Tulsa	65 min
May 2, 12:55 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Washington	65 min
May 2, 2:07 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Creek	53 min
May 2, 2:31 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Okmulgee, Tulsa	44 min
May 2, 2:46 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Muskogee, Wagoner	44 min
May 2, 3:30 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Cherokee, Muskogee	30 min
May 2, 4:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Haskell	49 min
May 2, 4:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	LeFlore	45 min
May 2, 4:47 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	LeFlore	28 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Oklahoma, 1997 Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.