Alert archive / Oklahoma / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 316, NWS Tulsa, OK

August 20, 1997Cherokee County, Delaware County, Mayes County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 20, 1997, 4:38 PM CDT for Cherokee County, Delaware County, Mayes County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 52 min. 2 reports 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
Aug 20, 1997, 4:38 PM CDT (21:38 UTC)
Expired
Aug 20, 1997, 5:30 PM CDT
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

Counties Cherokee County, OK, Delaware County, OK, Mayes County, OK

The radar

The Tulsa radar (KINX), 50 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:41 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
Aug 20, 4:45 PM CDTThunderstorm WindRose, OK
Aug 20, 4:52 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 52Scraper, OK

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
Aug 20, 3:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 133 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 1997-08-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 351 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 1997-08-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 1 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
351 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-38 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
653 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
1 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
49 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.0
Supercell composite
-0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTUL 202138 RRA
SVRTUL
OKC021-041-097-202230-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
438 PM CDT WED AUG 20 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  530 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
 
   ...NORTHERN CHEROKEE COUNTY
 
IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
 
   ...SOUTHERN DELAWARE COUNTY...SOUTHEASTERN MAYES COUNTY
 
AT 438 PM...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR ROSE...MOVING TO
THE SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.  LEACH...SCRAPER...OAKS...AND KANSAS 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.

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 Aug 20, 4:05 PM CDT, 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 20, 4:05 PM CDT, 33 minutes before
FPUS3 KTUL 202101
AFDTUL

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
405 PM CDT WED AUG 20 1997

CLUSTER OF STG/SVR TSRA CONTS MOVG SE ACRS NE OKLA THIS
AFTN. XPCT THIS ACTIVITY TO GRADLY DIMINISH THIS EVE
AFTER LOSS OF HEATING...ALTHO CANT RULE OUT AN ISOLD
TSRA AFTER DARK ACRS MAINLY NE OKLA AS LEFTOVER BNDRIES
AND UPR SPEED MAX AID DVLPMENT.

XPCT CONTD THREAT OF TSRA THRU LATE WEEK AS NW FLOW
REGIME CONTINUES. WL PLACE HIEST POPS THURS THROUGH
FRIDAY ACRS WRN PART OF FA...WHERE AN ORGANIZED MCS
MAY AFFECT A LARGE PART OF CNTRL/ERN OKLA LATE
THURS NITE AND EARLY FRI.

SOME LO LVL DRYING WILL GRADLY WORK INTO THE FCST
AREA FROM THE NE ON FRI...WITH NE WINDS AND CLDS/SHRA
KEEPING TEMPS IN THE 80S MOST AREAS.

FCSTID = 9
TUL   69  91  68  87 /  20  20  40  40
FSM   70  94  69  89 /  20  10  20  40
MLC   70  94  69  90 /  20  20  30  40
BVO   68  91  66  87 /  20  20  40  40
FYV   66  89  65  86 /  20  10  20  30
IDB   70  95  70  93 /  20  10  20  30
BYV   65  88  64  85 /  20  10  20  30
MIO   66  89  65  86 /  20  20  30  40
MKO   69  91  68  87 /  20  20  40  40
F10   69  92  68  88 /  20  20  40  40

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

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 20, 3:33 PM CDT, 1 hour 5 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
333 PM CDT WED AUG 20 1997

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

0300 PM    DEWEY                     OK   WIND DAMAGE
08/20/97   WASHINGTON                     PLATE GLASS WINDOW BLOWN
                                          OUT OF A BUILDING

0300 PM    1 SE CLAREMORE            OK   WIND DAMAGE
08/20/97   WASHINGTON                     SEVERAL POWER LINES DOWN
                                          IN BARTLESVILLE
Local storm report, Aug 20, 3:33 PM CDT, 1 hour 5 minutes before
STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
333 PM CDT WED AUG 20 1997

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

0300 PM    DEWEY                     OK   WIND DAMAGE
08/20/97   WASHINGTON                     PLATE GLASS WINDOW BLOWN
                                          OUT OF A BUILDING

0300 PM    BARTLESVILLE              OK   WIND DAMAGE
08/20/97   WASHINGTON                     SEVERAL POWER LINES DOWN
                                          IN BARTLESVILLE
Local storm report, Aug 20, 3:35 PM CDT, 1 hour 3 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
333 PM CDT WED AUG 20 1997

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

0300 PM    DEWEY                     OK   WIND DAMAGE
08/20/97   WASHINGTON                     PLATE GLASS WINDOW BLOWN
                                          OUT OF A BUILDING

0300 PM    1 SE CLAREMORE            OK   WIND DAMAGE
08/20/97   WASHINGTON                     SEVERAL POWER LINES DOWN
                                          IN BARTLESVILLE
Local storm report, Aug 20, 3:47 PM CDT, 51 minutes before
STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
333 PM CDT WED AUG 20 1997

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

0300 PM    DEWEY                     OK   WIND DAMAGE
08/20/97   WASHINGTON                     PLATE GLASS WINDOW BLOWN
                                          OUT OF A BUILDING

0300 PM    BARTLESVILLE              OK   WIND DAMAGE
08/20/97   WASHINGTON                     SEVERAL POWER LINES DOWN
                                          IN BARTLESVILLE
Local storm report, Aug 20, 3:57 PM CDT, 41 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
357 PM CDT WED AUG 20 1997

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

0326 PM    DELAWARE                  OK   WIND DAMAGE
08/20/97   NOWATA                         SEVERAL LARGE TREE LIMBS
                                          BLOWN DOWN IN DELAWARE
Local storm report, Aug 20, 3:58 PM CDT, 40 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
357 PM CDT WED AUG 20 1997

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

0326 PM    DELAWARE                  OK   WIND DAMAGE
08/20/97   NOWATA                         SEVERAL LARGE TREE LIMBS
                                          BLOWN DOWN IN DELAWARE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 20, 2:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOsage38 min
Aug 20, 2:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOsage, Washington56 min
Aug 20, 3:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSANowata44 min
Aug 20, 3:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSARogers, Tulsa51 min
Aug 20, 4:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAAdair26 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Oklahoma, 1997Every 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.