Alert archive / Oklahoma / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 320, NWS Tulsa, OK

June 18, 1998Tulsa County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 18, 1998, 5:05 PM CDT for Tulsa County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 55 min. 8 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
Jun 18, 1998, 5:05 PM CDT (22:05 UTC)
Expired
Jun 18, 1998, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

County Tulsa County, OK

The radar

The Tulsa radar (KINX), 34 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:06 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
Jun 18, 5:33 PM CDTHail 2.5Glenpool, OK
Jun 18, 5:41 PM CDTHail 2.75Glenpool, OK
Jun 18, 5:50 PM CDTHail 2Glenpool, OK
Jun 18, 5:58 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 59Tulsa, OKA 68 mph gust was measured near 81st Street S. and Lewis in south Tulsa.
Jun 18, 5:58 PM CDTThunderstorm WindTulsa, OKPlanks blown out of a wooden fence near 91st Street S. and Harvard. Trees and power lines blown down across much of the southern part of the city of Tulsa, generally south of 61st Street.
Jun 18, 5:59 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 61Bixby, OK
Jun 18, 6:00 PM CDTThunderstorm WindJenks, OKSeveral large trees were blown down in Jenks.
Jun 18, 6:00 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 61Tulsa, OKLocation: near 71st Street S. and Yale Ave.

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
Jun 18, 4:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lamont, OK (KLMN), launched 12:00Z, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 149 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, Lamont, OK at 12:00Z on 1998-06-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2311 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, Lamont, OK at 12:00Z on 1998-06-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 362 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
2311 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-158 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1072 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
362 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
391 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.2
Supercell composite
4.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

677 
WUUS54 KTSA 182206 RRA
SVRTUL
OKC143-182300-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
505 PM CDT THU JUN 18 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...

  TULSA COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA

* UNTIL 600 PM CDT

* AT 501 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR DETECTED THE LEADING
  EDGE OF A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES WEST OF SAPULPA...MOVING EAST
  AT 25 MPH. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. PERSONS OUTDOORS SHOULD MOVE
  TO A PLACE OF SAFETY

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED INCLUDE...
  JENKS
  GLENPOOL
  TULSA
  SAND SPRINGS

  HAIL TO THE SIZE OF GOLFBALLS AND WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH CAN BE
  EXPECTED IN THE WARNED AREA.

BE ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AS STORMS APPROACH.

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 Jun 18, 4:10 PM CDT, 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 18, 4:10 PM CDT, 55 minutes before
FPUS3 KTUL 182111
AFDTUL

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
410 PM CDT THU JUN 18 1998

PROBLEM(S) OF THE DAY:
POPS
WILL THERE BE SEVERE CONVECTION?
WILL THE CONVECTION BE SCATTERED OR NUMEROUS?

CONVECTION STARTING TO FIRE ACROSS E OK ALONG SFC FRONT...AND WOULD
EXPECT FURTHUR DEVELOPMENT IN SERN OK ZNS. SOME OF THE ACTIVITY
COULD BECOME SVR GIVEN INSTABILITY AND COOLING MID LEVEL TEMPS.
MODELS PROG FRONT TO GET HUNG UP ACROSS NW AR EXTENDING THROUGH SE
OK. MODELS SUGGEST IT WASHING OUT BY LATE AFTERNOON TOMORROW. AFTER
ACTIVITY DIMINISHES OVERNIGHT TONIGHT...WILL GO WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE
POPS ACROSS NRN ZNS TOMORROW NIGHT...ETA DUMPS SOME PRECIP IN
RESPONSE TO A WK S/W BRUSHING THE AREA. OTHERWISE SOUTHERLY FLOW
WILL DOMINATE LTR PDS. H5 RIDGE BUILDING BACK INTO THE FA WITH
TIME...THIS AND WARMING H7 TEMPS LOOKS LIKE DRY HOT WX FOR WEEKEND
AND INTO NEXT WEEK.

WILL KEEP EXTENDED DRY WITH THE NRN ZNS GETTING A SLIGHT MENTION SUN
NITE AND EARLY MON MORN AS MODELS HINT AT SOME ELEVATED
CONVECTION(LIKE WHAT WAS SEEN THIS MORNING).

FCSTID = 23
TUL   71  94  74  94 /  30  10  20   0
FSM   72  94  72  95 /  40  10   0   0
MLC   72  94  73  94 /  40  10   0   0
BVO   67  94  72  94 /  30  10  20   0
FYV   67  92  69  91 /  40  10  20   0
IDB   73  94  72  95 /  30  10   0   0
BYV   67  92  69  91 /  40  10   0   0
MIO   70  94  73  93 /  40  10  20   0
MKO   72  94  73  94 /  40  10   0   0
F10   71  94  74  94 /  40  10   0   0
HHW   73  94  72  95 /  40  10   0   0

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

---------------------
EXPERIMENTAL OUTPUT:

GENERAL WEATHER EXPECTED NEXT 24 HOURS: CONVECTIVE PRECIP
HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED NEXT 24 HOURS: CHANCE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
NGM CONFIDENCE:  3 ON A SCALE OF 0 TO 10
ETA CONFIDENCE:  6 ON A SCALE OF 0 TO 10
AVN CONFIDENCE:  0 ON A SCALE OF 0 TO 10
FCST CONFIDENCE: 6 ON A SCALE OF 0 TO 10

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 18, 1:00 PM CDT, 4 hours 5 minutes before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-191200-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
100 PM CDT THU JUN 18 1998

A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING
ACROSS PORTIONS OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.

EARLY THIS AFTERNOON...A COLD FRONT WAS LOCATED ACROSS EASTERN KANSAS
AND CENTRAL OKLAHOMA EXTENDING FROM NEAR TOPEKA TO NORTH OF PONCA CITY
TO ALTUS. SOUTH OF THE FRONT...THE ATMOSPHERE HAD BECOME EXTREMELY
UNSTABLE. IN KANSAS THIS FRONT WILL CONTINUE MOVING QUICKLY EAST WHILE
THE OKLAHOMA PORTION OF THE FRONT WILL MOVE SLOWLY SOUTHEASTWARD. ALONG
AND JUST AHEAD OF THIS FRONT...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALREADY
DEVELOPING ACROSS PARTS OF EASTERN KANSAS. THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY
DEVELOP SOUTHWARD ALONG THE FRONT INTO NORTHCENTRAL AND NORTHEAST
OKLAHOMA AFTER 3 PM AND SHOULD QUICKLY REACH STRONG TO SEVERE LEVELS.

LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED AREAS OF DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE PRIMARY
THREATS WITH THESE STORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING MAINLY ACROSS
NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA. THE EXPECTED VERTICAL WIND PROFILE THIS AFTERNOON
AND TONIGHT DOES NOT SUPPORT LONG-LIVED OR WIDESPREAD SUPERCELL
THUNDERSTORMS...HOWEVER DUE TO THE EXTREME INSTABILITY AND STRONG WINDS
IN THE MID-LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE...SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS AND
ISOLATED TORNADOES MAY BE POSSIBLE BETWEEN 4 AND 8 PM MAINLY ACROSS
NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA.

AFTER SUNSET...THE STORMS MAY SPREAD SOUTHEASTWARD INTO NORTHWEST
ARKANSAS AND SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA. HERE THE SEVERE WEATHER THREATS WILL
BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS UNTIL AROUND MIDNIGHT WHEN THE
INSTABILITY AND LOW LEVEL WINDS DECREASE.

STORM SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT GROUPS ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA
AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS SITUATION AND BE
READY FOR POSSIBLE SEVERE WEATHER ACTIVATION LATER THIS AFTERNOON.

STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 18, 10:33 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSASequoyah42 min
Jun 18, 4:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACreek54 min
Jun 18, 4:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSANowata, Washington44 min
Jun 18, 5:27 PM CDTTornado WarningTSACreek, Tulsa48 min
Jun 18, 5:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACraig, Nowata45 min
Jun 18, 5:47 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSACreek, Tulsa103 min
Jun 18, 5:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOkfuskee63 min
Jun 18, 6:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAWagoner36 min
Jun 18, 6:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSATulsa45 min
Jun 18, 6:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMuskogee, Okmulgee53 min
Jun 18, 6:38 PM CDTTornado WarningTSAMuskogee, Wagoner37 min
Jun 18, 6:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOkfuskee, Okmulgee55 min
Jun 18, 6:53 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSAOkfuskee2 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Oklahoma, 1998Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1998

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.