Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 78, NWS Tulsa, OK

October 17, 1998Osage County, Tulsa County, Washington County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at Oct 17, 1998, 2:57 PM CDT for Osage County, Tulsa County, Washington County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 33 min. 4 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
Oct 17, 1998, 2:57 PM CDT (19:57 UTC)
Expired
Oct 17, 1998, 3:30 PM CDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

Counties Osage County, OK, Tulsa County, OK, Washington County, OK

The radar

The Tulsa radar (KINX), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:59 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
Oct 17, 3:00 PM CDTThunderstorm WindOchelata, OKA barn was destroyed just east of Ochelata. Power poles were also snapped off.
Oct 17, 3:00 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 52Ochelata, OK
Oct 17, 3:05 PM CDTThunderstorm WindVera, OKTwo cars were blown off of US Hwy 75.
Oct 17, 3:20 PM CDTThunderstorm WindRamona, OKThe roof was blown off of a barn.

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

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 184 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 12:00Z on 1998-10-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 319 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 1998-10-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 403 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
319 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-106 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1104 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
403 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
455 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
17.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

291 
WFUS54 KTSA 171959 RRA
TORTUL
OKC113-143-147-172030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
257 PM CDT SAT OCT 17 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
     NORTHERN TULSA COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
     SOUTHERN WASHINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
     SOUTHEAST OSAGE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA

* UNTIL 330 PM CDT

* AT 257 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG
  ROTATION 5 MILES WEST OF SKIATOOK. MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES PER
  HOUR...THIS DANGEROUS STORM COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...  SKIATOOK...
  AVANT...RAMONA AND VERA

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN OR NEAR ITS PATH YOU SHOULD
PREPARE FOR LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND POSSIBLY A TORNADO. IF NO
UNDERGROUND SHELTER IS AVAILABLE TAKE COVER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR IN AN
INTERIOR ROOM AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 16, 7:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAAdair31 min
Oct 16, 8:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAAdair29 min
Oct 17, 12:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOsage38 min
Oct 17, 1:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOsage32 min
Oct 17, 1:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSANowata, Washington50 min
Oct 17, 2:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSANowata, Washington49 min
Oct 17, 2:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOsage49 min
Oct 17, 3:07 PM CDTTornado WarningTSANowata, Rogers53 min
Oct 17, 3:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSANowata, Rogers, Washington43 min
Oct 17, 3:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOsage43 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes 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.