Alert archive / Oklahoma / Flash Flood Warnings in 1999

Flash Flood Warning 25, NWS Tulsa, OK

April 25, 1999Tulsa County, Wagoner County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this flash flood warning at Apr 25, 1999, 11:39 AM CDT for Tulsa County, Wagoner County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties.

The facts

Issued
Apr 25, 1999, 11:39 AM CDT (16:39 UTC)
Expired
Apr 25, 1999, 2:45 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Tulsa County, OK, Wagoner County, OK

The radar

The Tulsa radar (KINX), 28 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:37 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 12:00Z, 4.7 hours before the alert went out and 169 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 1999-04-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 1999-04-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 145 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
654 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
145 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
184 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 KTSA 251652 COR
FFWTUL
OKC037-143-145-251945-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING...CORRECTED PARAGRAPH IN THIRD BULLET
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1145 AM CDT SUN APR 25 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR
  CREEK COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
  TULSA COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
  WESTERN WAGONER COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA

* UNTIL 245 PM CDT

* AT 1139 AM CDT RADAR INDICATED SCATTERED AREAS OF THUNDERSTORMS 
WITH HEAVY RAINFALL MOVING ACROSS CREEK AND SOUTHERN TULSA COUNTIES. 
THESE STORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH 1 PM AND WILL PRODUCE AN 
ADDITIONAL 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN OVER ALREADY SATURATED GROUNDS. 

RAINFALL SO FAR THIS MORNING HAS AVERAGED 1 TO 3 INCHES ACROSS AREAS 
SOUTH OF I-44 IN TULSA AND CREEK COUNTY WITH HIGHER AMOUNTS TO THE 
NORTH AND WEST.

TULSA...SAPULPA...MOUNDS...LEONARD...KIEFER...JENKS...GLENPOOL...
COWTA...BROKEN ARROW...BIXBY AND ADJACENT COMMUNITIES MAY BE 
AFFECTED BY FLASH FLOODING.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF SMALL CREEKS AND
STREAMS...HIGHWAYS AND UNDERPASSES. ADDITIONALLY...COUNTRY ROADS AND
FARMLAND ALONG THE BANKS OF CREEKS AND STREAMS AND OTHER LOW LYING
AREAS ARE SUBJECT TO FLASH FLOODING.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE
ROADWAY. THE WATER MAY BE TOO DEEP TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY.
VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY. MOVE TO
HIGHER GROUND.

LAT...LON 3614 9558 3585 9570 3587 9615 3617 9611

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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 flash flood warning went out at Apr 25, 10:55 AM CDT, 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 25, 10:55 AM CDT, 44 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1055 AM CDT SUN APR 25 1999

MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE EMBEDDED IN DEEP SUBTROPICAL PLUME CONTINUES TO
ENHANCE SHRA/TSRA OVER A LARGE PART OF NRN TX...CNTRL/ERN OK AND ERN
KS.  SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL HAS BEEN CONFINED TO AREAS N OF 925 MB
CONVERGENCE BOUNDARY...MAINLY OVER NERN OK WHERE 2 TO 4 INCH AMOUNTS
WERE COMMON.  WILL TWEAK POPS AND LOWER TEMPS A LITTLE...OTHERWISE
CURRENT FORECAST HAS A GOOD HANDLE ON SITUATION.

UPDATED ZONES WILL BE OUT AROUND 1115 AM.

FCSTID = 18

....
AR...FFA ALL ZONES THROUGH TONIGHT.
OK...FFA ALL ZONES THROUGH TONIGHT.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 25, 6:20 AM CDT, 5 hours 19 minutes before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-261100-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
620 AM CDT SUN APR 25 1999

...FLASH FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE TODAY AND TONIGHT...
...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT...

.SYNOPSIS...
AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE AREA OVER THE SOUTHWEST U.S. WILL MOVE EAST
TODAY AND TONIGHT...CAUSING WINDS TO BECOME MORE SOUTHERLY AT ALL LEVELS
OVER EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.  THESE SOUTHERLY WINDS
WILL KEEP THE ATMOSPHERE VERY MOIST AND INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE.  THIS
COMBINATION IS EXPECTED TO KEEP SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACTIVE ACROSS
THE AREA THROUGH TONIGHT.

.DISCUSSION...
CONVECTION IS EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY SPREAD ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS DURING THE MORNING AND INTO THE AFTERNOON.  A BREAK
IN THE ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING
AS ONE UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVES EAST OF THE AREA.  HOWEVER...
ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER WESTERN OKLAHOMA
NEAR THE DRY LINE.  THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD EAST...REACHING
EASTERN OKLAHOMA THIS EVENING AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS LATER TONIGHT.

BY THE TIME THESE THUNDERSTORMS REACH EASTERN OKLAHOMA...THEY SHOULD BE
LINEAR...WITH THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT BEING LARGE HAIL AND
HIGH WIND.

AN ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER HAZARD WILL BE FROM FLASH FLOODING.  A
FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR ALL OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT.

.EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY AND SPOTTER ACTIVATION...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED UNTIL THIS EVENING FOR EASTERN
OKLAHOMA...AND LATER TONIGHT FOR NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.
Special weather statement, Apr 25, 6:20 AM CDT, 5 hours 19 minutes before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-261100-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
620 AM CDT SUN APR 25 1999

...FLASH FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE TODAY AND TONIGHT...
...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT...

.SYNOPSIS...
AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE AREA OVER THE SOUTHWEST U.S. WILL MOVE EAST
TODAY AND TONIGHT...CAUSING WINDS TO BECOME MORE SOUTHERLY AT ALL LEVELS
OVER EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.  THESE SOUTHERLY WINDS
WILL KEEP THE ATMOSPHERE VERY MOIST AND INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE.  THIS
COMBINATION IS EXPECTED TO KEEP SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACTIVE ACROSS
THE AREA THROUGH TONIGHT.

.DISCUSSION...
CONVECTION IS EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY SPREAD ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS DURING THE MORNING AND INTO THE AFTERNOON.  A BREAK
IN THE ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING
AS ONE UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVES EAST OF THE AREA.  HOWEVER...
ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER WESTERN OKLAHOMA
NEAR THE DRY LINE.  THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD EAST...REACHING
EASTERN OKLAHOMA THIS EVENING AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS LATER TONIGHT.

BY THE TIME THESE THUNDERSTORMS REACH EASTERN OKLAHOMA...THEY SHOULD BE
LINEAR...WITH THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT BEING LARGE HAIL AND
HIGH WIND.

AN ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER HAZARD WILL BE FROM FLASH FLOODING.  A
FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR ALL OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT.

.EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY AND SPOTTER ACTIVATION...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED UNTIL THIS EVENING FOR EASTERN
OKLAHOMA...AND LATER TONIGHT FOR NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 24, 7:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMcIntosh40 min
Apr 25, 9:20 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSAOsage, Pawnee, Tulsa, Washington3 hr
Apr 25, 11:14 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSACraig, Mayes, Rogers4 hr
Apr 25, 11:14 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSAOttawa4 hr
Apr 25, 11:14 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSANowata4 hr
Apr 25, 11:39 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSACreek3 hr
Apr 25, 12:10 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSAOsage, Washington3 hr
Apr 25, 12:10 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningTSAPawnee3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Oklahoma, 1999Every flash flood warning in 1999

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.