Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 96, NWS Tulsa, OK

November 22, 1999Pushmataha County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at Nov 22, 1999, 5:27 PM CST for Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 48 min. 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
Nov 22, 1999, 5:27 PM CST (23:27 UTC)
Expired
Nov 22, 1999, 6:15 PM CST
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Pushmataha County, OK

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 132 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:29 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, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 215 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 1999-11-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 519 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, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 1999-11-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 177 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
519 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-84 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
706 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
177 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
167 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KTSA 222328 RRA
TORTUL
OKC127-230015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
527 PM CST MON NOV 22 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  CENTRAL AND EASTERN PUSHMATAHA COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA

* UNTIL 615 PM CST

* AT 527 PM CST...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG
  ROTATION 3 MILES NORTHWEST OF OLETA. MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH...
  THIS DANGEROUS STORM COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...  OLETA...
  ALBION...KIAMICHI...TUSKAHOMA...NASHOBA...SNOW...CLOUDY AND CLAYTON

IN ADDITION TO THE THREAT OF A TORNADO...LARGE HAI!L AND DAMAGING
STRAIGHT LINE WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. GO TO A SAFE
PLACE NOW!

LAT...LON 3422 9553 3417 9520 3428 9506 3467 9500
          3467 9538

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at Nov 22, 2:35 PM CST, 2 hours 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 22, 2:35 PM CST, 2 hours 52 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
235 PM CST MON NOV 22 1999

PROBLEM(S) OF THE DAY:
WILL THERE BE SEVERE CONVECTION?
WILL STORMS BE SUPERCELLS OR NOT?
WHAT TYPE(S) OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL OCCUR?
CLOUDS

WARMFRONT THAT TRIGGERED MORNING CONVECTION HAS SHIFTED NORTH. FOCUS
NOW SHIFTS OUT WEST WHERE CONVECTION HAS BEGUN TO FIRE ALONG
DRYLINE/COLDFRONT. UPPER TROUGH OVER THE ROCKIES TAKES ON NEGATIVE
TILT AS IT MOVES INTO THE PLAINS. MAIN SURFACE LOW STILL OVER
TEXAS...THOUGH OTHER WEAK LOWS WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT AND MOVE
NORTHEAST. AS THE UPPER TROUGH MOVES INTO THE PLAINS...EXPECT MAIN
SFC LOW TO MOVE NORTHEAST AND DRAG COLD FRONT IN TO NE OK BETWEEN 9
AND 12Z. MODELS AGREE THAT CONVECTION WILL ORGANIZE INTO A SQUALL
LINE OVER CENTRAL OK AND RAPIDLY MOVE ACROSS THE AREA. EXPECT
CONVECTION TO BE JUST OUT AHEAD OF THE FRONT. FRONT AND CONVECTION
SHOULD EXIT THE FA BY 18Z. SEVERE POTENTIAL EXISTS GIVEN STRONG
DYNAMICS...THOUGH INSTABILITY WILL BE A LIMITING FACTOR. TEMPS BEHIND
FRONT COOLER AS YET ANOTHER PACIFIC AIRMASS WILL SETTLE OVER THE AREA
1ST AND 2ND PD TEMPS REAL TRICKY WHERE 12Z POSITION OF FRONT WILL
PLAY A BIG ROLE. NGM REAL SLOW IN MOVING FRONT THROUGH...THUS HAVE
OPTED FOR THE FASTER AVN/ETA SOLUTIONS. WENT ABOVE GUIDANCE IN EARLY
PERIODS BUT FOLLOWED FAIRLY CLOSE IN LATER PERIODS.

KEPT EXTENDED DRY WITH NEXT SYSTEM TO REMAIN SOUTH OF THE AREA.

FCSTID = 23

.PRELIMINARY NUMBERS
TUL   57  59  36  53 /  90  30   0   0
FSM   59  67  41  56 /  70  50   0   0
MLC   60  63  37  57 /  80  40   0   0
BVO   52  55  33  53 /  90  30   0   0
FYV   59  63  33  52 /  70  50   0   0
BYV   59  63  33  52 /  70  50   0   0
MIO   58  60  33  53 /  80  40   0   0
MKO   56  63  34  53 /  80  50   0   0
F10   57  59  36  53 /  90  30   0   0
HHW   62  67  43  60 /  70  40   0   0

.TUL...
AR...NONE.
OK...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 800 PM CST MONDAY FOR ZONES
OKZ054...OKZ059.

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

HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED NEXT 24 HOURS: CHANCE NONE
NGM CONFIDENCE:  6 ON A SCALE OF 0 TO 10
ETA CONFIDENCE:  8 ON A SCALE OF 0 TO 10
AVN CONFIDENCE:  8 ON A SCALE OF 0 TO 10
FCST CONFIDENCE: 8 ON A SCALE OF 0 TO 10

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Nov 22, 1:00 PM CST, 4 hours 27 minutes before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-231200-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
100 PM CST MON NOV 22 1999

...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TONIGHT...

.SYNOPSIS...
A STATIONARY FRONT EXTENDED FROM EMPORIA TO NEAR PONCA CITY TO LUBBOCK
TEXAS EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. THIS FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO DRIFT SLOWLY
NORTH AS A WARM FRONT THROUGH THIS EVENING AS SURFACE LOW PRESSURE
INTENSIFIES OVER WEST TEXAS. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL WEATHER SYSTEM WILL
MOVE ACROSS COLORADO THIS AFTERNOON AND THEN MOVE NORTHEAST ACROSS
KANSAS AND OKLAHOMA TONIGHT.

BY MIDNIGHT...THE SURFACE LOW PRESSURE CENTER WILL BE LOCATED NEAR
BARTLESVILLE WITH A COLD FRONT EXTENDING SOUTHWESTWARD INTO CENTRAL
OKLAHOMA.

.PRIMARY HAZARD...
A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT AS THE UPPER LEVEL
SYSTEM AND SURFACE LOW APPROACH FROM THE WEST. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE
POSSIBLE ACROSS ALL OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TONIGHT.

WIND PROFILES APPEAR FAVORABLE FOR ISOLATED TORNADOES...MAINLY ACROSS
EASTERN OKLAHOMA THIS EVENING. A SQUALL LINE MAY DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT
ACROSS CENTRAL OKLAHOMA THIS EVENING...MOVING INTO EASTERN OKLAHOMA WITH
DAMAGING WIND POTENTIAL AFTER MIDNIGHT.

.DISCUSSION...
THE LACK OF A FOCUSING BOUNDARY AND INSUFFICIENT DESTABILIZATION WILL
PRECLUDE ANY SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THIS AFTERNOON...ALTHOUGH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE
POSSIBLE. THE BEST CHANCE FOR SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ACROSS
NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA NORTH AND WEST OF TULSA AFTER 6 PM. BACKED SURFACE
WINDS AHEAD OF THE SURFACE LOW AND NEAR THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY ALONG WITH
INCREASING JET STREAM WINDS COULD LEAD TO SUPERCELL TORNADOES. GREATER
INSTABILITY ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA COULD ALSO AID ERCELL
DEVELOPMENT THIS EVENING.

THE MODE OF CONVECTION OVERNIGHT WILL EVOLVE INTO BOW ECHO LINE
SEGMENTS AS UPPER LEVEL FORCING INCREASES. DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS
WILL BE POSSIBLE AS THUNDERSTORMS BECOME NUMEROUS ACROSS THE AREA.

.SPOTTER ACTIVATION...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED ACROSS NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA THIS EVENING.
SPOTTERS ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS SHOULD BE
PREPARED FOR ACTIVATION OVERNIGHT.

@
Special weather statement, Nov 22, 1:00 PM CST, 4 hours 27 minutes before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-231200-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
100 PM CST MON NOV 22 1999

...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TONIGHT...

.SYNOPSIS...
A STATIONARY FRONT EXTENDED FROM EMPORIA TO NEAR PONCA CITY TO LUBBOCK
TEXAS EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. THIS FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO DRIFT SLOWLY
NORTH AS A WARM FRONT THROUGH THIS EVENING AS SURFACE LOW PRESSURE
INTENSIFIES OVER WEST TEXAS. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL WEATHER SYSTEM WILL
MOVE ACROSS COLORADO THIS AFTERNOON AND THEN MOVE NORTHEAST ACROSS
KANSAS AND OKLAHOMA TONIGHT.

BY MIDNIGHT...THE SURFACE LOW PRESSURE CENTER WILL BE LOCATED NEAR
BARTLESVILLE WITH A COLD FRONT EXTENDING SOUTHWESTWARD INTO CENTRAL
OKLAHOMA.

.PRIMARY HAZARD...
A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT AS THE UPPER LEVEL
SYSTEM AND SURFACE LOW APPROACH FROM THE WEST. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE
POSSIBLE ACROSS ALL OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TONIGHT.

WIND PROFILES APPEAR FAVORABLE FOR ISOLATED TORNADOES...MAINLY ACROSS
EASTERN OKLAHOMA THIS EVENING. A SQUALL LINE MAY DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT
ACROSS CENTRAL OKLAHOMA THIS EVENING...MOVING INTO EASTERN OKLAHOMA WITH
DAMAGING WIND POTENTIAL AFTER MIDNIGHT.

.DISCUSSION...
THE LACK OF A FOCUSING BOUNDARY AND INSUFFICIENT DESTABILIZATION WILL
PRECLUDE ANY SEVERE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THIS AFTERNOON...ALTHOUGH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE
POSSIBLE. THE BEST CHANCE FOR ERCELL THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ACROSS
NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA NORTH AND WEST OF TULSA AFTER 6 PM. BACKED SURFACE
WINDS AHEAD OF THE SURFACE LOW AND NEAR THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY ALONG WITH
INCREASING JET STREAM WINDS COULD LEAD TO ERCELL TORNADOES. GREATER
INSTABILITY ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA COULD ALSO AID ERCELL
DEVELOPMENT THIS EVENING.

THE MODE OF CONVECTION OVERNIGHT WILL EVOLVE INTO BOW ECHO LINE
SEGMENTS AS UPPER LEVEL FORCING INCREASES. DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS
WILL BE POSSIBLE AS THUNDERSTORMS BECOME NUMEROUS ACROSS THE AREA.

.SPOTTER ACTIVATION...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED ACROSS NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA THIS EVENING.
SPOTTERS ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS SHOULD BE
PREPARED FOR ACTIVATION OVERNIGHT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 22, 4:52 PM CSTTornado WarningTSAChoctaw, Pushmataha38 min
Nov 22, 5:16 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACreek, Okfuskee44 min
Nov 22, 5:34 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACreek, Osage, Tulsa41 min
Nov 22, 5:40 PM CSTTornado WarningTSACreek, Osage, Tulsa35 min
Nov 22, 5:56 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACreek, Okfuskee, Okmulgee49 min
Nov 22, 5:56 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSATulsa49 min
Nov 22, 5:59 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAChoctaw31 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 1999Every tornado warning in 1999Tornadoes 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.