Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 32, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 8, 2000Osage County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at May 8, 2000, 8:50 PM CDT for Osage County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 25 min. 2 reports came from 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, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 8, 2000, 8:50 PM CDT (01:50 UTC)
Expired: May 8, 2000, 9:15 PM CDT
In force: 25 min
Issued by: NWS Tulsa, OK
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Osage County, OK

The radar

The Tulsa radar (KINX), 84 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:54 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 8, 8:58 PM CDT	Hail 0.88	Bartlesville, OK
May 8, 9:03 PM CDT	Hail 1	Copan, 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 8, 6:30 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 180 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1344 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -143 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1790 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 37 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 94 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 2.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KTSA 090151
TORTUL
OKC105-113-147-090215-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
850 PM CDT MON MAY 8 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  NORTHERN NOWATA COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
  NORTHEASTERN OSAGE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
  NORTHERN WASHINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA

* UNTIL 915 PM CDT

* AT 850 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG
  ROTATION 10 MILES WEST OF BARTLESVILLE. MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH...
  THIS DANGEROUS STORM COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...  COPAN...
  DEWEY...BARTLESVILLE...HULAH...WANN AND LENAPAH

IF YOU ARE IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM...TAKE COVER NOW! IF NO
UNDERGROUND SHELTER IS AVAILABLE MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR. MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR MORE
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. AVOID WINDOWS!

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

CALL 1-800-722-2778 TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICEt.

LAT...LON 3699 9581 3689 9620 3669 9611 3685 9549
          3699 9555

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 May 8, 3:30 PM CDT, 5 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 8, 3:30 PM CDT, 5 hours 20 minutes before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
330 PM CDT MON MAY 8 2000

MAIN CHALLENGES THIS FORECAST PERIOD CONCERN THUNDERSTORM INITIATION
THIS EVENING...AND HEAVY RAINFALL POTENTIAL LATE TONIGHT INTO EARLY
TUESDAY MORNING. AIR MASS REMAINS STRONGLY CAPPED THIS AFTERNOON
WITH SPECIAL 18Z SOUNDING AT OUN REVEALING 700MB STILL NEAR 12C.
KINX VELOCITY DATA AND VISIBLE SATELLITE PICK UP ON TWO BOUNDARIES
APPROACHING THE AREA...THE COLD FRONT WHICH WAS MAKING FAIRLY GOOD
PROGRESS ACROSS CENTRAL OKLAHOMA...AND THE PREFRONTAL TROUGH MOVING
THROUGH OSAGE COUNTY.

EXPECT FRONT TO STALL...AND DEVELOPING SURFACE LOW PRESSURE IN WEST
TEXAS TO MOVE ALONG FRONT LATE TONIGHT. HEAVIEST RAINFALL EXPECTED
NEAR THE LOW TRACK...WITH POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN TONIGHT IN EXCESS
OF 3 INCHES POSSIBLE. UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE IS INCREASING WITH THE
APPROACHING JET...WHICH WILL ENHANCE LIFT LATER TONIGHT. THE LOW
LEVEL JET WILL ALSO SET UP IN A FAVORABLE POSITION TO FUEL
CONVECTION ALL NIGHT. STORMS WILL LIKELY INITIALLY BREAK OUT JUST
AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT...AND THEN DEVELOP INTO AN MCS LATER
TONIGHT. GIVEN THE RECENT HEAVY RAINS AND FLOODING IN THE
AREA...WILL GO AHEAD AND ISSUE A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE NORTHEAST
OKLAHOMA ZONES.

WILL HAVE LIKELY POPS GOING FOR MOST ZONES TONIGHT...WITH CHANCE
WORDING INTO TUESDAY. LOW CLOUDS AND POSSIBLY SOME SHOWERS WILL
LINGER BEHIND THE SYSTEM INTO TUESDAY...SO TEMPS WILL BE COOLER AND
EXPECT SOME CLEARING BY TUESDAY EVENING. A RIDGE SETS UP ACROSS THE
AREA BY WEDNESDAY...SO NICE WARMUP EXPECTED WEDNESDAY.

FCSTID = 6
TUL   65  74  55  84 /  80  50  10   0
FSM   66  76  55  84 /  30  40  20   0
MLC   68  80  59  84 /  30  30  10   0
BVO   64  73  53  82 /  80  60  10   0
FYV   66  73  50  82 /  40  50  30   0
BYV   66  73  50  82 /  40  50  30   0
MIO   64  73  53  81 /  70  60  20   0
MKO   67  79  57  84 /  50  40  10   0
F10   67  79  57  84 /  50  40  10   0
HHW   68  80  59  84 /  30  30  10   0

THANKS FOR COORDINATION OUN/SGF/ICT.

.TUL...
AR...NONE.
OK...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR MONDAY NIGHT FOR ZONES OKZ054>064...
OKZ067.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 8, 3:39 PM CDT, 5 hours 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
339 PM CDT MON MAY 08 2000

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

1140 PM    CHOUTEAU                  OK    .75 INCH HAIL
05/05/00   MAYES

0215 AM    WESTPORT                  OK    .88 INCH HAIL
05/06/00   PAWNEE

0230 AM    HASKELL                   OK    WIND DAMAGE
05/06/00   MUSKOGEE                        TREES BLOWN DOWN
                                           REPORTED BY LAW
                                           ENFORCEMENT

0250 AM    2 E WAGONER               OK    .88 INCH HAIL
05/06/00   WAGONER

0315 AM    WESTPORT                  OK    .88 INCH HAIL
05/06/00   PAWNEE

0330 AM    3 W PRUE                  OK    1 INCH HAIL
05/06/00   OSAGE

0330 AM    PRUE                      OK    1 INCH HAIL
05/06/00   OSAGE                           1 MILE WEST OF WALNUT
                                           CREEK STATE PARK

0515 AM    WESTPORT                  OK    .88 INCH HAIL
05/06/00   PAWNEE

0520 AM    BEGGS                     OK    .75 INCH HAIL
05/06/00   OKMULGEE               Z         REPORTED BY COOP OBSERVER

0630 AM    HOMINY                    OK    FLOOD
05/06/00   OSAGE                           6 HOUSES FLOODED

1030 AM    PRYOR                     OK    .75 INCH HAIL
05/06/00   MAYES

Special weather statement, May 8, 8:43 PM CDT, 7 minutes before

OKZ054>062-064>067-090243-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
843 PM CDT MON MAY 8 2000

...UPDATE FOR SHORT-TERM TRENDS...

THUNDERSTORMS SPREADING ACROSS OSAGE COUNTY WILL CONTINUE TO
APPROACH THE STALLED FRONT WHICH AT 8PM EXTENDED FROM NORTHERN CRAIG
COUNTY...ACROSS NORTHERN TULSA COUNTY AND INTO CREEK COUNTY.  AS
THESE STORM APPROACH THE FRONT THEY WILL BECOME MORE SURFACED BASED
IN NATURE AND BEGIN TO TAP THE WARM AND HUMID SURFACE AIR.  AS THIS
OCCURS THE STORMS MAY TAKE ON SUPERCELL CHARACTERISTICS.

IN ADDITION...NEW STORMS MAY DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT.  IF THESE
STORMS FORM THEY COULD BECOME SUPERCELLS AS WELL.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 8, 7:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Osage	59 min
May 8, 8:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Osage	65 min
May 8, 8:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Nowata, Osage, Washington	65 min
May 8, 8:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Pawnee	48 min
May 8, 8:50 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Nowata, Washington	25 min
May 8, 9:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Craig, Nowata	61 min
May 8, 9:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Pawnee	56 min
May 8, 9:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Osage	54 min
May 8, 10:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Osage, Pawnee	59 min
May 8, 11:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Washington	47 min
May 8, 11:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Nowata	61 min
May 8, 11:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Osage	60 min
May 8, 11:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Washington	49 min
May 8, 11:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Craig	62 min
May 9, 1:30 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Nowata	45 min
May 9, 3:02 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Delaware	43 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 2000 Every tornado warning in 2000 Tornadoes in 2000

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.