Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 2001
Tornado Warning 40, NWS Norman, OK
NWS Norman, OK issued this tornado warning at May 20, 2001, 7:17 PM CDT for Coal County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 43 min. 5 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 20, 2001, 7:17 PM CDT (00:17 UTC)
- Expired
- May 20, 2001, 8:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 43 min
- Issued by
- NWS Norman, OK
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
County Coal County, OK
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 7:18 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Tupelo, OK | |
| May 20, 7:30 PM CDT | Hail 1.25 | Lula, OK | |
| May 20, 7:39 PM CDT | Hail 2.75 | Lula, OK | |
| May 20, 7:39 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind | Lula, OK | Eight-inch diameter tree limbs were downed. |
| May 20, 7:40 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Centrahoma, OK | This brief, multiple-vortex tornado formed just west of Highway 75, approximately five miles northeast of Centrahoma. The tornado dissipated after 30 to 45 seconds and resulted in no damage. |
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 20, 3:30 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 116 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2068 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1431 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 46 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 127 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 175 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.3
- Supercell composite
- 13.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WFUS54 KOUN 210018 TOROKC OKC029-210100- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK 717 PM CDT SUN MAY 20 2001 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORMAN HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... COAL COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA * UNTIL 800 PM CDT * AT 717 PM CDT...A THUNDERSTORM WITH A HISTORY OF PRODUCING TORNADOES WAS LOCATED 4 MILES NORTHWEST OF TUPELO...MOVING EAST AND SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH. * LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE CENTRAHOMA TAKE COVER NOW. LEAVE MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES. IF POSSIBLE...MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR STORM SHELTER. OTHERWISE MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM OR HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND OUTSIDE WALLS. LAT...LON 3477 9640 3460 9651 3458 9611 3478 9609 BT
The office that day
Everything else NWS Norman, OK issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 7:43 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OUN | Atoka | 32 min |
| May 20, 11:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Coal, Hughes | 52 min |
| May 21, 12:28 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Atoka, Coal | 47 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 2001Every tornado warning in 2001Tornadoes in 2001
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.