Alert archive / Oklahoma / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 414, NWS Tulsa, OK

September 20, 2001Creek County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Sep 20, 2001, 10:18 AM CDT for Creek County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 42 min. 1 report 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
Sep 20, 2001, 10:18 AM CDT (15:18 UTC)
Expired
Sep 20, 2001, 11:00 AM CDT
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Creek County, OK

The radar

The Tulsa radar (KINX), 86 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:20 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
Sep 20, 10:30 AM CDTHail 0.75Silver City, 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 nearest sounding before it

Lamont, OK (KLMN), launched 12:00Z, 3.3 hours before the alert went out and 109 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, Lamont, OK at 12:00Z on 2001-09-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 85 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, Lamont, OK at 12:00Z on 2001-09-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 156 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
85 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-382 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1285 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
156 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
257 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

191 
WUUS54 KTSA 201518
SVRTUL
OKC037-201600-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1018 AM CDT THU SEP 20 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN CREEK COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA

* UNTIL 1100 AM CDT

* AT 1018 AM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER
  OILTON...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 10 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...DRUMRIGHT AND
  OILTON.

HAIL TO THE SIZE OF DIMES AND WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED IN
THE WARNED AREA.

LAT...LON 3619 9659 3602 9663 3582 9645 3600 9625

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out at Sep 20, 9:05 AM CDT, 1 hour 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 20, 9:05 AM CDT, 1 hour 13 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
905 AM CDT THU SEP 20 2001

UPDATED TO RAISE POPS FOR SRN ZONES AND INTRODUCE POPS TO NE OK ESP
ACROSS OSAGE...WASHINGTON AND PAWNEE COUNTIES FOR SCATTERED
SHRA/TSRA. RADAR OBSERVATIONS SHOW TOUGH LOOKING STORMS HOWEVER
VISUAL APPEARANCES FROM KTSA SHOW THE STORMS TO BE HIGH-BASED.
EXPECT STORMS TO WEAKEN AND COVERAGE TO DECREASE LATER THIS MORNING
WITH FAR SOUTHERN ZONES HAVING LINGERING LIGHT PRECIP THE LONGEST
TODAY. MIGHT EVEN DISSIPATE BEFORE IT REACHES WESTCENTRAL AR. NW AR
SHOULD REMAIN MOSTLY CLEAR.

FCSTID = 26

.TSA...
AR...NONE.
OK...NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 20, 6:00 AM CDT, 4 hours 18 minutes before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-211200-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
600 AM CDT THU SEP 20 2001

...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT ACROSS NORTHEAST
OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS...

A WARM FRONT ALONG THE RED RIVER WILL PROVIDE A FOCUS FOR
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT THIS MORNING ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST
OKLAHOMA.  ACTIVITY ALONG THIS FRONT SHOULD DIMINISH BY THIS
AFTERNOON.  A SURFACE COLD FRONT ACROSS THE HIGH PLAINS OF NEBRASKA
AND KANSAS WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH SOUTH DURING THE DAY TODAY.  THIS
FRONT WILL MOVE INTO NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS AFTER
MIDNIGHT.  THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT AND A FEW MAY
BE SEVERE PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY RAINFALL.

.SPOTTER ACTIVATION...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TONIGHT ACROSS MAINLY NORTHEAST
OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.

.DISCUSSION...

SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE IN MISSOURI WILL MOVE EAST TODAY ALLOWING A
DEVELOPING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IN THE HIGH PLAINS TO MOVE SOUTHEAST
INTO THE REGION TONIGHT.  THE CONVECTION ACROSS CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
SHOULD STAY TO THE WEST OF THE AREA THIS MORNING.  ALTHOUGH SOME
THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP ALONG THE WARM FRONT ACROSS THE RED RIVER
THIS AFTERNOON...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO DEVELOP
ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA.

THE ATMOSPHERE ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS WILL
BECOME INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE DURING THE DAY TODAY AS TEMPERATURES
CLIMB INTO THE LOWER TO MID 80S.  BY THIS EVENING...LIFTED INDEX
VALUES WILL BE AROUND -5 C WITH CAPE VALUES FROM 1500 TO 2000 J/KG
CREATING A MODERATELY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE.  THE COLD FRONT SHOULD
MOVE INTO THE AREA AFTER MIDNIGHT CAUSING THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP
ALONG IT.  A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND
HEAVY RAINFALL MAINLY ACROSS NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST
ARKANSAS.

THREAT TABLE
VALID THROUGH 1200 UTC FRIDAY

AREA 1...NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
THUNDERSTORM PROBABILITY...60
SEVERE PROBABILITY IF STORMS OCCUR...40
SIGNIFICANT SEVERE PROBABILITY IF STORMS OCCUR...20

THREAT AREAS DEFINE THE GREATEST RISK.  PROBABILITIES ARE IN
PERCENT.  SIGNIFICANT SEVERE IS DEFINED AS F1 OR GREATER
WIND/TORNADO DAMAGE AND/OR GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL OR LARGER.

RELATED GRAPHICAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT...
WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA

AN UPDATED HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 1 PM
TODAY.

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Oklahoma, 2001Every severe thunderstorm warning 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.