Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 2001
Tornado Warning 22, NWS Tulsa, OK
NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at May 20, 2001, 8:19 PM CDT for Latimer County, LeFlore County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 56 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, 8:19 PM CDT (01:19 UTC)
- Expired
- May 20, 2001, 9:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 56 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tulsa, OK
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
Counties Latimer County, OK, LeFlore County, OK
The radar
The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 79 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:18 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 20, 8:33 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 61 E | Wilburton, OK | A trained spotter reported a 70 mile an hour wind gust with what appeared to be a rear flank downdraft associated with a supercell thunderstorm. Damage to power poles and street signs was observed. |
| May 20, 8:44 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 52 E | Yanush, OK | |
| May 20, 8:50 PM CDT | Tornado F1 | Talihina, OK | A F1 tornado touched down six miles northeast of Talihina and stayed on the ground for one mile with a path width of 200 yards. The damage was limited to trees and power poles. |
| May 20, 9:14 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 52 E | Wister, OK | |
| May 20, 9:20 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Heavener, 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 20, 3:30 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 214 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 KTSA 210120 TORTUL OKC077-079-210215- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 819 PM CDT SUN MAY 20 2001 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR LATIMER COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA NORTHERN LE FLORE COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA * UNTIL 915 PM CDT * AT 819 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO 3 MILES EAST OF RED OAK. THIS DANGEROUS STORM IS MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. ANOTHER SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED IN SOUTHERN PITTSBURG COUNTY AND HAS HAD A HISTORY AND LARGE HAIL AND WILL MOVE INTO SOUTHERN LATIMER COUNTY. * SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...CAMERON... WISTER...HOWE...FANSHAWE...HEAVENER...TALIHINA...POTEAU...RED OAK...DAMON...BENGAL...HIGGINS...YANUSH...WILBURTON AND VETERANS COLONY. IF YOU ARE IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM...TAKE COVER NOW! IF NO UNDERGROUND SHELTER IS AOVAILABLE MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. AVOID WINDOWS! LAT...LON 3495 9550 3468 9550 3469 9446 3519 9444
The office that day
Everything else NWS Tulsa, OK issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 7:00 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | Pittsburg | 60 min |
| May 20, 7:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Nowata | 54 min |
| May 20, 7:12 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | LeFlore, Sequoyah | 63 min |
| May 20, 7:16 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | Haskell | 44 min |
| May 20, 7:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Ottawa | 28 min |
| May 20, 7:20 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | Latimer | 55 min |
| May 20, 7:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Rogers | 67 min |
| May 20, 7:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Tulsa, Washington | 45 min |
| May 20, 7:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Craig | 43 min |
| May 20, 7:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Okfuskee, Okmulgee | 51 min |
| May 20, 7:43 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | Pittsburg | 62 min |
| May 20, 7:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Wagoner | 42 min |
| May 20, 8:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Cherokee | 67 min |
| May 20, 8:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | McIntosh | 51 min |
| May 20, 8:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Mayes | 63 min |
| May 20, 8:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Muskogee | 26 min |
| May 20, 8:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Haskell | 44 min |
| May 20, 9:00 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | LeFlore | 60 min |
| May 20, 9:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Latimer | 41 min |
| May 20, 9:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Haskell | 40 min |
| May 20, 9:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | LeFlore | 46 min |
| May 20, 10:04 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Muskogee | 56 min |
| May 20, 10:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Latimer, Pushmataha | 62 min |
| May 20, 10:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Latimer | 50 min |
| May 20, 10:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | McIntosh | 51 min |
| May 20, 10:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | LeFlore | 59 min |
| May 20, 10:52 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | TSA | Haskell, LeFlore, Sequoyah | 113 min |
| May 20, 11:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Pittsburg | 54 min |
| May 20, 11:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | LeFlore | 38 min |
| May 20, 11:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Haskell | 44 min |
| May 20, 11:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | LeFlore | 45 min |
| May 20, 11:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Latimer | 55 min |
| May 20, 11:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Pittsburg | 49 min |
| May 21, 12:03 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | LeFlore | 27 min |
| May 21, 12:45 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Pittsburg, Pushmataha | 45 min |
| May 21, 1:28 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Pushmataha | 62 min |
| May 21, 2:26 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Pushmataha | 64 min |
| May 21, 2:29 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | TSA | Pushmataha | 3 hr |
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.