Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 2001
Tornado Warning 26, NWS Tulsa, OK
NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at May 20, 2001, 9:00 PM CDT for LeFlore County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 60 min. 3 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, 9:00 PM CDT (02:00 UTC)
- Expired
- May 20, 2001, 10:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 60 min
- Issued by
- NWS Tulsa, OK
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
County LeFlore County, OK
The radar
The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 53 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:04 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, 9:14 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 52 E | Wister, OK | |
| May 20, 9:20 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 52 E | Cameron, 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 |
| May 20, 9:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 2 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 235 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
- 1724 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 670 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 178 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 232 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.7
- Supercell composite
- 8.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WFUS54 KTSA 210204 TORTUL OKC079-210300- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK 900 PM CDT SUN MAY 20 2001 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR LE FLORE COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA * UNTIL 1000 PM CDT * AT 900 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH STRONG ROTATION NEAR SUMMERFIELD...POTEAU AND MC CURTAIN. THESE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30 MPH. ANY ONE OF THESE CIRCULATIONS MAY PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME. * SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...BOKOSHE... PANAMA...CAMERON...WISTER...HOWE...FANSHAWE...HEAVENER... WHITESBORO...MUSE...BIG CEDAR AND POTEAU. NIGHTTIME TORNADOES ARE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS - TAKE COVER NOW IF YOU WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE OR HEAR IT COMING...IT MAY BE TOO LATE TO GET TO A SAFE PLACE 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 LAT...LON 3520 9492 3452 9494 3452 9447 3519 9443
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, 8:19 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | Latimer, LeFlore | 56 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, 9:19 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.