Alert archive / Oklahoma / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 47, NWS Amarillo, TX

May 16, 2002Cimarron County, Oklahoma

NWS Amarillo, TX issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 16, 2002, 7:38 PM CDT for Cimarron County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 52 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
May 16, 2002, 7:38 PM CDT (00:38 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 2002, 8:30 PM CDT
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Amarillo, TX
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Cimarron County, OK

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 197 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:40 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
May 16, 8:15 PM CDTHail 1.25Boise City, OK
May 16, 8:35 PM CDTHail 2.5Keyes, 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 16, 5:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 197 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2002-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 570 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, Amarillo Airport, TX at 00:00Z on 2002-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 4 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
570 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-38 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2934 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
4 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
169 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

158 
WUUS54 KAMA 170038
SVRAMA
OKC025-170130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
735 PM CDT THU MAY 16 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AMARILLO HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CIMARRON COUNTY IN THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE

* UNTIL 830 PM CDT

* AT 735 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 17 MILES NORTHWEST OF BOISE CITY...MOVING
  SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED BY THE STORM INCLUDE...
  KEYES

HAIL UP TO GOLFBALLS CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. TAKE COVER
NOW GO TO THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY BUILDING AND AVOID WINDOWS

LAT...LON 3700 10278 3682 10280 3663 10204 3699 10203

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 Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 16, 3:50 PM CDT, 3 hours 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 3:50 PM CDT, 3 hours 48 minutes before
TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
350 PM CDT THU MAY 16 2002

SLOW-MOVING COLD FRONT EXTENDED WEST TO EAST ACROSS OUR SOUTHERN
FORECAST AREA BORDER. EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP ALONG AND
NORTH. SOME SEVERE DUE TO INCREASED MOISTURE CONVERGENCE AND UPPER
LEVEL DYNAMICS.

COLD FRONT CONTINUES TO PUSH SOUTH OVERNIGHT. STRONG PRESSURE
GRADIENT SHOULD RESULT IN STRONGER SURFACE WINDS LATER TONIGHT INTO
EARLY FRIDAY. SUBSTANTIAL MOISTURE PERSISTS WITHIN UPSLOPE FLOW...SO
WELL KEEP GENEROUS CLOUD COVER THROUGH AT LEAST SATURDAY. DAYTIME
TEMPERATURES WILL BE COOLED AT LEAST A CATEGORY FROM PREVIOUS
FORECAST.

NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST.

FCSTR ID=08

AMA 053/066/043/070 3211
DHT 049/065/044/072 4111=

.AMA...
OK...NONE.
TX...NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 16, 5:30 PM CDT, 2 hours 8 minutes before
OKZ001>003-TXZ001>010-170400-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
530 PM CDT THU MAY 16 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
NUMBER 306 FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE
...CIMARRON...TEXAS...BEAVER...IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE...DALLAM...
SHERMAN...HANSFORD...OCHILTREE...LIPSCOMB...HARTLEY...MOORE...
HUTCHINSON...ROBERTS...AND HEMPHILL.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM CDT.

ANDRADE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Amarillo, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 7:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMATexas58 min
May 16, 8:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMACimarron, Texas40 min
May 16, 9:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMATexas51 min
May 16, 9:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMATexas48 min
May 16, 9:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningAMATexas51 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Oklahoma, 2002Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2002

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.