Alert archive / Oklahoma / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 234, NWS Norman, OK

May 26, 2002Garvin County, Murray County, Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 26, 2002, 4:18 AM CDT for Garvin County, Murray County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 42 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
May 26, 2002, 4:18 AM CDT (09:18 UTC)
Expired
May 26, 2002, 5:00 AM CDT
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS Norman, OK
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Garvin County, OK, Murray County, OK

The radar

The Norman radar (KTLX), 83 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:21 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 26, 4:30 AM CDTHail 1Joy, OK
May 26, 4:53 AM CDTHail 1.5Pauls Valley, OK
May 26, 5:05 AM CDTHail 0.75Wynnewood, 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

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 72 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, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 2002-05-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2 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, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 2002-05-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 20 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
2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-607 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
906 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
20 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
59 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 26, 2:14 AM CDT, 2 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 26, 2:14 AM CDT, 2 hours 4 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
212 AM SUN MAY 26 2002

RATHER IMPRESSIVE MID/UPPER LEVEL S/W TROF AXIS CURRENTLY SLIDING
INTO THE FORECAST AREA. CONVECTION CONTINUES TO DEVELOP AHEAD OF
THIS FEATURE EARLY THIS MORNING OVER ROUGHLY THE SOUTHEAST HALF OF
THE FA..FEEDING OFF CAPES OF AROUND 1000 J/KG IN THE 800-700 MB
LAYER. EXPECT THIS TO CONTINUE FOR A GOOD PART OF THE DAY AS LIFT
CONTINUES TO ACT ON UNSTABLE LAYER ABOVE THE SURFACE..BUT COVERAGE
OF CONVECTION SHUD DECREASE BY AFTERNOON.  ATTENTION THEN TURNS TO
DEVELOPING BOUNDARY LAYER INSTABILITY AXIS FROM CENT/WRN TX NWD INTO
WRN KS. INTENSE CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT WILL PROBABLY OCCUR SOMEWHERE
ALONG THIS AXIS THIS AFTERNOON AND THEN MOVE EWD TONITE.  THUS..WE
WILL BUMP POPS UPWARD FOR THE FIRST 2 PDS.

FORECAST FOR PERIODS BEYOND BECOMES INCREASINGLY DEPENDENT UPON
CUMULATIVE EFFECTS OF CONVECTION AND RESIDUAL BOUNDARIES.  IT IS
LATE MAY..AND WE WILL LIKELY HAVE PRETTY HEALTHY INSTABILITY IN
PLACE EACH DAY. SO..CHANCES FOR STORMS WILL CONTINUE..WITH BEST
CHANCE RIGHT NOW LOOKING LIKE TUES INTO WED.  SEVERAL OF THE MEDIUM
RANGE MODELS WANT TO BUILD A RATHER SUBSTANTIAL UPPER RIDGE INTO THE
SRN PLAINS MID/LATE WEEK..BUT AM NOT NECESSARILY INCLINED TO BELIEVE
THIS SINCE THE SAME MODELS 6 DAYS AGO WERE FORECASTING A SIMLIAR
PATTERN FOR RIGHT NOW..WHICH IS HARDLY THE CASE.  WITH ALL THIS IN
MIND..WE REALLY DO NOT HAVE ANY COMPELLING REASONS TO MAKE MANY
CHANGES TO THE EXTENDED PERIODS..SO WE WONT ATTM.
 MILLER

PRELIM NUMBERS..
OKC   79  65  81  66 /  40  20  40  40
HBR   82  66  83  66 /  20  40  40  40
SPS   83  67  84  68 /  20  30  30  40
GAG   80  63  82  62 /  40  50  30  50
PNC   77  65  80  66 /  20  40  40  40
DUA   79  66  82  67 /  70  20  30  30

.OUN...
OK...NONE.
TX...NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 25, 10:30 PM CDT, 5 hours 48 minutes before
OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-260600-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1030 PM CDT SAT MAY 25 2002

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED IN OKLAHOMA OR WESTERN NORTH
TEXAS THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT...BUT NO ORGANIZED SEVERE
ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED.

DISCUSSION...
THERE IS SUFFICIENT INSTABILITY IN THE MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE
TO ALLOW FOR A FEW ELEVATED THUNDERSTORMS TO FORM OVERNIGHT AS A
WEAK UPPER AIR DISTURBANCE MOVES ACROSS THE AREA. SMALL HAIL WILL BE
POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS...BUT THE THREAT OF
ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER IS LOW.

THREAT TABLE...
VALID THROUGH 700 AM CDT SUN MAY 26.
PROBABILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING IN THE
              NWS NORMAN COUNTY WARNING AREA...40 PERCENT.
PROBABILITY OF SEVERE STORMS IF STORMS OCCUR...10 PERCENT.

OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
NO OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED.

11
Local storm report, May 26, 3:05 AM CDT, 1 hour 13 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
305 AM CDT SUN MAY 26 2002

TIME (CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0245 AM    DUNCAN                    OK   .75 INCH HAIL
05/26/02   STEPHENS                       DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED ON
                                          THE SOUTH SIDE OF DUNCAN BY
                                          STEPHENS COUNTY SKYWARN.

0248 AM    DUNCAN                    OK   .75 INCH HAIL
05/26/02   STEPHENS                       DIME SIZE HAIL STILL
                                          REPORTED ON THE SOUTH SIDE
                                          OF DUNCAN BY STEPHENS
                                          COUNTY SKYWARN.

...SPEG.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Norman, OK issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 26, 2:47 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNComanche, Stephens43 min
May 26, 5:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGarvin, Murray, Pontotoc44 min
May 26, 5:04 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNAtoka, Coal41 min
May 26, 5:46 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCoal, Pontotoc44 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.