Alert archive / Oklahoma / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 405, NWS Norman, OK

August 24, 2002Alfalfa County, Grant County, Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 24, 2002, 5:39 AM CDT for Alfalfa County, Grant County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 21 min. 1 report 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
Aug 24, 2002, 5:39 AM CDT (10:39 UTC)
Expired
Aug 24, 2002, 6:00 AM CDT
In force
21 min
Issued by
NWS Norman, OK
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Alfalfa County, OK, Grant County, OK

The radar

The Vance AFB radar (KVNX), 7 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:40 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
Aug 24, 5:50 AM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50 ECherokee, 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 nearest sounding before it

Lamont, OK (KLMN), launched 00:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 54 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 00:00Z on 2002-08-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2266 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 00:00Z on 2002-08-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -105 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
2266 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-79 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2009 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-105 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-77 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.7

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 Aug 24, 4:10 AM CDT, 1 hour 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 24, 4:10 AM CDT, 1 hour 29 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
410 AM CDT SAT AUG 24 2002

MCS OVER KANSAS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE MOVING/PROPAGATING
EAST/SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE MORNING AND WILL LIKELY AFFECT NORTH
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA AT A MINIMUM. ONGOING SCATTERED TSTMS IN NORTH
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA WILL ALSO DRIFT SLOWLY EAST. DOUBT WELL SEE MUCH
DECREASE IN ACTIVITY THE NEXT FEW HOURS. ETA CONTINUES TO INDICATE
AN UNSEASONABLE STRONG JET MAX MOVING INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS WITH
UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE CONTINUING OVER NORTHERN OKLAHOMA THROUGH
EARLY AFTERNOON. PCPTBL WATER 1.5 TO 2.0 INCHES ALONG WITH
RELATIVELY SLOW MOVEMENT COULD RESULT IN HEAVY RAINS. WITH MULTITUDE
OF BOUNDARIES AND A COUPLE CONVECTIVE SYSTEMS COMPLICATING THE
PICTURE...  THE FORECAST OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF TSTMS THIS AFTERNOON
AND TONIGHT IS DIFFICULT. AT THIS TIME... BELIEVE WILL SEE MCS MOVE
ACROSS KS AND NORTHERN OKLAHOMA THROUGH MIDDAY. AFTERNOON
DEVELOPMENT WILL LIKELY OCCUR ALONG BOUNDARIES THAT REMAIN FROM
EARLIER TSTMS COMPLEXES. THE PRIMARY BOUNDARIES ARE EXPECTED TO
STRETCH FROM NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA... THROUGH WEST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA...
AND INTO THE SOUTHEAST. COULD ALSO SEE ANOTHER HIGH PLAINS MCS
DEVELOP TONIGHT WITH SUPPORT FROM UPSLOPE LOW LEVEL FLOW AND H850
WARM ADVECTION. THIS SYSTEM WOULD THEN MOVE SOUTHEAST INTO NORTHERN
OKLAHOMA. WILL CONTINUE A CHANCE OF TSTMS THROUGH SUNDAY AS A WEAK
FRONT SAGS SOUTH ACROSS THE AREA. ATTM... MONDAY LOOKS TO BE DRY.
HIGH TEMPS TODAY WILL BE TRICKY... THE SOUTHWEST WILL LIKELY HEAT UP
TO 100+ WHILE FAR NORTH CENTRAL SECTIONS COULD STAY IN THE UPPER 80S
IF CLOUDS/PCPN HANG AROUND LONG ENOUGH TODAY. WILL COOL CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN SECTIONS SLIGHTLY ON SUNDAY WITH THE WEAK FRONT AND
CLOUDS/SCTD PCPN IN THE AREA. IN THE LONGER TERM... WILL MAINTAIN
LOW POPS WEDS/THURS FOR POSSIBILITY OF NORTHWEST FLOW TSTMS.

FCSTID =   32
OKC   93  72  91  69 /  50  40  30  20
HBR  100  72  93  69 /  20  30  30  20
SPS  102  76  99  72 /  10  20  30  30
GAG   94  65  89  65 /  40  40  20  20
PNC   89  67  89  68 /  70  50  20  20
DUA   96  73  96  71 /  20  30  30  30

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

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 24, 4:50 AM CDT, 49 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
450 AM CDT SAT AUG 24 2002

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

1030 PM    OKARCHE                   OK   58 MPH WIND GUST
08/23/02   KINGFISHER

CJS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 23, 7:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNWoods, Woodward50 min
Aug 23, 10:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNNoble50 min
Aug 23, 11:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNKay28 min
Aug 23, 11:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGarfield, Noble41 min
Aug 24, 12:37 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNLincoln38 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.