Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 19, NWS Norman, OK

April 18, 2002Alfalfa County, Woods County, Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this tornado warning at Apr 18, 2002, 12:51 AM CDT for Alfalfa County, Woods County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 39 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: Apr 18, 2002, 12:51 AM CDT (05:51 UTC)
Expired: Apr 18, 2002, 1:30 AM CDT
In force: 39 min
Issued by: NWS Norman, OK
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Alfalfa County, OK, Woods County, OK

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 18, 1:05 AM CDT	Tornado F2	Carmen, OK	This tornado is a continuation of the tornado that developed in Major County and moved through Woods County. The tornado tracked for another 15 miles in Alfalfa County before dissipating 2 miles southwest of Ingersoll. As the tornado entered Alfalfa County, da
Apr 18, 1:39 AM CDT	Tornado F0	Cherokee, OK	The Cherokee Police Department observed this brief tornado south of Cherokee with no known damage.

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
Apr 17, 11:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 00:00Z, 5.9 hours before the alert went out and 179 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 4097 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 25 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 43 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KOUN 180551
TOROKC
OKC003-151-180630-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
1250 AM CDT THU APR 18 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORMAN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  ALFALFA COUNTY IN NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA
  SOUTHERN WOODS COUNTY IN NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA

* UNTIL 130 AM CDT

* AT 1250 AM CDT...A LARGE... VIOLENT TORNADO WAS LOCATED 9 MILES
  SOUTHWEST OF CARMEN...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  CARMEN AROUND 110 AM CDT
  LAMBERT AROUND 125 AM CDT

IN ADDITION TO A TORNADO THREAT... THIS STORM LIKELY CONTAINS
DAMAGING HAIL TO THE SIZE OF BASEBALLS OR LARGER.

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND LIFE THREATENING SITUATION. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS LARGE AND DESTRUCTIVE TORNADO... TAKE COVER
IMMEDIATELY. A BASEMENT OR STORM SHELTER IS BEST. OTHERWISE...TAKE
COVER IN AN INTERIOR CLOSET OR BATHROOM AWAY FROM OUTSIDE WALLS AND
WINDOWS. COVER YOUR HEAD WITH PILLOWS AND BLANKETS.

LAT...LON 3651 9868 3645 9861 3664 9826 3682 9845
ANDRA

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 17, 7:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Dewey	44 min
Apr 17, 7:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Beckham, Roger Mills	47 min
Apr 17, 7:48 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Dewey	27 min
Apr 17, 7:50 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Beckham	40 min
Apr 17, 7:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Woodward	37 min
Apr 17, 7:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Roger Mills	47 min
Apr 17, 7:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Major	46 min
Apr 17, 8:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Harmon	27 min
Apr 17, 8:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Dewey	42 min
Apr 17, 8:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Woodward	46 min
Apr 17, 8:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Beckham	61 min
Apr 17, 8:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Major, Roger Mills, Woods	43 min
Apr 17, 8:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Harmon	50 min
Apr 17, 9:10 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Beckham	35 min
Apr 17, 9:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Roger Mills	49 min
Apr 17, 9:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Dewey	47 min
Apr 17, 9:43 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Beckham	32 min
Apr 17, 9:53 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Washita	37 min
Apr 17, 10:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Custer	60 min
Apr 17, 10:19 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Custer	41 min
Apr 17, 11:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Dewey	28 min
Apr 17, 11:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Major, Woods, Woodward	45 min
Apr 17, 11:53 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Major	37 min
Apr 18, 12:28 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Major, Woods	32 min
Apr 18, 1:22 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Grant	38 min
Apr 18, 1:26 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Alfalfa	34 min
Apr 18, 1:57 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Alfalfa, Grant	33 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes 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.