Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 33, NWS Norman, OK

May 8, 2002Garfield County, Noble County, Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this tornado warning at May 8, 2002, 8:56 PM CDT for Garfield County, Noble County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 34 min. 1 report 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 8, 2002, 8:56 PM CDT (01:56 UTC)
Expired: May 8, 2002, 9:30 PM CDT
In force: 34 min
Issued by: NWS Norman, OK
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Garfield County, OK, Noble County, OK

The radar

The Vance AFB radar (KVNX), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:59 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 8, 9:30 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Billings, 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 8, 3:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 148 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: 3758 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 901 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 232 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 265 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 5.8
Supercell composite: 21.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KOUN 090156
TOROKC
OKC047-103-090230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
855 PM CDT WED MAY 8 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORMAN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEAST GARFIELD COUNTY IN NORTHERN OKLAHOMA
  NORTHERN NOBLE COUNTY IN NORTHERN OKLAHOMA

* UNTIL 930 PM CDT

* AT 855 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
  CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF BILLINGS...  
MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BILLINGS

TAKE COVER NOW. LEAVE MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES. IF POSSIBLE...MOVE
TO A BASEMENT OR STORM SHELTER. OTHERWISE MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM OR
HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND OUTSIDE
WALLS.

LAT...LON 3660 9758 3648 9758 3647 9718 3660 9716

$$

30

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 8, 7:26 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Kay	34 min
May 8, 7:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Alfalfa, Grant	46 min
May 8, 8:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Alfalfa, Garfield, Grant	45 min
May 8, 9:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Grant, Kay	45 min
May 8, 9:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Garfield, Noble	46 min
May 8, 9:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Kay	45 min
May 8, 10:09 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Kingfisher	36 min
May 8, 10:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Garfield, Noble	44 min
May 8, 10:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Blaine	49 min
May 8, 11:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Kingfisher, Logan	47 min
May 9, 12:26 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Oklahoma	49 min
May 9, 12:53 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Lincoln	37 min
May 9, 1:09 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Pottawatomie, Seminole	36 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.