Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Norman, OK

April 16, 2002Atoka County, Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this tornado warning at Apr 16, 2002, 8:06 PM CDT for Atoka County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 24 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 16, 2002, 8:06 PM CDT (01:06 UTC)
Expired: Apr 16, 2002, 8:30 PM CDT
In force: 24 min
Issued by: NWS Norman, OK
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Atoka County, OK

The radar

The Norman radar (KTLX), 143 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:08 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
Apr 16, 8:18 PM CDT	Tornado F1	Atoka, OK	This tornado, witnessed by at least one local citizen, formed on the west side of Atoka and moved three miles before dissipating on the north side of Atoka. Damage was sustained to hangar doors at a local airport. A boat inside the hangar was blown outside. A
Apr 16, 8:30 PM CDT	Hail 1.75	Atoka, 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
Apr 16, 4:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 142 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: 1660 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -114 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1179 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 253 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 336 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.0
Supercell composite: 7.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KOUN 170106
TOROKC
OKC005-170130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
806 PM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORMAN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  ATOKA COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA

* UNTIL 830 PM CDT

* AT 806 PM CDT...A THUNDERSTORM WITH A HISTORY OF PRODUCING
  TORNADOES WAS LOCATED 5 MILES WEST OF TUSHKA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT
  20 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE ATOKA AND TUSHKA

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 3435 9640 3422 9624 3443 9598 3443 9628
JAMES

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 16, 7:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Carter	44 min
Apr 16, 7:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Atoka, Coal	43 min
Apr 16, 7:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Jefferson	38 min
Apr 16, 7:36 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Atoka, Coal, Johnston	24 min
Apr 16, 7:40 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Atoka, Coal, Johnston	20 min
Apr 16, 7:41 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Carter, Garvin, Murray	49 min
Apr 16, 8:07 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Coal	38 min
Apr 16, 8:30 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Atoka	45 min
Apr 16, 9:16 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Atoka	29 min
Apr 17, 4:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Ellis	45 min
Apr 17, 4:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Harper, Woodward	36 min
Apr 17, 5:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Harper, Woods, Woodward	45 min
Apr 17, 5:40 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Woodward	35 min
Apr 17, 6:15 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Woodward	30 min
Apr 17, 6:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Harper	44 min
Apr 17, 6:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Woods	51 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.