Alert archive / Oklahoma / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 174, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 17, 2002Cherokee County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 17, 2002, 3:03 AM CDT for Cherokee County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 57 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 17, 2002, 3:03 AM CDT (08:03 UTC)
Expired: May 17, 2002, 4:00 AM CDT
In force: 57 min
Issued by: NWS Tulsa, OK
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Cherokee County, OK

The radar

The Tulsa radar (KINX), 51 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 08:05 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 17, 3:43 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 61 E	Hulbert, OK	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down a few trees.

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 17, 2:00 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr
May 17, 2:30 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 8.1 hours before the alert went out and 154 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: 1170 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 560 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 166 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 235 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.5
Supercell composite: 9.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS54 KTSA 170803
SVRTUL
OKC021-170900-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
302 AM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CHEROKEE COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA

* UNTIL 400 AM CDT

* AT 302 AM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 10
  MILES SOUTHWEST OF HULBERT...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...OAKS...
  TAHLEQUAH...HULBERT...ELDON...PEGGS AND SCRAPER.

HAIL TO THE SIZE OF DIMES AND WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED IN
THE WARNED AREA. STAY INDOORS AND AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM
HAS PASSED.

LAT...LON 3607 9516 3594 9529 3574 9512 3577 9482
          3618 9483

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 Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 16, 7:53 PM CDT, 7 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 7:53 PM CDT, 7 hours 10 minutes before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
753 PM CDT THU MAY 16 2002

COMPLICATED SFC PATTERN THIS EVENING WITH MULTIPLE BOUNDARIES ACROSS
AREA.  COLD FRONT LOCATED NEAR MCI EXTENDING SW INTO OK PANHANDLE.
FURTHER SOUTH INVERTED SFC TROUGH OVER NW OK AND SECONDARY WEAKER
BOUNDARY ACROSS SE OK.  ELEVATED CONVECTION HAS DEVELOP OVER
SOUTH-CENTRAL OK/NORTH TEXAS IN RESPONSE TO WEAK UPPER WAVE THAT
MOVED OUT OF MEXICO EARLIER TODAY.  ELEVATED INSTABILITIES WILL
REMAIN MARGINAL THIS EVENING...BUT STRONGER CELLS COULD BRIEFLY
APPROACH SEVERE LIMITS AS ACTIVITY MOVES EAST ACROSS SE OK THIS
EVENING.

STRONGER CONVECTION WILL LIKELY DEVELOP AFTER MIDNIGHT AS MAIN UPPER
DISTURBANCE MOVES OUT INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS. SCT TSTMS COULD
DEVELOP LATER THIS EVENING ALONG INVERTED SFC TROUGH OVER
NORTH-CENTRAL/ NORTHEAST OK...BECOMING MORE WIDESPREAD AS COLD FRONT
PUSHES SOUTH INTO FA LATE TONIGHT.  THE HEAVIEST PRECIP EXPECTED
AFTER 300 AM... CONTINUING THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS BEFORE PUSHING
EAST OF FA BY MID AFTERNOON FRIDAY.

FLASH FLOOD WATCH STILL LOOKS GOOD AS WIDESPREAD 2-3 INCH RAINFALL
AMOUNTS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER PORTIONS OF FA THROUGH FRIDAY
AFTERNOON. WILL UPDATE TO TWEAK CURRENT FORECAST GIVEN LATEST
TRENDS...OTHERWISE NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES ANTICIPATED THIS EVENING.

FCSTID = 12

.TSA...
AR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH  UNTIL NOON CDT FRIDAY FOR ZONES
ARZ001>002...ARZ010>011...ARZ019>020...ARZ029.

OK...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FROM UNTIL NOON CDT FRIDAY FOR ZONES
OKZ054>076.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 17, 12:48 AM CDT, 2 hours 15 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1248 AM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

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

1242 AM    TULSA                     OK   1.00 INCH HAIL
05/17/02   TULSA                          51ST AND YALE. REPORTED BY
                                          TRAINED SPOTTER.

Local storm report, May 17, 12:53 AM CDT, 2 hours 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1253 AM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

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

1215 AM    3 S SANDSPRINGS           OK   .88 INCH HAIL
05/17/02   TULSA                          REPORTED BY TRAINED
                                          SPOTTER

Local storm report, May 17, 1:09 AM CDT, 1 hour 54 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
109 AM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

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

0100 AM    BROKEN ARROW              OK   .75 INCH HAIL
05/17/02   TULSA                          REPORTED BY TRAINED
                                          SPOTTER

Local storm report, May 17, 1:33 AM CDT, 1 hour 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
133 AM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

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

0130 AM    COWETA                    OK   60 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
05/17/02   WAGONER                        .88 INCH HAIL
                                          REPORTED BY SPOTTER.

Local storm report, May 17, 2:21 AM CDT, 42 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
221 AM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

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

0215 AM    11 SE PRYOR               OK   .75 INCH HAIL
05/17/02   MAYES                          REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTER.

Special weather statement, May 17, 2:50 AM CDT, 13 minutes before

OKZ054-055-059-060-064>066-170815-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
250 AM CDT FRI MAY 17 2002

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH #307 HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE FOLLOWING
AREAS...OSAGE...WASHINGTON...PAWNEE AND TULSA COUNTIES.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH #309 HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR PARTS OF EASTERN
OKLAHOMA UNTIL 7 AM...INCLUDING CREEK...OKMULGEE...OKFUSKEE...
PUSHMATAHA AND CHOCTAW COUNTIES.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH #308 HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MOST OF THE REST
OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA UNTIL 7 AM.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 16, 8:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Choctaw, Pushmataha	55 min
May 16, 9:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Pawnee	55 min
May 16, 9:55 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	TSA	Osage, Pawnee	2 hr
May 16, 11:03 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	TSA	Washington	3 hr
May 16, 11:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Pawnee	48 min
May 16, 11:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Osage	40 min
May 16, 11:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Washington	41 min
May 16, 11:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Creek, Tulsa	62 min
May 17, 12:26 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Tulsa	49 min
May 17, 12:44 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Creek	61 min
May 17, 1:04 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Okmulgee	56 min
May 17, 1:10 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Rogers, Tulsa, Wagoner	50 min
May 17, 1:18 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	TSA	Creek, Tulsa	3 hr
May 17, 1:49 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Cherokee	41 min
May 17, 1:58 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Tulsa, Wagoner	47 min
May 17, 2:12 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Creek	63 min
May 17, 2:21 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	TSA	Wagoner	3 hr
May 17, 2:34 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	TSA	Okmulgee	2 hr
May 17, 2:38 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Muskogee, Wagoner	67 min
May 17, 3:12 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Creek, Okfuskee	63 min
May 17, 3:15 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	TSA	Cherokee, Creek, Delaware, Mayes, Muskogee, Okmulgee and 2 more	3 hr
May 17, 3:37 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Okmulgee	53 min
May 17, 4:05 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	McIntosh	40 min
May 17, 4:39 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Haskell, Muskogee, Pittsburg	51 min
May 17, 5:01 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Sequoyah	44 min
May 17, 5:05 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Latimer	40 min
May 17, 5:17 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Pushmataha	43 min
May 17, 5:23 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	LeFlore	52 min
May 17, 5:41 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Sequoyah	49 min
May 17, 6:10 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	TSA	Cherokee, Creek, Delaware, Mayes, Muskogee, Okmulgee and 2 more	6 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Oklahoma, 2002 Every 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.