Alert archive / Oklahoma / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 217, NWS Tulsa, OK

July 12, 2002Cherokee County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 12, 2002, 1:02 PM CDT for Cherokee County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 58 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: Jul 12, 2002, 1:02 PM CDT (18:02 UTC)
Expired: Jul 12, 2002, 2:00 PM CDT
In force: 58 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), 53 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:06 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
Jul 12, 1:10 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 61 E	Peggs, OK	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down three trees.
Jul 12, 2:00 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 61 E	Tahlequah, 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
Jul 12, 12:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 146 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: 1432 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -28 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 613 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 92 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 131 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 3.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

466 
WUUS54 KTSA 121802
SVRTUL
OKC021-121900-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
100 PM CDT FRI JUL 12 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 200 PM CDT

* AT 100 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
  OVER PEGGS...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH. A SECOND SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM IN WAGONER COUNTY WILL ALSO MOVE EAST SOUTHEAST AT 30
  MPH AND MAY AFFECT WESTERN PARTS OF CHEROKEE COUNTY. 

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

WIND GUSTS TO 65 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE WARNED AREA. STAY 
INDOORS AND AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

DAMAGING WINDS MAY OCCUR UP TO 5 MILES AHEAD OF THE HEAVY RAIN AND 
HAIL. MOVE TO A SAFE PLACE NOW.

BE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AS STORMS APPROACH.

LAT...LON 3618 9509 3597 9522 3575 9483 3603 9482

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 Jul 12, 11:04 AM CDT, 1 hour 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 12, 11:04 AM CDT, 1 hour 58 minutes before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA
1104 AM CDT FRI JUL 12 2002

WL KEEP HIGH CHANCE TO LIKELY POPS IN THE FCST FOR TODAY AS COLD
FRONT CREEPS ACROSS NORTHERN OKLAHOMA. THE COLD FRONT IS CURRENTLY
NEAR A RED ROCK TO JOPLIN LINE. THE AMS AHD OF THE CDFNT IS
BECOMING INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE WITH THE ABUNDANT SUNSHINE.
CAPE VALUES ARE CURRENTLY IN THE 2000 TO 3000 J/KG ACROSS MUCH OF
THE FA. ENHANCING THE THUNDERSTORMS CHANCES TODAY WILL BE A 500 MB
TROF PUSHING ACROSS THE AREA IN ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER LEVEL
LOW MOVING ACROSS MO. COULD SEE SOME SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH DOWNBURST WINDS TO AROUND 60 MPH
POSSIBLE. LARGE HAIL WILL ALSO POSSIBLE AS SLIGHTLY COLDER AIR
ALOFT ADVECTS INTO THE AREA.

WL TWEAK SOME OF THE AFTERNOON MAX TEMPS UP FOR TODAY IN LOCATIONS
THAT ARE CURRENTLY RECEIVING ABUNDANT SUNSHINE.

FORECAST ID = 10

.TSA...
AR...NONE.
OK...NONE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 12, 11:58 AM CDT, 1 hour 4 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1158 AM CDT FRI JUL 12 2002

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

0730 PM    2.5 SW RATTAN             OK   WIND DAMAGE
07/11/02   PUSHMATAHA                     TREES DOWNED BLOCKING
                                          ROADWAY. REPORTED BY
                                          PUBLIC.

0800 PM    3 E HUGO                  OK   60 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
07/11/02   CHOCTAW                        REPORTED BY PUBLIC.

Local storm report, Jul 12, 12:23 PM CDT, 39 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1223 PM CDT FRI JUL 12 2002

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

1217 PM    BIXBY                     OK   66  MPH TSTM WIND GUST
07/12/02   TULSA                          MEASURED GUST REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTER

Special weather statement, Jul 12, 12:42 PM CDT, 20 minutes before

ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-131200-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA / NORTHWEST ARKANSAS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1242 PM CDT FRI JUL 12 2002

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE ACROSS A GOOD PORTION OF EASTERN
OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THROUGH THIS EVENING...

STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED ALONG A COLD FRONT
THAT IS CURRENTLY MOVING ACROSS NORTHERN OKLAHOMA. ADDITIONAL
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG THE COLD FRONT AND
OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME OF THE
THUNDERSTORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH
THE PRIMARY THREAT. LARGE HAIL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE.

.DISCUSSION...
A COLD FRONT WAS MOVING ACROSS NORTHERN OKLAHOMA EARLY THIS
AFTERNOON. STRONG TO SEVERE WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ALONG THE COLD
FRONT AND ANY OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES IN PLACE ACROSS THE AREA.
THE AIRMASS AHEAD OF THE FRONT IS RATHER UNSTABLE WITH CAPE VALUES
IN THE 3000 TO 4000 J/KG RANGE WITH VERY LITTLE CAP IN PLACE.
WITH SUCH AN UNSTABLE AIRMASS IN PLACE...70 MPH DOWNBURST WINDS
WILL BE POSSIBLE. THE THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL DIMINISH AFTER
SUNSET AS WE LOSE THE HEAT OF THE DAY AND THE AIRMASS BECOMES MORE
STABLE.

RELATED GRAPHICAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT...
WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 11, 7:09 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Pushmataha	36 min
Jul 11, 7:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Choctaw	40 min
Jul 12, 12:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Muskogee, Okmulgee, Tulsa, Wagoner	49 min
Jul 12, 12:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Wagoner	48 min
Jul 12, 1:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Okfuskee	46 min
Jul 12, 1:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Adair, Cherokee, Sequoyah	63 min
Jul 12, 2:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Delaware	49 min
Jul 12, 4:21 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Pushmataha	54 min

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.