Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 12, NWS Tulsa, OK

December 18, 2002Craig County, Ottawa County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at Dec 18, 2002, 12:27 AM CST for Craig County, Ottawa County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 48 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: Dec 18, 2002, 12:27 AM CST (06:27 UTC)
Expired: Dec 18, 2002, 1:15 AM CST
In force: 48 min
Issued by: NWS Tulsa, OK
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Craig County, OK, Ottawa County, OK

The radar

The Tulsa radar (KINX), 102 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:29 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
Dec 18, 12:35 AM CST	Thunderstorm Wind 52 E	Welch, OK	Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 miles an hour blew down several large tree limbs.
Dec 18, 12:35 AM CST	Hail 1.25	Welch, 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
Dec 17, 7:35 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr
Dec 17, 10:40 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 6.5 hours before the alert went out and 109 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: 39 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -55 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1087 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 267 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 432 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 KTSA 180627
TORTUL
OKC035-115-180715-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1227 AM CST WED DEC 18 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  NORTHERN CRAIG COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
  NORTHWESTERN OTTAWA COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA

* UNTIL 115 AM CST

* AT 1227 AM CST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH
  STRONG ROTATION 12 MILES WEST OF WELCH...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50
  MPH. THIS DANGEROUS STORM COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...COMMERCE...
  PICHER AND WELCH.

IF YOU ARE NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM...TAKE COVER NOW IF NO
UNDERGROUND SHELTER IS AVAILABLE MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR. MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR MORE
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. AVOID WINDOWS

LAT...LON 3690 9537 3675 9532 3708 9445 3729 9460

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 17, 7:24 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Craig, Rogers	51 min
Dec 17, 7:57 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Ottawa	33 min
Dec 18, 12:09 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Craig, Nowata	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.