Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 55, NWS Norman, OK

May 8, 2003Oklahoma County, Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this tornado warning at May 8, 2003, 5:44 PM CDT for Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 31 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 8, 2003, 5:44 PM CDT (22:44 UTC)
Expired: May 8, 2003, 6:15 PM CDT
In force: 31 min
Issued by: NWS Norman, OK
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Oklahoma County, OK

The radar

The Norman radar (KTLX), 23 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:45 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.

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, 1:35 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 37 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: 2594 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -55 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 646 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 164 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 213 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 3.1
Supercell composite: 11.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KOUN 082244
TOROKC
OKC109-082300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
542 PM CDT THU MAY 8 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORMAN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN OKLAHOMA COUNTY IN CENTRAL OKLAHOMA

* UNTIL 615 PM CDT

* AT 542 PM CDT...A LARGE... VIOLENT TORNADO WAS LOCATED 4 MILES 
SOUTH OF HARRAH...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE CHOCTAW...HARRAH...JONES...LUTHER 
  AND NICOMA PARK.

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND LIFE THREATENING SITUATION. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS LARGE AND DESTRUCTIVE TORNADO... TAKE COVER
IMMEDIATELY. A BASEMENT OR STORM SHELTER IS BEST. OTHERWISE...TAKE
COVER IN AN INTERIOR CLOSET OR BATHROOM AWAY FROM OUTSIDE WALLS AND
WINDOWS. COVER YOUR HEAD WITH PILLOWS AND BLANKETS.

IN ADDITION TO A TORNADO THREAT... THIS STORM LIKELY CONTAINS 
DAMAGING HAIL TO THE SIZE OF BASEBALLS OR LARGER.

LAT...LON 3551 9737 3543 9725 3552 9714 3571 9715

$$
JAMES

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 7, 9:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Beckham, Greer, Harmon	41 min
May 7, 10:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Jackson, Tillman	50 min
May 7, 10:22 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Tillman	23 min
May 7, 10:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Beckham, Greer	48 min
May 7, 10:43 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Tillman	47 min
May 7, 11:02 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Comanche, Cotton	43 min
May 7, 11:04 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Washita	41 min
May 7, 11:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Washita	46 min
May 7, 11:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Cotton, Stephens	45 min
May 7, 11:59 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Cotton	31 min
May 8, 12:14 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Woodward	46 min
May 8, 12:26 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Caddo, Washita	34 min
May 8, 12:29 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Stephens	46 min
May 8, 12:37 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Jefferson	23 min
May 8, 12:59 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Caddo, Canadian, Grady	46 min
May 8, 1:01 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Woods, Woodward	44 min
May 8, 1:02 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Jefferson	43 min
May 8, 1:12 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Carter, Garvin, Stephens	48 min
May 8, 1:16 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Jefferson	29 min
May 8, 1:20 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Stephens	25 min
May 8, 1:31 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Carter, Garvin, Murray	44 min
May 8, 1:46 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Canadian, Oklahoma	44 min
May 8, 2:06 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Carter, Love	39 min
May 8, 2:11 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Garvin	49 min
May 8, 2:42 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Carter, Love, Marshall	33 min
May 8, 2:44 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Pontotoc	31 min
May 8, 2:59 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Coal	31 min
May 8, 3:12 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Marshall	48 min
May 8, 3:26 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Johnston	49 min
May 8, 3:34 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Bryan, Johnston	26 min
May 8, 3:59 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Atoka, Johnston	46 min
May 8, 4:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Grady	50 min
May 8, 4:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Canadian	38 min
May 8, 4:32 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Grady	43 min
May 8, 4:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Oklahoma	45 min
May 8, 4:49 PM CDT	Tornado Warning Emergency	OUN	Cleveland, McClain, Oklahoma	56 min
May 8, 5:31 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Lincoln, Pottawatomie	59 min
May 8, 5:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Garfield, Noble	43 min
May 8, 5:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Kay	39 min
May 8, 5:55 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Noble	50 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 2003 Every tornado warning in 2003 Tornadoes in 2003

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.