Alert archive / Oklahoma / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 181, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 13, 2003Craig County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 13, 2003, 12:17 PM CDT for Craig County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 43 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 13, 2003, 12:17 PM CDT (17:17 UTC)
Expired: May 13, 2003, 1:00 PM CDT
In force: 43 min
Issued by: NWS Tulsa, OK
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Craig County, OK

The radar

The Tulsa radar (KINX), 84 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:19 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.

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 nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 128 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1853 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 168 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 173 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.

358 
WUUS54 KTSA 131717
SVRTUL
OKC035-131800-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1216 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN CRAIG COUNTY IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA

* UNTIL 100 PM CDT

* AT 1216 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER
  CRAIG COUNTY...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

WELCH...HOLLOW AND RURAL NORTHERN CRAIG COUNTY ARE NEAR THE PATH OF 
THIS STORM.

HAIL TO THE SIZE OF PENNIES 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 3699 9538 3672 9542 3673 9501 3698 9499

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 13, 10:20 AM CDT, 1 hour 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 13, 10:20 AM CDT, 1 hour 57 minutes before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA
1020 AM CDT TUE MAY 13 2003

SAT PICS AND METARS INDICATE A SOLID AREA OF LOW CLOUDS FROM CENTRAL
TEXAS INTO EASTERN KANSAS.  RADAR SHOWS THAT THE STORMS OVER
NORTHEAST TEXAS HAVE DIMINISHED SOMEWHAT...BUT THE STORMS IN
SOUTHEAST KANSAS ARE STILL PRETTY STRONG. IN BETWEEN WIDELY
SCATTERED SHOWERS HAVE FORMED OVER EASTERN OKLAHOMA.

GOING FORECAST FOR THE AREA IS BASICALLY MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 40-50
PERCENT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH HIGHS IN THE MID TO
UPPER 70S.  AT THIS TIME BELIEVE THAT IT IS GOOD SO DO NOT PLAN ON
UPDATING AT THIS TIME.  HOWEVER...SHOULD IT BECOME EVIDENT THAT
THUNDERSTORMS CHANCES ARE BETTER THAN THE CHANCE CATEGORY MAY UPDATE
LATER THIS MORNING OR EARLY THIS AFTERNOON.

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

ABBAS

Hazardous weather outlook, May 13, 10:25 AM CDT, 1 hour 52 minutes before

ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-141100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1025 AM CDT TUE MAY 13 2003

THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS AS WELL AS
MUCH OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK

...CHANCE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH TONIGHT...

A LOW LEVEL JET AXIS WAS NOTED ACROSS WESTERN OKLAHOMA THIS
MORNING. INFLUENCE FROM THIS FEATURE COMBINED WITH A SURFACE WARM
FRONT AND AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE HAS RESULTED IN THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT ACROSS SOUTHERN KANSAS THIS MORNING. SOME OF THESE
STORMS MAY AFFECT PARTS OF FAR NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA LATE THIS MORNING
AND EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AND THERE WILL BE A CHANCE FOR A SEVERE
STORM OR TWO IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA. SUFFICIENT ELEVATED INSTABILITY
SUGGESTS LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH ANY SEVERE
STORMS. THIS ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO DIMINISH BY EARLY AFTERNOON AS
THE UPPER DISTURBANCE MOVES EAST AND THE LOW LEVEL JET WEAKENS.

THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL INCREASE AREAWIDE BY TONIGHT AS A VIGOROUS
UPPER SYSTEM MOVES FROM THE HIGH PLAINS INTO THE MIDWEST. A SURFACE
COLD FRONT APPROACHING FROM THE NORTHWEST COMBINED WITH THIS UPPER
SYSTEM WILL RESULT IN SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ACROSS
KANSAS THIS EVENING. STORMS WILL LIKELY FORM A COMPLEX AS THEY MOVE
EAST SOUTHEAST ACROSS KANSAS AND INTO NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS LATE TONIGHT. STEEP MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES
COMBINED WITH AMPLE LIFT FROM THE COLD FRONT AND A FAVORABLE LOW
LEVEL JET AXIS MAY RESULT IN A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SEVERE STORMS
TONIGHT. LARGE HAIL WOULD BE THE MAIN THREAT.

WARNING PROBABILITIES FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES CAN BE
FOUND IN THE OUTLOOK SECTION AT: WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA. GIVEN
PROBABILITIES REPRESENT THE POTENTIAL FOR A WARNING TO BE ISSUED AT
YOUR LOCATION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY
THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL DECREASE IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT FOR
THURSDAY...BUT RETURN FOR FRIDAY AS ANOTHER UPPER SYSTEM AND COLD
FRONT APPROACH THE AREA. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD IN OVER THE
WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK.

.SPOTTER / EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT...SPOTTER
ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATE TONIGHT ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.

ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT...
WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 13, 11:42 AM CDT, 35 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1142 AM CDT TUE MAY 13 2003

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

1111 AM    VINITA                    OK   1.00 IN HAIL
05/13/03   CRAIG                          SHERRIFFS OFFICE

PS

Local storm report, May 13, 11:52 AM CDT, 25 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1152 AM CDT TUE MAY 13 2003

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

1140 AM    MIAMI                     OK   1.00 IN HAIL
05/13/03   OTTAWA                         POLICE DEPT

PS

Special weather statement, May 13, 11:59 AM CDT, 18 minutes before

OKZ055-131730-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1159 AM CDT TUE MAY 13 2003

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN WASHINGTON
   COUNTY UNTIL 1230 PM CDT...

AT 1159 AM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM
MOVING INTO NORTHERN WASHINGTON COUNTY AT 30 MPH. THIS STORM
WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH.
THE COMMUNITIES COPAN AND DEWEY WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS STORM
THROUGH 1230 PM CDT.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 13, 11:09 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Craig	51 min
May 13, 11:26 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Osage, Ottawa	49 min
May 13, 11:39 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Delaware	51 min
May 13, 1:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Osage, Washington	42 min
May 13, 1:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Rogers, Tulsa	66 min
May 13, 2:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Cherokee, Mayes	49 min
May 13, 2:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Tulsa, Wagoner	44 min
May 13, 2:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Cherokee	40 min
May 13, 3:11 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	TSA	Cherokee	4 hr
May 13, 3:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Muskogee, Wagoner	56 min
May 13, 3:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Adair, Sequoyah	62 min
May 13, 3:48 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Cherokee	57 min
May 13, 4:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Haskell, Muskogee, Sequoyah	76 min
May 13, 4:36 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	LeFlore	39 min
May 13, 5:08 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	LeFlore	52 min
May 13, 5:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	LeFlore	50 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Oklahoma, 2003 Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.