Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 2006

Tornado Warning 54, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 9, 2006Latimer County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at May 9, 2006, 7:41 PM CDT for Latimer County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 49 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: May 9, 2006, 7:41 PM CDT (00:41 UTC)
Expired: May 9, 2006, 8:30 PM CDT
In force: 49 min
Issued by: NWS Tulsa, OK
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Latimer County, OK

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 100 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:44 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 9, 7:48 PM CDT	TSTM WND DMG	Gowen, OK	SEVERAL LARGE TREES UPROOTED. ALSO SOME DAMAGE TO SMALL OUTBUILDINGS A LITTLE SOUTH OF GOWEN.
May 9, 8:07 PM CDT	HAIL 1.5	8 S Wilburton, OK	IN VETERNS COLONY

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this tornado 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 9, 4:04 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 193 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: 3059 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -20 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 905 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 116 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 313 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 4.2
Supercell composite: 16.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KTSA 100041
TORTSA
OKC077-100130-
/O.NEW.KTSA.TO.W.0054.060510T0041Z-060510T0130Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
741 PM CDT TUE MAY 9 2006

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  LATIMER COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA

* UNTIL 830 PM CDT

* AT 736 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 7 MILES
  NORTHWEST OF HIGGINS...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...HIGGINS...
  WILBURTON...DAMON...VETERANS COLONY...YANUSH...RED OAK AND BENGAL.

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

IN ADDITION TO A TORNADO...THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING GOLF
BALL SIZE HAIL AND DESTRUCTIVE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. IF NO
UNDERGROUND SHELTER IS AVAILABLE TAKE COVER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR IN AN
INTERIOR ROOM AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

LAT...LON 3499 9552 3469 9553 3468 9504 3497 9501

$$

1 follow-up statement

000 
WWUS54 KTSA 100102
SVSTSA

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
802 PM CDT TUE MAY 9 2006

OKC077-100130-
/O.CON.KTSA.TO.W.0054.000000T0000Z-060510T0130Z/
LATIMER OK-
802 PM CDT TUE MAY 9 2006

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 830 PM CDT FOR LATIMER
COUNTY...

AT 800 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS STORM WAS
LOCATED NEAR YANUSH...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...YANUSH...RED OAK
AND BENGAL.

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

IN ADDITION TO A TORNADO...THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING GOLF
BALL SIZE HAIL AND DESTRUCTIVE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS. IF NO
UNDERGROUND SHELTER IS AVAILABLE TAKE COVER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR IN AN
INTERIOR ROOM AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

LAT...LON 3499 9552 3469 9553 3468 9504 3497 9501

$$

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at May 9, 6:50 PM CDT, 51 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 9, 6:50 PM CDT, 51 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
650 PM CDT TUE MAY 9 2006

.MESOSCALE UPDATE...
THE SUPERCELL MOVING INTO NORTHWEST SEQUOYAH HAS BECOME HIGHLY
ORGANIZED AND WITH ITS NOW SOUTHEAST MOTION IS MOVING INTO
AN INCREASINGLY FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR TORNADOES AS
STORM-RELATIVE HELICITY INCREASES STEADILY FROM AROUND
115 M2/S2 TO 230 M2/S2 IN THE FORT SMITH AREA.  INTERESTS IN
SEQUOYAH COUNTY SHOULD BE AT A HIGH STATE OF READINESS AND
INTERESTS IN THE FORT SMITH AND VAN BUREN AREAS SHOULD
CLOSELY FOLLOW THE PROGRESS OF THIS STORM.

NUMBEROUS CELL MERGERS CONTINUE OVER NORTHWEST PITTSBURG
COUNTY...DELAYING THE ORGANIZATION OF THIS CELL...WE HAVE
RECEIVED 2 INCH HAIL REPORTS FROM THIS AMALGAMATION OF CELLS.
THERE IS STILL A STRONG LIKELIHOOD THAT A LARGE HP SUPERCELL
WILL EVOLVE FROM THE PIITSBURG COUNTY CELLS...IF THIS OCCURS
THIS STORM WILL DEVELOP A TORNADO THREAT.

THE SMALLER CELLS IN MCINTOSH COUNTY ARE SUPERCELLS AND WILL
NEED TO BE WATCHED CLOSELY...DESPITE THEIR SIZE.

A LARGE ORGANIZING CELL WAS OVER COAL AND ATOKA COUNTIES.  IN THE
LONGER TERM THIS CELL WILL NEED TO BE MONITORED AS IT APPROACHES
THE OLD BOUNDARY...UNTIL THEN THE CELL IS IN SLIGHTLY WEAKER
DEEP LAYER SHEAR AND ITS STORM MODE MAY VARY.

&&

.TSA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 7 AM WEDNESDAY FOR OKZ049-OKZ053-OKZ054-
     OKZ055-OKZ056-OKZ057-OKZ058-OKZ059-OKZ060-OKZ061-OKZ062-
     OKZ063-OKZ064-OKZ065-OKZ066-OKZ067-OKZ068-OKZ069-OKZ070-
     OKZ071-OKZ072-OKZ073-OKZ074-OKZ075-OKZ076.

AR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 7 AM WEDNESDAY FOR ARZ001-ARZ002-ARZ010-
     ARZ011-ARZ019-ARZ020-ARZ029.

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, May 9, 6:22 PM CDT, 1 hour 19 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
622 PM CDT TUE MAY 9 2006

ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-101000-
ADAIR OK-BENTON AR-CARROLL AR-CHEROKEE OK-CHOCTAW OK-CRAIG OK-
CRAWFORD AR-CREEK OK-DELAWARE OK-FRANKLIN AR-HASKELL OK-LATIMER OK-
LE FLORE OK-MADISON AR-MAYES OK-MCINTOSH OK-MUSKOGEE OK-NOWATA OK-
OKFUSKEE OK-OKMULGEE OK-OSAGE OK-OTTAWA OK-PAWNEE OK-PITTSBURG OK-
PUSHMATAHA OK-ROGERS OK-SEBASTIAN AR-SEQUOYAH OK-TULSA OK-WAGONER OK-
WASHINGTON OK-WASHINGTON AR-
622 PM CDT TUE MAY 9 2006

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF THE AREA THIS EVENING...
...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF THE AREA TONIGHT...

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

.DAY ONE...THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT.

TORNADO.
	RISK...ELEVATED.
	AREA...SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 44.
	ONSET...ONGOING.

	AREA AT GREATEST RISK...ALONG AND NEAR A FORT SMITH...
        MCALESTER LINE.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM.
	RISK...SIGNIFICANT.
	AREA...EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.
	ONSET...ONGOING.

	AREA AT GREATEST RISK...SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND
        WEST-CENTRAL ARKANSAS.

FLASH FLOOD.
	RISK...LIMITED.
	AREA...EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.
	ONSET...ONGOING.

HEAVY RAIN.
	RISK...LIMITED.
	AREA...SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA.
	ONSET...ONGOING.

DISCUSSION...
THUNDERSTORMS HAVE RAPIDLY DEVELOPED EARLY THIS EVENING AND HAVE
QUICKLY STRENGTHENED. WITH THE ATMOSPHERE REMAINING EXTREMELY
UNSTABLE...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING.
EARLY THIS EVENING THE REMNANTS OF AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY OVER THE
SOUTHERN PART OF THE AREA...AND A WEAK COLD FRONT IN THE NORTH WERE
PROVIDING THE MAIN FOCUS FOR DEVELOPMENT. INSTABILITY AND SHEAR
PROFILES CONTINUE TO SUGGEST SUPERCELLS ARE LIKELY WITH VERY LARGE
HAIL...DAMAGING DOWNBURST WINDS AND A FEW TORNADOES. THE TORNADO
THREAT WILL BE ENHANCED ALONG THE BOUNDARIES...ESPECIALLY IF ANY
SUPERCELLS RESIDE ALONG THE BOUNDARIES FOR ANY EXTENDED AMOUNT OF
TIME.

THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL LIKELY CONTINUE WELL INTO THE
OVERNIGHT HOURS AS A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE APPROACHES THE
AREA. THE MAIN THREAT OVERNIGHT WILL BE LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING
DOWNBURST WIND. IN ADDITION...VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE LIKELY IN
THE STRONGER STORMS WITH FLASH FLOODING. A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN
EFFECT FOR EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TONIGHT.

SPOTTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE NEEDED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.
WEDNESDAY...THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL.
THURSDAY...NO HAZARDS.
FRIDAY...NO HAZARDS.
SATURDAY...THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL.
SUNDAY...THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL.
MONDAY...NO HAZARDS.

EXTENDED DISCUSSION...
THUNDERSTORMS COULD REMAIN ACROSS THE AREA WEDNESDAY MORNING BUT
HIGH PRESSURE WILL BRING DRY WEATHER TO THE AREA FOR THURSDAY AND
FRIDAY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL THEN RETURN FOR THE WEEKEND AS ANOTHER
COLD FRONT APPROACHES THE AREA.

WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA CONTAINS ADDITIONAL TABULAR AND GRAPHICAL
INFORMATION.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 9, 6:30 PM CDT, 1 hour 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
630 PM CDT TUE MAY 09 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0620 PM     HAIL             6 NW SCIPIO             35.12N 96.03W
05/09/2006  E1.00 INCH       PITTSBURG          OK   PUBLIC

&&

NMK

Local storm report, May 9, 6:41 PM CDT, 1 hour before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
641 PM CDT TUE MAY 09 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0638 PM     HAIL             6 NNW SCIPIO            35.13N 96.00W
05/09/2006  E2.00 INCH       PITTSBURG          OK   PUBLIC

&&

NMK

Special weather statement, May 9, 7:02 PM CDT, 39 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
702 PM CDT TUE MAY 9 2006

OKZ069-100045-
ADAIR OK-
702 PM CDT TUE MAY 9 2006

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT EFFECTIVE UNTIL 745 PM CDT
FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTY:

IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
     SOUTHWEST ADAIR

AT 702 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 9 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF BUNCH...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 10 MPH. SOME LOCATIONS THAT
WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS STORM INCLUDE...BUNCH.  THE SEVERE PORTIONS
OF THIS STORM ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN WEST AND SOUTH OF ADAIR COUNTY.

THIS STORM WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO
50 MPH. RESIDENTS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT IN CASE THE
SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IS UPGRADED TO A WARNING.

Local storm report, May 9, 7:18 PM CDT, 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
718 PM CDT TUE MAY 09 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0616 PM     TSTM WND GST     MCALESTER               34.93N 95.77W
05/09/2006  E65 MPH          PITTSBURG          OK   BROADCAST MEDIA

&&

NMK

Local storm report, May 9, 7:19 PM CDT, 22 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
719 PM CDT TUE MAY 09 2006

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0716 PM     TSTM WND GST     MCALESTER               34.93N 95.77W
05/09/2006  E65.00 MPH       PITTSBURG          OK   BROADCAST MEDIA

&&

NMK

Special weather statement, May 9, 7:28 PM CDT, 13 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
728 PM CDT TUE MAY 9 2006

OKZ068-069-100100-
ADAIR OK-CHEROKEE OK-
728 PM CDT TUE MAY 9 2006

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT EFFECTIVE UNTIL 800 PM CDT
FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES:

IN EAST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
     CHEROKEE

IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
     ADAIR

AT 728 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER
TAHLEQUAH...MOVING EAST AT 10 MPH. SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL BE
AFFECTED BY THIS STORM INCLUDE...MARIETTA...STILWELL...BARON...
CHRISTIE...PROCTOR...WESTVILLE...TAHLEQUAH AND ELDON.

THIS STORM WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO
50 MPH. RESIDENTS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT IN CASE THE
SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IS UPGRADED TO A WARNING.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 9, 7:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Latimer	80 min
May 9, 7:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Okmulgee	65 min
May 9, 7:14 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Sequoyah	61 min
May 9, 7:33 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	TSA	Pittsburg	117 min
May 9, 7:44 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Pittsburg	31 min
May 9, 7:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Pushmataha	84 min
May 9, 7:54 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	LeFlore	66 min
May 9, 7:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	McIntosh	63 min
May 9, 7:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Muskogee	31 min
May 9, 8:12 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Sequoyah	33 min
May 9, 8:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	LeFlore	92 min
May 9, 8:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Latimer	29 min
May 9, 8:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Muskogee	19 min
May 9, 8:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Haskell, Sequoyah	62 min
May 9, 9:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Choctaw, Pushmataha	95 min
May 9, 9:20 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	TSA	Choctaw, LeFlore, Pushmataha	115 min
May 9, 9:53 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	TSA	Sequoyah	67 min
May 9, 10:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Mayes, Wagoner	76 min
May 9, 11:02 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Delaware	88 min
May 9, 11:21 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Creek, Tulsa	54 min
May 10, 12:00 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Tulsa, Wagoner	60 min
May 10, 12:21 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Creek	54 min
May 10, 12:59 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Wagoner	46 min
May 10, 1:11 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Creek	64 min
May 10, 1:19 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Okfuskee	71 min
May 10, 1:20 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Okmulgee	55 min
May 10, 2:04 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Muskogee	56 min
May 10, 2:09 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Okmulgee	27 min
May 10, 2:18 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	McIntosh	34 min
May 10, 3:32 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Choctaw	58 min
May 10, 3:42 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Pushmataha	48 min
May 10, 3:52 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	LeFlore	53 min
May 10, 4:26 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Choctaw	32 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 2006 Every tornado warning in 2006 Tornadoes in 2006

Sources

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