Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 2025

Tornado Warning 93, NWS Norman, OK

May 17, 2025Atoka County, Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this tornado warning at May 17, 2025, 5:51 PM CDT for Atoka County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 18 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 17, 2025, 5:51 PM CDT (22:51 UTC)
Expired: May 17, 2025, 6:09 PM CDT
In force: 18 min
Issued by: NWS Norman, OK
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Radar indicated
Hail: 1.0 in

County Atoka County, OK

The radar

The Norman radar (KTLX), 157 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:51 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 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 17, 2:40 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 155 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: 2950 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 95 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 143 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

732 
WFUS54 KOUN 172251
TOROUN
OKC005-172330-
/O.NEW.KOUN.TO.W.0093.250517T2251Z-250517T2330Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Tornado Warning
National Weather Service Norman OK
551 PM CDT Sat May 17 2025

The National Weather Service in Norman has issued a

* Tornado Warning for...
  Southwestern Atoka County in southeastern Oklahoma...

* Until 630 PM CDT.

* At 551 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a 
  tornado was located 4 miles north of Caddo, moving east at 15 mph. 
  A funnel clouds has been observed with this storm.

  HAZARD...Tornado and quarter size hail.

  SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.

  IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without 
           shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. 
           Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur.  Tree 
           damage is likely.

* Locations impacted include...
  Caney and Bentley.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a storm shelter, safe room or an interior
room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you
are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest
substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.

&&

LAT...LON 3416 9634 3422 9634 3431 9610 3418 9606
TIME...MOT...LOC 2251Z 248DEG 12KT 3420 9629 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...1.00 IN

$$

..speg.

1 follow-up statement

886 
WWUS54 KOUN 172309
SVSOUN

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Norman OK
609 PM CDT Sat May 17 2025

OKC005-172316-
/O.CAN.KOUN.TO.W.0093.000000T0000Z-250517T2330Z/
Atoka OK-
609 PM CDT Sat May 17 2025

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR SOUTHWESTERN ATOKA COUNTY IS CANCELLED...

The rotation in the thunderstorm has weakened and a tornado is 
unlikely at this time. Therefore, the tornado warning has been 
cancelled. However a severe thunderstorm warning remains in effect 
for this storm through 630 PM and quarter size hail remains 
possible.

LAT...LON 3416 9634 3422 9634 3431 9610 3418 9606
TIME...MOT...LOC 2306Z 248DEG 12KT 3422 9623 

$$

..speg.

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 Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at May 17, 5:45 PM CDT, 6 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

Updated at 542 PM CDT Sat May 17 2025
Severe weather is expected through Monday, with significant tornadoes possible on Sunday and Monday.
Shower/storm chances return end of next week.

Area forecast discussion, May 17, 5:45 PM CDT, 6 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Norman OK
545 PM CDT Sat May 17 2025

...New AVIATION...

.KEY MESSAGES...
Updated at 542 PM CDT Sat May 17 2025

 - Severe weather is expected through Monday, with significant
   tornadoes possible on Sunday and Monday.

 - Shower/storm chances return end of next week.

&&

.NEAR TERM...
(Rest of today and tonight)
Issued at 300 PM CDT Sat May 17 2025

As of the 2PM, surface observations show a weak surface low has
drifted south to near Borger,TX with a warm front extending from
Elk City to Fort Cobb to Washington to Ada. A very warm, moist air
mass is in place south of the front, with dewpoint temperatures
of 77 degrees observed at Burneyville and Durant and even 73
degrees at Seymour. A few thunderstorms have already developed
over western north Texas, but have been slow to strengthen and
there have been a few CI attempts over southeastern Oklahoma.

The mid-level shortwave is moving over southwestern New Mexico and
is prog'd to reach the Amarillo area around 21Z. The front is
anticipated to move slowly northward with an extremely unstable
atmosphere south of the front, which will foster very large hail
potential with a low tornado potential near and along the warm
front. In addition, very large DCAPE values will lend to damaging
wind gusts of 70-80+mph.

While the precise location of the front later this afternoon and
evening is somewhat uncertain, models have indicated that the
front should be near or just north of the I-40 corridor. Due to
the broader baroclinic zone typical of warm fronts (vs the sharper
zone with cold fronts), this creates a broader zone of problematic
storm impacts and therefore hazards will not be confined to a
narrow zone. Latest mesoanalysis indicates extreme instability
is already in place south of the front, with a maximum of 4500 to
5000 J/kg of MLCAPE over south-central Oklahoma along with bulk
shear at 50 knots. While we cannot pinpoint where these storms
will develop with high accuracy, everyone should be ready for the
potential for significant severe weather impacts - with 2 to 4
inch hail and damaging winds (70-80+mph) the most likely hazards.
There is a low risk of tornadoes - especially near the front and
triple point.

We should start seeing additional storm development with better
organization as the upper wave gets closer (within the next few
hours). Storms are expected to exit our area by midnight.

Thompson

&&

.SHORT TERM...
(Sunday through Monday night)
Issued at 300 PM CDT Sat May 17 2025

Another potent shortwave, that is currently moving ashore
northern California, will track east-southeastward and the center
of this system is prog'd to reach southern Utah by Sunday
morning. The center of the mid-level trough associated height
falls swings across the central Rockies during the day and rapid
lee-cyclogenesis yields a 990MB surface low over southeastern
Colorado by mid-afternoon. The resulting mass response will
increase southerly winds to 20-25 mph, with gusts to 35 mph
possible. This increased low-level flow will prompt renewed
moisture advection over Oklahoma with dewpoint temperatures rising
into the low 70's over much of the area by afternoon.

The primary mid-level jet max reaches passes over northeastern New
Mexico and reaches the western Panhandles by mid-afternoon as a
secondary jet max approaches from west Texas. The primary jet will
push the dryline to the western Oklahoma state line, and the
secondary jet could cause the dryline to bulge over southwest
Oklahoma and western north Texas mid- to late-afternoon. Although
mostly cloudy skies are anticipated east of the dryline, CIN should
begin to erode over W/SW portions of the area by mid-day. Severe
thunderstorms are expected to develop on Sunday afternoon, with very
large hail, damaging wind gusts, and significant tornadoes possible
- especially across north-central Oklahoma.

Monday continues to be the most concerning day for significant
tornado potential as the H250 and H500 jets overspread Oklahoma,
which will add 50-60 knots of 0-6km bulk shear to an extremely
unstable environment. An outbreak of tornadic supercell thunderstorms
are possible along the dryline by Monday afternoon west of I-35
and track quickly northeastward (34-45 mph) into central Oklahoma.
Storm activity should exit our area by late Monday night.

Thompson

&&

.LONG TERM...
(Tuesday through next Friday)
Issued at 300 PM CDT Sat May 17 2025

The upper trough crosses passes over the plains and drives the
associated cold front into Oklahoma on Monday night into Tuesday
morning with northwest surface winds expected on Tuesday and
possibly into Wednesday following a reinforcing cold front. High
temperatures will dip into the 70's/80's on Tuesday with warmer
conditions returning end of next week as a mid-level ridge
approaches and winds veer to the southeast. We should remain dry
Tuesday into Thursday, but low POPs return late Thursday and
Friday.

Thompson

&&

.AVIATION...
(00Z TAFS)
Issued at 542 PM CDT Sat May 17 2025

Additional thunderstorms are possible again tonight across the
northern half of the area. Prob30 has been added for terminals
near and north of I-40 to account for these storms moving within
the vicinity of the airports. Additional restrictions to ceilings
are expected across much of the area tonight and into tomorrow
morning. LLWS will also impact most TAF sites tonight as well.
Winds generally will be out of the south-southeast.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Oklahoma City OK  85  64  84  69 /  40  40  40  20
Hobart OK         88  64  88  65 /  30  10  20  10
Wichita Falls TX  91  67  89  70 /  40  10  20  20
Gage OK           85  57  91  55 /  20  30  10   0
Ponca City OK     80  60  81  66 /  10  70  70  40
Durant OK         89  68  84  70 /  70  30  40  40

&&

.OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...None.
TX...None.
&&

NEAR TERM...01
SHORT TERM...01
LONG TERM....01
AVIATION...13

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 17, 5:33 PM CDT, 18 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
533 PM CDT Sat May 17 2025

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

0512 PM     Hail             2 S Warr Acres          35.49N 97.61W
05/17/2025  E2.25 Inch       Oklahoma           OK   Public

            Report from mPING: Hen Egg+ (2.25 in.)
            Deleyed report, estimated from radar.

&&

Local storm report, May 17, 5:39 PM CDT, 12 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
539 PM CDT Sat May 17 2025

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

0505 PM     Hail             4 SSW Bethany           35.45N 97.66W
05/17/2025  E1.25 Inch       Oklahoma           OK   Trained Spotter

&&

Local storm report, May 17, 5:40 PM CDT, 11 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
540 PM CDT Sat May 17 2025

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

0510 PM     Hail             5 ENE Tuttle            35.31N 97.73W
05/17/2025  E1.00 Inch       Grady              OK   Trained Spotter

&&

Local storm report, May 17, 5:43 PM CDT, 8 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
543 PM CDT Sat May 17 2025

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

0510 PM     Hail             2 S Yukon               35.47N 97.75W
05/17/2025  E0.88 Inch       Canadian           OK   Trained Spotter

&&

Local storm report, May 17, 5:45 PM CDT, 6 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
545 PM CDT Sat May 17 2025

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

0528 PM     Tornado          1 NNE Whitebead         34.78N 97.30W
05/17/2025                   Garvin             OK   Storm Chaser

            A tornado developed just west of Interstate
            35 near the Washita River bridge and moved
            east across the interstate.

&&

Local storm report, May 17, 5:49 PM CDT, 2 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Norman OK
549 PM CDT Sat May 17 2025

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

0505 PM     Hail             3 S Yukon               35.46N 97.73W
05/17/2025  E0.75 Inch       Canadian           OK   Trained Spotter

            Delayed, based on radar.

&&

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 17, 3:41 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Garvin, Grady, McClain	49 min
May 17, 3:48 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Marshall	27 min
May 17, 4:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Canadian, Cleveland, Grady, McClain	38 min
May 17, 4:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Garvin, Grady, McClain	50 min
May 17, 4:29 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Garvin, Grady, McClain	46 min
May 17, 4:34 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Atoka	26 min
May 17, 4:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threat	OUN	Canadian, Cleveland, Oklahoma	39 min
May 17, 5:01 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Garvin, McClain	29 min
May 17, 5:07 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Atoka	38 min
May 17, 5:18 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Garvin, Murray	27 min
May 17, 5:42 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Garvin, McClain, Pontotoc	48 min
May 17, 5:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Atoka	30 min
May 17, 6:26 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OUN	Garvin, Pontotoc	25 min
May 17, 6:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threat	OUN	Carter, Jefferson, Love	45 min
May 17, 6:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threat	OUN	Coal, Pontotoc, Seminole	35 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 2025 Every tornado warning in 2025 Tornadoes in 2025

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.