Alert archive / Oklahoma / Red Flag Warnings in 2026

Red Flag Warning 29, NWS Norman, OK

May 16, 20265 counties in Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this red flag warning at May 16, 2026, 12:43 PM CDT for 5 counties in Oklahoma. It took effect at May 17, 2026, 11:00 AM CDT. It was in force for 10 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: May 16, 2026, 12:43 PM CDT (17:43 UTC)
In effect from: May 17, 2026, 11:00 AM CDT
Expired: May 17, 2026, 9:00 PM CDT
In force: 10 hr
Issued by: NWS Norman, OK

Counties Ellis County, OK, Harper County, OK, Roger Mills County, OK, Woods County, OK, Woodward County, OK

The radar

The Vance AFB radar (KVNX), 125 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:46 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 nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 12:00Z, 5.7 hours before the alert went out and 225 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: 1272 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -268 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1309 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 229 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 302 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this red flag 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 red flag warning went out at May 16, 12:10 PM CDT, 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 12:10 PM CDT, 33 minutes before

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The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 15, 7:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threat	OUN	Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Kingfisher	39 min
May 15, 7:21 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Beckham, Greer, Harmon, Kiowa, Washita	39 min
May 15, 7:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Greer, Harmon, Jackson	43 min
May 15, 7:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Caddo, Canadian, Grady, Kingfisher	47 min
May 15, 7:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Beckham, Custer, Washita	45 min
May 15, 8:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Harmon, Jackson	49 min
May 15, 8:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OUN	Canadian, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma	46 min
May 15, 8:32 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Washita	28 min
May 15, 9:07 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Canadian	23 min
May 15, 9:09 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Jackson, Tillman	36 min
May 15, 9:26 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Canadian	34 min
May 15, 11:29 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Tillman	31 min
May 16, 12:26 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Jackson	34 min
May 16, 12:49 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Greer	26 min
May 16, 1:36 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Jefferson	24 min
May 16, 1:45 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Beckham	30 min
May 16, 2:16 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Roger Mills	29 min
May 16, 2:19 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Greer	26 min
May 16, 2:22 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Tillman	38 min
May 16, 2:44 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Beckham	31 min
May 16, 2:49 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Tillman	26 min
May 16, 3:18 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Kiowa, Tillman, Washita	42 min
May 16, 3:58 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Cotton, Kiowa, Washita	32 min
May 16, 4:31 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Kiowa, Washita	44 min
May 16, 5:14 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Comanche, Cotton, Washita	46 min
May 16, 6:02 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Caddo, Jefferson, Stephens	28 min
May 16, 12:36 PM CDT	Wind Advisory	OUN	Alfalfa, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Custer, Dewey and 12 more	32 hr
May 15, 9:10 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Foard, Hardeman, Knox	35 min
May 15, 9:50 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Knox	25 min
May 15, 11:31 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Archer	29 min
May 16, 1:02 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Wilbarger	28 min
May 16, 3:53 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Archer, Wichita	37 min
May 16, 4:38 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	OUN	Clay, Wichita	52 min

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Oklahoma, 2026 Every red flag warning in 2026

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.