Thunderstorms moved over northern Oklahoma during the pre-dawn hours of the 23rd. Lightning from one of the thunderstorms caused a fire large tank fire near Waukomis.
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Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS OUN wrote it up.
Thunderstorms moved over northern Oklahoma during the pre-dawn hours of the 23rd. Lightning from one of the thunderstorms caused a fire large tank fire near Waukomis. The tank housed both salt water and crude oil.
The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at May 23, 2:57 AM CST, 1 hour 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK 357 AM CDT WED MAY 23 2007 .DISCUSSION... TSTMS MOVING THROUGH CENTRAL/SOUTHERN KS EARLY THIS MORNING HAVE DEVELOPED AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY THAT WILL MOVE INTO NORTHERN OK. IF CONVERGENCE ALONG THIS BOUNDARY IS STRONG ENOUGH TO OVERCOME THE CAP... SOME STORMS MAY BUILD ALONG THE BOUNDARY INTO PARTS OF NORTHERN OK THIS MORNING. WILL CONT TO MONITOR RADAR TRENDS FOR ANY NEEDED LAST MINUTE ADJUSTMENTS TO MORNING POPS. FOCUS THEN SHIFTS TO LATER THIS AFTN AND TONIGHT. A SHORTWAVE TROUGH MOVING INTO THE FOUR CORNERS THIS MORNING WILL MOVE EAST INTO THE CENTRAL/SOUTHERN PLAINS THIS AFTN/TONIGHT. A COOL FRONT WILL HANG AROUND NEAR NW OK AND MAY RETREAT SLIGHTLY TODAY AS A SFC LOW DEVELOPS TO THE WEST IN EASTERN NM. THIS SFC LOW THEN MOVES NE ALONG THE FRONT TONIGHT... WITH THE NAM SLOWER THAN THE GFS WHICH LEADS TO THE GFS PUSHING THE FRONT FURTHER SOUTH ACROSS THE FA LATE TONIGHT THEN THE NAM. WILL LEAN MORE TOWARDS THE SLIGHTLY FASTER GFS DUE TO THE VORT MAX COMING AROUND THE BASE OF THE TROUGH LIKELY PUSHING THE FRONT SOUTH. SHWRS/TSTMS ALONG AND BEHIND THE FRONT MAY ALSO HELP DRIVE THE FRONT SOUTH A LITTLE FASTER. SHWRS/TSTMS WILL LIKELY DEVELOP NEAR THE FRONT IN NW OK LATER THIS AFTN... WITH THE SHORTWAVE AND FRONT PROVIDING LIFT TO THE AREA. INSTABILITY /CAPE VALUES 1500-2500/ AND WIND SHEAR WILL BE SUFFICIENT FOR SOME SEVERE STORMS ACROSS THE NW THIRD OF THE FA THIS AFTN/TONIGHT. ISOLATED SHWRS/TSTMS MAY ALSO DEVELOP ACROSS PARTS OF THE FA THIS AFTN IF SUFFICIENT HEATING OF THE MOIST ATMOSPHERE OCCURS TO OVERCOME THE CAP. IF THIS ACTIVITY DEVELOPS... IT IS EXPECTED TO BE DIURNAL IN NATURE. MORE WIDESPREAD SHWRS/TSTMS ARE EXPECTED TO SPREAD INTO THE AREA TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY AS THE COOL FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE AREA. HEAVY RAIN WILL ALSO BE A POSSIBILITY IN SOME LOCATIONS TONIGHT/THU. THE COOL FRONT WILL STALL AND WASH OUT NEAR THE RED RIVER/NORTH TEXAS AREA THU/THU NIGHT WITH WINDS BEGINNING TO SHIFT BACK TO THE SOUTH ON FRIDAY. WITH THE FRONT STALLING NEAR THE FA... MOISTURE WILL NOT GO FAR AND WILL BEGIN RETURNING ACROSS THE FA FRIDAY INTO THE WEEKEND. SW/W UPR FLOW REMAINS OVER THE REGION FRIDAY INTO NEXT WEEK... WITH VARIOUS DISTURBANCES MOVING THROUGH THE FLOW. GFS AND ECMWF DO SHOW A POSSIBLE WEAK TROUGH MOVING INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS LATE THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK WHICH MAY BRING ANOTHER BETTER CHANCE FOR SHWRS/TSTMS. HOWEVER... TIMING AND LOCATION OF THE DISTURBANCES AND TROUGH ARE UNCERTAIN AND DIFFICULT TO FORECAST AT THIS TIME SO WILL NOT GET TOO SPECIFIC WITH THE POPS FOR NOW KEEPING A BROAD AREA OF POPS IN 20-40 PERCENT RANGE THROUGH MUCH OF THE EXTENDED. SO OVERALL AN UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... OKLAHOMA CITY OK 81 65 72 60 / 20 50 70 30 HOBART OK 84 62 72 58 / 20 60 60 30 WICHITA FALLS TX 86 66 75 61 / 20 40 70 40 GAGE OK 80 54 74 51 / 60 70 20 20 PONCA CITY OK 79 61 72 56 / 30 60 70 20 DURANT OK 81 68 79 63 / 20 20 70 40 && .OUN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OK...NONE. TX...NONE. && 02/25
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
935 PM CDT TUE MAY 22 2007
OKZ004>048-050>052-TXZ083>090-231200-
HARPER-WOODS-ALFALFA-GRANT-KAY-ELLIS-WOODWARD-MAJOR-GARFIELD-NOBLE-
ROGER MILLS-DEWEY-CUSTER-BLAINE-KINGFISHER-LOGAN-PAYNE-BECKHAM-
WASHITA-CADDO-CANADIAN-OKLAHOMA-LINCOLN-GRADY-MCCLAIN-CLEVELAND-
POTTAWATOMIE-SEMINOLE-HUGHES-HARMON-GREER-KIOWA-JACKSON-TILLMAN-
COMANCHE-STEPHENS-GARVIN-MURRAY-PONTOTOC-COAL-COTTON-JEFFERSON-
CARTER-JOHNSTON-ATOKA-LOVE-MARSHALL-BRYAN-HARDEMAN-FOARD-WILBARGER-
WICHITA-KNOX-BAYLOR-ARCHER-CLAY-
935 PM CDT TUE MAY 22 2007
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK COVERS NORTHERN...WESTERN...
CENTRAL...AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA...AND WESTERN NORTH TEXAS.
.DAY ONE...REST OF TONIGHT...
THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT.
DISCUSSION...
A STRONG CAPPING INVERSION WILL LIKELY PRECLUDE THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT ACROSS MOST OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA... AND
WESTERN NORTH TEXAS THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE NIGHT. MEANWHILE...
A COLD FRONT ACROSS WESTERN KANSAS... AND THUNDERSTORM OUTFLOW
BOUNDARIES OVER WEST CENTRAL KANSAS... MAY DRIFT INTO FAR NORTHERN
OKLAHOMA VERY LATE TONIGHT. EITHER OF THESE FEATURES COULD BE
ACCOMPANIED BY A FEW THUNDERSTORMS. WHILE THE AIRMASS WILL CONTINUE
TO STABILIZE DURING THE NIGHT AS TEMPERATURES COOL... ANY STORM THAT
DOES MOVE INTO NORTHERN OKLAHOMA COULD PRODUCE SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY
WINDS.
PROBABILITY TABLE...
VALID THROUGH 700 AM CDT WEDNESDAY MAY 23.
PROBABILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING IN THE
NWS NORMAN COUNTY WARNING AREA...30 PERCENT.
PROBABILITY OF SEVERE STORMS IF STORMS OCCUR...20 PERCENT.
OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
NONE.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY...
THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...
THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN COVERAGE BEGINNING IN
NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA LATE WEDNESDAY... AND SPREAD SOUTHEAST WEDNESDAY
NIGHT AND THURSDAY AS A COLD FRONT MOVES SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE AREA.
THE INSTABILITY AND SHEAR ARE EXPECTED TO BE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. THE UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEK INTO THE WEEKEND. THE COLD FRONT IS
EXPECTED TO STALL IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS AND THEN MOVE NORTH LATE IN
THE WEEK. A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS EACH DAY THROUGH SUNDAY.
OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER...
HEAVY RAIN IS POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY SINCE STRONG
UPPER LEVEL LIFT IS EXPECTED TO BECOME PARALLEL TO A SLOW MOVING
COLD FRONT. GIVEN THE RECENT WET WEATHER...ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN MAY
LEAD TO FLOODING.
THE NEXT SCHEDULED HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED AT 7 AM
WEDNESDAY.
CJSThe Vance AFB radar (KVNX), 55 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:19 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A large tank fire was started by one of numerous lightning strikes from ongoing thunderstorms. The tank contained both salt water and crude oil.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oklahoma in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, May 2007
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 36369.