651
NOUS41 KWBC 191555
PNSWSH
SERVICE CHANGE NOTICE 25-100
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HEADQUARTERS SILVER SPRING MD
1055 AM EST FRI DEC 19 2025
TO: SUBSCRIBERS:
-NOAA WEATHER WIRE SERVICE
-EMERGENCY MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK
-NOAAPORT
OTHER NWS PARTNERS, USERS AND EMPLOYEES
FROM: MARY MULLUSKY, CHIEF
OPERATIONS SERVICES DIVISION
SUBJECT: CHANGES TO PUBLIC AND FIRE FORECAST ZONES FOR WFO
TULSA, OK EFFECTIVE MARCH 3, 2026
EFFECTIVE ON TUE, MARCH 3, 2026, AT 3:00 PM CENTRAL STANDARD
TIME (CST), 2100 COORDINATED UNIVERSAL TIME (UTC), 2100
COORDINATED UNIVERSAL TIME (UTC), THE NWS WEATHER FORECAST
OFFICE IN TULSA, OK (TSA) WILL CHANGE PUBLIC AND FIRE FORECAST
ZONES ENCOMPASSING LE FLORE, OSAGE, SEQUOYAH COUNTIES IN EASTERN
OKLAHOMA AND CRAWFORD, FRANKLIN, AND SEBASTIAN COUNTIES IN
WESTERN ARKANSAS. OSAGE COUNTY IS LOCATED IMMEDIATELY NORTHWEST
OF TULSA AND REACHES TO THE KANSAS BORDER. SEQUOYAH AND LE FLORE
COUNTIES ARE LOCATED IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA ADJACENT TO THE
ARKANSAS BORDER. CRAWFORD, FRANKLIN, AND SEBASTIAN COUNTIES ARE
LOCATED IN WEST-CENTRAL ARKANSAS IN THE GREATER FORT SMITH AREA.
AFTER THIS CHANGE, ALL FORECASTS AND RELATED PRODUCTS WILL USE
THE ZONE NUMBERS AND NAMES SHOWN IN TABLE 2 BELOW.
IF MARCH 3, 2026 IS DECLARED A CRITICAL WEATHER DAY, THIS
IMPLEMENTATION WILL BE POSTPONED TO MARCH 4, 2026 AT 2100 UTC.
THESE CHANGES WILL RESULT IN MORE GEOGRAPHICALLY PRECISE
FORECAST, WATCH AND WARNING PRODUCTS AND WILL ENHANCE WEB-BASED
GRAPHICAL PRODUCT CONSISTENCY AND APPEARANCE. BOTH OSAGE COUNTY
AND LE FLORE COUNTY ARE LARGE.DIVIDING THESE COUNTIES WILL
ALLOW FOR MORE SPECIFIC HAZARD INFORMATION THAT AVOIDS INCLUDING
COMMUNITIES NEEDLESSLY IN SOME WEATHER AND WATER ALERTS. COMPLEX
TERRAIN IN LE FLORE, SEQUOYAH, CRAWFORD, FRANKLIN, AND SEBASTIAN
COUNTIES CAN CAUSE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN IMPACTFUL
CONDITIONS.
SIX CURRENT ZONES WILL BE CONVERTED INTO 15 SEPARATE ZONES. THE
NEW ZONES IN SEQUOYAH, LE FLORE, CRAWFORD, FRANKLIN, AND
SEBASTIAN COUNTIES WERE MAPPED TO THE TERRAIN THAT VARIES
APPROXIMATELY 1800 FEET FROM THE ARKANSAS RIVER VALLEY TO NEARBY
HIGHER ELEVATIONS. THE NEW ZONES IN OSAGE COUNTY, AND TO SOME
EXTENT LE FLORE COUNTY, WERE CREATED TO FOCUS IMPORTANT WEATHER
AND WATER HAZARD MESSAGES TO AREAS OF EXPECTED IMPACTS. THE NEW
ZONES ARE LISTED IN TABLE 2.
TABLE 1. UNIVERSAL GEOGRAPHIC CODES (UGC):
CURRENT PUBLIC/FIRE FORECAST ZONE NAME
----------------------------------
OKZ054: OSAGE COUNTY
OKZ072: SEQUOYAH COUNTY
OKZ076: LE FLORE COUNTY
ARZ019: CRAWFORD COUNTY
ARZ020: FRANKLIN COUNTY
ARZ029: SEBASTIAN COUNTY
TABLE 2. UNIVERSAL GEOGRAPHIC CODES (UGC):
NEW PUBLIC/FIRE FORECAST ZONE NAME
-------------------------------
OKZ154: WESTERN OSAGE COUNTY
OKZ254: NORTHEAST OSAGE COUNTY
OKZ354: SOUTHEAST OSAGE COUNTY
OKZ172: NORTHERN SEQUOYAH COUNTY
OKZ272: CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SEQUOYAH COUNTY
OKZ176: NORTHERN LE FLORE COUNTY
OKZ276: CENTRAL LE FLORE COUNTY
OKZ376: SOUTHERN LE FLORE COUNTY
ARZ119: NORTHERN CRAWFORD COUNTY
ARZ219: SOUTHERN CRAWFORD COUNTY
ARZ120: NORTHERN FRANKLIN COUNTY
ARZ220: CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN FRANKLIN COUNTY
ARZ129: NORTHERN AND CENTRAL SEBASTIAN COUNTY
ARZ229: SOUTHERN SEBASTIAN COUNTY
TABLE 3. NWS PRODUCTS AFFECTED BY THE WFO TULSA, OK
PUBLIC/FIRE WEATHER FORECAST ZONE CHANGES ARE LISTED BELOW.
PRODUCT NAME WMO HEADING AWIPS ID
------------- ----------- --------
AIR QUALITY ALERT AEUS74 KTSA AQATSA
AREA FORECAST MATRICES FOUS54 KTSA AFMTSA
ZONE FORECAST FPUS54 KTSA ZFPTSA
POINT FORECAST MATRICES FOUS54 KTSA PFMTSA
TABULAR STATE FORECAST FPUS64 KTSA SFTTSA
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FXUS64 KTSA AFDTSA
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FLUS44 KTSA HWOTSA
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT WWUS84 KTSA SPSTSA
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NOUS44 KTSA PNSTSA
NON-PRECIPITATION WATCH/WARNING/ WWUS74 KTSA NPWTSA
ADVISORY
FIRE WEATHER FORECAST FNUS54 KTSA FWFTSA
FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE WWUS84 KTSA RFWTSA
FIRE DANGER STATEMENT FNUS64 KTSA RFDTSA
FLOOD WATCH WGUS64 KTSA FFATSA
HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK FGUS74 KTSA ESFTSA
WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE WWUS44 KTSA WSWTSA
NWS PARTNERS AND USERS WILL NEED TO MAKE NECESSARY CHANGES TO
THEIR COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS TO ACCOMMODATE THESE WEATHER
FORECAST ZONE CHANGES.
PRELIMINARY SHAPEFILES FOR PUBLIC/FIRE WEATHER FORECAST ZONES
ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT:
HTTPS://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/GIS/PUBLICZONES
HTTPS://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/GIS/FIREZONES
HTTPS://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/GIS/COUNTIES
FINAL VERSIONS OF THESE SHAPEFILES WILL BE AVAILABLE ON FEBRUARY
13, 2026.
A GRAPHICAL DEPICTION OF THIS CHANGE IS ONLINE AT:
HTTPS://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/TSA/TSA_PROPOSED_ZONE_CHANGES
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
ED CALIANESE
WARNING COORDINATION METEOROLOGIST
NWS TULSA, OK
ED.CALIANESE@NOAA.GOV
NATIONAL SERVICE CHANGE NOTICES ARE ONLINE AT:
HTTPS://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/NOTIFICATION/
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