Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 12, NWS Tulsa, OK

June 21, 1990Washington County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at Jun 21, 1990, 7:05 PM CDT for Washington County, Arkansas. It was in force for 25 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jun 21, 1990, 7:05 PM CDT (00:05 UTC)
Expired
Jun 21, 1990, 7:30 PM CDT
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

County Washington County, AR

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jun 21, 7:20 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 0Washington, AR

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KUMN), launched 00:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 109 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 1990-06-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 90 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 1990-06-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 270 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 kmRMLM
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
90 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-229 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1597 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
270 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
329 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KFSM 220006
TORFSM
ARC143-220030-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT SMITH AR
705 PM CDT THU JUN 21 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT SMITH HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  730 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
 
   ...WASHINGTON COUNTY
 
AT 7:03 PM CDT STORM SPOTTERS IN WASHINGTON COUNTY REPORT A POSSIBLE
TORNADO WEST OF THE FAYETTEVILLE ARKANSAS AREA...MOVING TO THE EAST AT
20 MPH.
 
WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH...AND SOME HAIL..AND HEAVY RAIN AND DANGEROUS
CLOUD TO GROUND  HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS STORM.
 
 
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GE5T UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

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.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 21, 2:29 PM CDT, 4 hours 36 minutes before
OKC105-113-117-143-147-212030-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
229 PM CDT THU JUN 21 1990

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY IN NORTHERN OKLAHOMA...

AT 220 PM RADAR INDICATED SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH VERY
HEAVY RAIN...DEVELOPING RAPIDLY IN NORTH-CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST
OKLAHOMA.  THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE LOCATED JUST NORTHEAST OF PONCA
CITY IN KAY COUNTY...JUST NORTHEAST OF BARNSDALL IN OSAGE COUNTY...AND
ABOUT 15 MILES NORTH OF NOWATA IN NOWATA COUNTY.  MOVEMENT WAS TOWARD
THE EAST NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 20 MILES AN HOUR.

THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS
NORTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA.  PEOPLE IN THE PATHS OF THESE STORMS CAN 1EXPECT
BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL...STRONG WINDS...AND POSSIBLY SMALL HAIL.
RESIDENTS OF NORTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA SHOULD KEEP ALERT FOR THE
POSSIBLILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER DEVELOPMENT THE REST OF THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
Local storm report, Jun 21, 3:24 PM CDT, 3 hours 41 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
325 PM CDT THU JUN 21 1990

TIME/CDT     COUNTY      EVENT

303 PM       OSAGE       LARGER THAN GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL JUST SOUTHWEST
                         OF BARTLESVILLE.  REPORTED BY BARTLESVILLE EOC.
Local storm report, Jun 21, 5:43 PM CDT, 1 hour 22 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
530 PM CDT THU JUN 21 1990

TIME/CDT     COUNTY      EVENT

344 PM       NOWATA      TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN 10 MILES NORTHWEST OF
                         NOWATA.
410 PM       OSAGE       DIME SIZE HAIL AT FAIRFAX.
428 PM       CRAIG       TORNADO SOUTHEAST OF CENTRALIA.
450 PM       CRAIG       DIME SIZE HAIL AT WHITE OAK.
503 PM       CRAIG       60 MILE AN HOUR AT WELCH.
420 PM       CRAIG       LOAD BLOWN OFF SEMI-TRUCK 3 MILES EAST OF
                         VINITA.
537          MAYES       GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL AT LANGLEY.
Local storm report, Jun 21, 5:44 PM CDT, 1 hour 21 minutes before
STORM REPORT CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
545 PM CDT THU JUN 21 1990

TIME/CDT     COUNTY      EVENT

344 PM       NOWATA      TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN 10 MILES NORTHWEST OF
                         NOWATA.
410 PM       OSAGE       DIME SIZE HAIL AT FAIRFAX.
428 PM       CRAIG       TORNADO SOUTHEAST OF CENTRALIA.
450 PM       CRAIG       DIME SIZE HAIL AT WHITE OAK.
503 PM       CRAIG       60 MILE AN HOUR AT WELCH.
420 PM       CRAIG       LOAD BLOWN OFF SEMI-TRUCK 3 MILES EAST OF
                         VINITA.
537          MAYES       GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL AT LANGLEY.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 21, 7:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMadison55 min
Jun 21, 7:43 PM CDTTornado WarningTSAMadison, Washington36 min
Jun 21, 9:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSABenton66 min
Jun 21, 10:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAWashington65 min
Jun 21, 10:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACrawford59 min
Jun 21, 10:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSASebastian59 min
Jun 21, 11:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAFranklin57 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Arkansas, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes in 1990

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.