Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1992

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Little Rock, AR

May 14, 1992Grant County, Arkansas

NWS Little Rock, AR issued this tornado warning at May 14, 1992, 6:58 PM CDT for Grant County, Arkansas. It was in force for 47 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 14, 1992, 6:58 PM CDT (23:58 UTC)
Expired
May 14, 1992, 7:45 PM CDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Little Rock, AR
Area
Whole counties

County Grant County, AR

The nearest sounding before it

Longview/Gregg, TX (KGGG), launched 12:00Z, 12.0 hours before the alert went out and 296 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, Longview/Gregg, TX at 12:00Z on 1992-05-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2724 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Longview/Gregg, TX at 12:00Z on 1992-05-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 8 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 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
2724 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-21 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
837 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
23 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLIT 142358
TORLIT
ARC053-150045-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
658 PM CDT THU MAY 14 1992
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LITTLE ROCK HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  745 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN CENTRAL ARKANSAS
 
   ...GRANT COUNTY
 
AT 658 PM...HAM RADIO SPOTTERS REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD APPARENTLY
DESCENDING TO TREETOP LEVEL NEAR SHERIDAN IN GRANT COUNTY. RESIDENTS
SHOULD TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
 
25

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, May 14, 2:14 PM CDT, 4 hours 44 minutes before
ARZ009-011-142100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
214 PM CDT THU MAY 14 1992

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH ISSUED FOR PART OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS...

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR 5 COUNTIES IN SOUTHWEST
ARKANSAS. THIS WATCH WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CDT.

MOISTURE HAS BEGUN TO INCREASE ACROSS SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS AS WINDS HAVE
TURNED MORE SOUTHERLY. TEMPERATURES HAVE REACHED THE MID TO UPPER
80S...CAUSING THE AIR MASS TO BECOME INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE.

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED EARLIER IN THE AFTERNOON IN NORTHEAST
TEXAS...AND ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING IN THE SOUTHEAST
CORNER OF OKLAHOMA.

THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AND INCREASE IN
INTENSITY. PERSONS IN THE AREA COVERED BY THE WATCH SHOULD WATCH FOR
RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS...AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

28
Special weather statement, May 14, 4:53 PM CDT, 2 hours 5 minutes before
OKZ032-034-ARZ001-004-007-142300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT SMITH AR
452 PM CDT THU MAY 14 1992

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EXPIRES FOR POLK COUNTY...

AT 450 PM FORT SMITH RADAR SHOWED THAT THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
HAD MOVED INTO MONTGOMERY COUNTY AND OUT OF POLK COUNTY.  STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER WESTERN POLK COUNTY ARKANSAS AND
OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF LEFLORE COUNTY IN OKLAHOMA.  MOVEMENT
WAS NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

VERY HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS
CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THE STRONGER STORMS PASSAGE.

STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

...05...
Special weather statement, May 14, 5:28 PM CDT, 1 hour 30 minutes before
ARZ001-002-003-004-005-007-008-009-010-011-015-016-150030-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
527 PM CDT THU MAY 14 1992

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR A LARGE PORTION OF ARKANSAS...

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST OUT OF TEXAS...OKLAHOMA
AND LOUISIANA HAVE PROMPTED THE ISSUANCE OF A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WATCH UNTIL 10 PM TONIGHT. THE WATCH COVERS MUCH OF CENTRAL AND
WESTERN ARKANSAS.

AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS WAS LOCATED OVER THE SOUTHWEST QUARTER OF
ARKANSAS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AROUND 25 MILES AN HOUR. LARGE HAIL
HAS BEEN REPORTED OVER SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON NEAR
LAKE GREESON.

VERY UNSTABLE AIR CONTINUES OVER ARKANSAS AND RESIDENTS IN THE WATCH
AREA SHOULD BE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS. LARGE
HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS...ALONG WITH DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING MAY BE EXPECTED WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

25
Special weather statement, May 14, 6:20 PM CDT, 38 minutes before
OKZ032-034-ARZ001-004-007-150015-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT SMITH AR
619 PM CDT THU MAY 14 1992

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR A LARGE PART
OF ARKANSAS UNTIL 1000 PM CDT THIS THURSDAY EVENING...

AT 610 PM FT SMITH RADAR SHOWED A 50 MILE WIDE BAND OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM 30 MILES NORTHWEST OF MCALESTER
OKLAHOMA TO 40 MILES SOUTHWEST OF LITTLE ROCK ARKANSAS. LITTLE
MOVEMENT WAS SHOWN.

THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED OVER ROBERT S KERR RESERVOIR
IN EAST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA AND JUST SOUTHEAST OF BOONEVILLE ARKANSAS.
VERY HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL WAS OCCURRING WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS.
ELSEWHERE MOSTLY MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL WAS OCCURRING WITH
THE BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.

DUE TO THE VERY SLOW MOVEMENT OF THE THUNDERSTORMS FLOODING OF
LOW LYING AREAS AND STREETS WILL OCCUR WHERE THE THUNDERSTORMS
OCCUR. MOTORISTS SHOULD USE CAUTION AND 	NOT DRIVE INTO WATER
COVER ROADS.

...04...

The office that day

Everything else NWS Little Rock, AR issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 14, 4:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKMontgomery55 min
May 14, 6:27 PM CDTTornado WarningLZKHot Spring, Saline33 min
May 14, 6:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKPulaski66 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Arkansas, 1992Every tornado warning in 1992Tornadoes in 1992

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.