Alert archive / Arkansas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1995

Flash Flood Warning 2, NWS Little Rock, AR

May 15, 1995Drew County, Arkansas

NWS Little Rock, AR issued this flash flood warning at May 15, 1995, 8:09 PM CDT for Drew County, Arkansas. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 15, 1995, 8:09 PM CDT (01:09 UTC)
Expired
May 15, 1995, 11:15 PM CDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Little Rock, AR
Area
Whole counties

County Drew County, AR

The nearest sounding before it

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 00:00Z, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 208 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, Jackson, MS at 00:00Z on 1995-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3660 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Jackson, MS at 00:00Z on 1995-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -16 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
3660 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1139 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-41 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.8
Supercell composite
-5.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLIT 160111
FFWLIT
ARC043-160415-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
809 PM CDT MON MAY 15 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LITTLE ROCK HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1115 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS
 
   ...DREW COUNTY
 
AT 807 PM CDT...DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A LARGE THUNDERSTORM
DIRECTLY OVER DREW COUNTY. THIS STORM WAS MOVING LITTLE. RAINFALL
INTENSITY WAS INCREASING AND THE POTENTIAL FOR FLASH FLOODING IS VERY
HIGH.
 
RADAR AND SATELLITE PICTURES INDICATE THAT SOME PARTS OF THE COUNTY
LIKELY HAVE RECEIVED MORE THAN 3 INCHES OF RAIN SINCE 6 PM.
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT.  MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY.  NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL
ONE...ON F OOT.  TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.
 
32

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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 15, 6:38 PM CDT, 1 hour 31 minutes before
ARZ037-040>042-050>056-059>075-160100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
638 PM CDT MON MAY 15 1995

...PART OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH CANCELLED FOR ARKANSAS...

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR PARTS OF
WEST CENTRAL AND CENTRAL ARKANSAS.

THE COUNTIES NO LONGER INCLUDED IN THE WATCH ARE...
SCOTT...POLK...MONTGOMERY...GARLAND...PIKE...CLARK...HOT SPRING...
DALLAS...GRANT...AND JEFFERSON.

THE ATMOSPHERE OVER THESE COUNTIES HAS STABILIZED SOMEWHAT...AND THIS
HAS DECREASED THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER. ISOLATED SHOWERS OR
THUNDERSHOWERS COULD STILL OCCUR IN THESE COUNTIES OVER THE NEXT FEW
HOURS...HOWEVER.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM FOR
THE REMAINDER OF SOUTH ARKANSAS.

THE ATMOSPHERE OVER THESE COUNTIES REMAINS VERY UNSTABLE...AND A
NEARLY STATIONARY FRONT LIES ACROSS THE AREA...SO THE THREAT OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE FOR THE& NEXT FEW HOURS. IN ADDITION...THE
THUNDERSTORMS IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE STATE WILL BE MOVING
SLOWLY...SO HEAVY DOWNPOURS WILL AFFECT SOME AREAS.

28

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 7:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKDrew62 min
May 15, 8:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKDrew62 min
May 15, 8:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKBradley60 min
May 15, 9:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKBradley54 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arkansas, 1995Every flash flood warning in 1995

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.