Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1995
Tornado Warning 31, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Oct 26, 1995, 10:12 PM CDT for St. Francis County, Arkansas. It was in force for 48 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Oct 26, 1995, 10:12 PM CDT (03:12 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 26, 1995, 11:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 48 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
County St. Francis County, AR
The radar
The Memphis radar (KNQA), 87 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:22 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
The nearest sounding before it
Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 3.2 hours before the alert went out and 76 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1516 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -17 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 653 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 39 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 310 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 465 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 2.8
- Supercell composite
- 13.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KMEM 270313 TORMEM ARC123-270400- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 1012 PM CDT THU OCT 26 1995 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1100 PM CDT FOR PERSONS IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN EAST ARKANSAS ...EASTERN ST.FRANCIS COUNTY AT 1012 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO OVER EASTERN ST. FRANCIS COUNTY ABOUT 4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF FORREST CITY. THE STORM WITH THE TORNADO WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL PASS SOUTH OF HETH AND NORTH OF HUGHES BEFORE 11 PM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A BASEMENT. GET 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, Oct 26, 8:20 PM CDT, 1 hour 52 minutes before
TNZ001>003-019-020-048>052-088>090-270715- TENNESSEE SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 820 PM CDT THU OCT 26 1995 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE OVER WEST TENNESSEE LATE TONIGHT... THERE IS A CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER PARTS OF WEST TENNESSEE LATE TONIGHT AND INTO EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. THE GREATEST THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE OVER EXTREME WESTERN TENNESSEE...INCLUDING MEMPHIS...RIPLEY...DYERSBURG...UNION CITY AND BROWNSVILLE. A VERY UNSTABLE AIR MASS COVERS THE AREA THIS EVENING IN ADVANCE OF A STRONG STORM SYSTEM MOVING OUT OF THE PLAINS STATES. AS THE FRONT APPROACHES LATER TONIGHT...STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE AREA. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING OVER PARTS OF MISSOURI AND ARKANSAS THIS EVENING...AND THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST TOWARD WEST TENNESSEE. GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF UNSTABLE AIR PRESENT OVER THE AREA...AND STRONG WINDS AT THE SURFACE AND ALOFT OVER THE REGION...SOME OF THE STORMS WILL LIKELY BE SEVERE. LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE WITH TONIGHT'S STORMS. IN ADDITION...THERE IS A THREAT OF TORNADOES. AT ITS PRESENT MOVEMENT THE MAIN AREA OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL APPROACH THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AROUND MIDNIGHT. HOWEVER...THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP RAPIDLY IN ADVANCE OF THE MAIN AREA AND AFFECT WEST TENNESSEE. PERSONS IN WEST TENNESSEE SHOULD REVIEW TORNADO AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORM SAFETY RULES AND BE READY TO TAKE QUICK ACTION SHOULD SEVERE WEATHER THREATEN. THERE MAY NOT BE TIME FOR A WARNING TO BE ISSUED...SO PLAN NOW WHAT YOU WILL DO AND WHERE YOU WILL GO IF SEVERE WEATHER STRIKES. MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL RADIO AND TELEVISION FOR MORE INFORMATION ON TONIGHT'S DANGEROUS WEATHER. RDS
Special weather statement, Oct 26, 8:35 PM CDT, 1 hour 37 minutes before
TNZ001>003-019-020-048>052-088>090-270715- TENNESSEE SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 820 PM CDT THU OCT 26 1995 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE OVER WEST TENNESSEE LATE TONIGHT... THERE IS A CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER PARTS OF WEST TENNESSEE LATE TONIGHT AND INTO EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. THE GREATEST THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE OVER EXTREME WESTERN TENNESSEE...INCLUDING MEMPHIS...RIPLEY...DYERSBURG...UNION CITY AND BROWNSVILLE. A VERY UNSTABLE AIR MASS COVERS THE AREA THIS EVENING IN ADVANCE OF A STRONG STORM SYSTEM MOVING OUT OF THE PLAINS STATES. AS THE FRONT APPROACHES LATER TONIGHT...STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE AREA. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING OVER PARTS OF MISSOURI AND ARKANSAS THIS EVENING...AND THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST TOWARD WEST TENNESSEE. GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF UNSTABLE AIR PRESENT OVER THE AREA...AND STRONG WINDS AT THE SURFACE AND ALOFT OVER THE REGION...SOME OF THE STORMS WILL LIKELY BE SEVERE. LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE ALL POSSIBLE WITH TONIGHT'S STORMS. IN ADDITION...THERE IS A THREAT OF TORNADOES. AT ITS PRESENT MOVEMENT THE MAIN AREA OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL APPROACH THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AROUND MIDNIGHT. HOWEVER...THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP RAPIDLY IN ADVANCE OF THE MAIN AREA AND AFFECT WEST TENNESSEE. PERSONS IN WEST TENNESSEE SHOULD REVIEW TORNADO AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORM SAFETY RULES AND BE READY TO TAKE QUICK ACTION SHOULD SEVERE WEATHER THREATEN. THERE MAY NOT BE TIME FOR A WARNING TO BE ISSUED...SO PLAN NOW WHAT YOU WILL DO AND WHERE YOU WILL GO IF SEVERE WEATHER STRIKES. MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO.>..COMMERCIAL RADIO AND TELEVISION FOR MORE INFORMATION ON TONIGHT'S DANGEROUS WEATHER. RDS
The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 26, 9:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Greene | 54 min |
| Oct 26, 10:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Crittenden | 53 min |
| Oct 26, 10:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Lawrence | 42 min |
| Oct 26, 11:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Greene, Lawrence | 52 min |
| Oct 26, 11:55 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Greene | 50 min |
| Oct 27, 1:32 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Craighead | 43 min |
| Oct 27, 3:13 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Mississippi, Poinsett | 47 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Arkansas, 1995Every tornado warning in 1995Tornadoes 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.