Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 6, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Mar 5, 1996, 8:39 PM CST for Lawrence County, Arkansas. It was in force for 36 min. 2 reports 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
- Mar 5, 1996, 8:39 PM CST (02:39 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 5, 1996, 9:15 PM CST
- In force
- 36 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
County Lawrence County, AR
The radar
The Memphis radar (KNQA), 136 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:43 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 8:45 PM CST | Tornado F1 | Jesup, AR | |
| Mar 5, 8:55 PM CST | Hail 2.75 | Smithville, 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.
The nearest sounding before it
Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 171 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
- 1051 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 723 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 56 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 173 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 266 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.4
- Supercell composite
- 5.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KMEM 060243 TORMEM ARC075-060315- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 839 PM CST TUE MAR 5 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 915 PM CST FOR PERSONS IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTHEAST ARKANSAS ...LAWRENCE COUNTY PEOPLE IN SMITHVILLE...LYNN...EATON AND DENTON SHOULD TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY. AT 838 PM...A TORNADO WAS REPORTED ABOUT 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF EVENING SHADE IN SOUTHERN SHARP COUNTY. THE TORNADO WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL AFFECT SMITHVILLE AND LYNN BEFORE 915 PM. DAMAGE HAS BEEN REPORTED IN SHARP COUNTY WITH THIS STORM. 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. &
The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 9:15 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Randolph | 30 min |
| Mar 5, 10:34 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Randolph | 26 min |
| Mar 6, 12:25 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Cross | 35 min |
| Mar 6, 12:36 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Poinsett | 39 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Arkansas, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes in 1996
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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.