Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 27, NWS Little Rock, AR
NWS Little Rock, AR issued this tornado warning at May 2, 1997, 5:36 PM CDT for Logan County, Arkansas. It was in force for 49 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 2, 1997, 5:36 PM CDT (22:36 UTC)
- Expired
- May 2, 1997, 6:25 PM CDT
- In force
- 49 min
- Issued by
- NWS Little Rock, AR
- Area
- Whole counties
County Logan County, AR
The watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 5:15 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 188 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 915 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 54 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 283 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 413 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
278 WFUS1 KLIT 022236 RRA TORLIT ARC083-022325- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 536 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LITTLE ROCK AR HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 625 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN WESTERN ARKANSAS ...LOGAN COUNTY AT 534 PM CDT...A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS DETECTED BY DOPPLER RADAR 10 MILES SOUTH OF OZARK OR 3 MILES NORTH OF RATCILIFF MOVING EAST AT 50 MPH. LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE... RATCILIFF AROUND 535 PM CDT ... CAULKSVILLE AROUND 536 PM CDT ... PARIS AROUND 545 PM CDT ... SUBIACO AROUND 550 PM CDT ... SCRANTON AROUND 555 PM CDT ... A DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED TORNADO MEANS THAT THERE IS STRONG ROTATION WITHIN A STORM. THE STORM MAY NOT BE PRODUCING A TORNADO AT THE MOMENT...BUT IS EXPECTED TO DURING THE WARNING PERIOD. THE STORM MAY ALSO BE ACCOMPANIED BY HAIL AND DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WIND. THOSE IN THE PATH OF THE STORM ARE ADVISED TO SEEK SHELTER RIGHT AWAY. 29/31
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 2, 12:40 PM CDT, 4 hours 56 minutes before
ARZ003>009-012>018-020>028-030>073-022300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 1240 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997 ...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE ACROSS MUCH OF ARKANSAS TODAY... THE ATMOSPHERE OVER ARKANSAS WILL BE QUITE UNSTABLE IN ADVANCE OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT THIS AFTERNOON. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVED THROUGH MANY PARTS OF THE STATE THIS MORNING... BUT THE PRIMARY SUPPORT FOR SEVERE STORMS WAS STILL APPROACHING. A STRONG AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WITH COLD AIR ALOFT WAS OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS THIS MORNING. AS LOW PRESSURE LIFTS NORTHEASTWARD...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH MOST OF ARKANSAS THIS AFTERNOON. THE THREAT OF SEVERE STORMS WILL CONTINUE FOR SOME EASTERN AND SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE STATE EARLY TONIGHT. PERSONS ACROSS ARKANSAS SHOULD REVIEW SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY RULES. TUNE TO YOUR LOCAL TELEVSION...CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEM...RADIO STATION OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATER INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. 31
Special weather statement, May 2, 12:44 PM CDT, 4 hours 52 minutes before
ARZ003>009-012>018-020>028-030>073-022300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 1240 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997 ...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE ACROSS MUCH OF ARKANSAS TODAY... THE ATMOSPHERE OVER ARKANSAS WILL BE QUITE UNSTABLE IN ADVANCE OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT THIS AFTERNOON. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVED THROUGH MANY PARTS OF THE STATE THIS MORNING... BUT THE PRIMARY SUPPORT FOR SEVERE STORMS WAS STILL APPROACHING. A STRONG AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WITH COLD AIR ALOFT WAS OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PLAINS THIS MORNING. AS LOW PRESSURE LIFTS NORTHEASTWARD...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH MOST OF ARKANSAS THIS AFTERNOON. THE THREAT OF SEVERE STORMS WILL CONTINUE FOR SOME EASTERN AND SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE STATE EARLY TONIGHT. PERSONS ACROSS ARKANSAS SHOULD REVIEW SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY RULES. TUNE TO YOUR LOCAL TELEVSION...CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEM...RADIO STATION OR NOAA WEATH$ER RADIO FOR THE LATER INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. 31
Special weather statement, May 2, 1:44 PM CDT, 3 hours 52 minutes before
ARZ025-034-022300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 140 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997 ...TORNADO WATCH 233 FOR NORTHEAST ARKANSAS UNTIL 7 PM CDT... A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE THROUGH NORTHEAST ARKANSAS THIS AFTERNOON...SOME PRODUCING STRONG WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND A POSSIBLE TORNDADO. AT 135 PM...THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTOMMS WERE LOCATED FROM NEAR LITTLE ROCK TO BATESVILLE TO POCAHONTAS. THIS LINE OF STORMS WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30 MPH. JACKSON AND WOODRUFF COUNTIES PLUS 10 COUNTIES EAST AND NORTH OF THESE TWO COUNTIES ARE IN THE TORNADO WATCH. PERSONS ACROSS NORTHEAST ARKANSAS SHOULD REVIEW SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY RULES. TUNE TO YOUR LOCAL TELEVISION...CABLE TELEVISION OR RADIO STATION OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. 16
The office that day
Everything else NWS Little Rock, AR issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 12:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Cleburne | 61 min |
| May 2, 12:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Faulkner, Pulaski | 62 min |
| May 2, 2:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Bradley | 48 min |
| May 2, 4:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Monroe | 33 min |
| May 2, 4:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Drew | 48 min |
| May 2, 5:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Cleburne | 35 min |
| May 2, 5:22 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LZK | Franklin | 48 min |
| May 2, 5:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Conway, Faulkner, Van Buren | 48 min |
| May 2, 5:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Perry | 48 min |
| May 2, 5:46 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LZK | Johnson | 49 min |
| May 2, 6:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Cleburne, White | 50 min |
| May 2, 6:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Drew | 31 min |
| May 2, 6:17 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LZK | Pope | 33 min |
| May 2, 6:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Bradley | 33 min |
| May 2, 6:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Van Buren | 33 min |
| May 2, 6:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | White | 48 min |
| May 2, 6:52 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Pulaski | 33 min |
| May 2, 6:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Drew | 51 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Arkansas, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes in 1997
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.