Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 30, NWS Little Rock, AR
NWS Little Rock, AR issued this tornado warning at May 8, 1997, 8:31 PM CDT for Polk County, Arkansas. It was in force for 49 min. 1 report 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
- May 8, 1997, 8:31 PM CDT (01:31 UTC)
- Expired
- May 8, 1997, 9:20 PM CDT
- In force
- 49 min
- Issued by
- NWS Little Rock, AR
- Area
- Whole counties
County Polk County, AR
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 8:45 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Mena, 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
Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 00:00Z, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 227 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
- 809 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -92 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1314 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 24 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 1 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 54 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KLIT 090130 RRA TORLIT ARC113-090220- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 831 PM CDT THU MAY 8 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LITTLE ROCK AR HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 920 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN WESTERN ARKANSAS ...POLK COUNTY AT 830 PM CDT...A DEVELOPING TORNADO WAS DETECTED BY DOPPLER RADAR IN THE VICINITY OF MENA MOVING EAST AT 10 MPH. LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE... ACORN AROUND 833 PM CDT ... INK AROUND 855 PM CDT ... IF YOU ARE AT HOME AND IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A BASEMENT. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. AS A LAST RESORT...LAY IN A BATHTUB. COVER YOUR BODY WITH A MATTRESS...PILLOWS OR CUSHIONS. THOSE IN MOBILE HOMES SHOULD MOVE TO A STRONG BUILDING OR UNDERGROUND SHELTER. IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS...AND NO BUILDINGS ARE AVAILABLE...LAY IN A DITCH OR CULVERT TO AVOID FLYING DEBRIS. BUT BEWARE OF RISING WATER. 16
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 8, 8:00 PM CDT, 31 minutes before
ARZ040-090300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 800 PM CDT THU MAY 8 1997 A THUNDERSHOWER OVER HARTFORD WILL MOVE INTO THE MENA AREA BY 815 OR SO. THIS THUNDERSHOWER WILL CONTAIN SMALL HAIL AND LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS. 16
Special weather statement, May 8, 8:02 PM CDT, 29 minutes before
ARZ040-090300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR 800 PM CDT THU MAY 8 1997 A THUNDERSHOWER OVER HARTFORD WILL MOVE INTO THE MENA AREA BY 815 OR SO. THIS THUNDERSHOWER WILrL CONTAIN SMALL HAIL AND LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS. 16
The office that day
Everything else NWS Little Rock, AR issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 8:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Polk | 47 min |
| May 8, 8:20 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | LZK | Polk | 2 hr |
| May 8, 9:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Montgomery, Polk | 61 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.