Tornado Warning 31, NWS Little Rock, AR

Issued

May 27, 1997, 12:03 AM CDT (05:03 UTC)

Expired

May 27, 1997, 12:35 AM CDT

In force

32 min

Issued by

NWS Little Rock, AR

Area

Whole counties

County Baxter County, AR

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 142 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:03 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.

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.

000 
TTAA00 KLIT 270503 RRA
TORLIT
ARC005-270535-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
1203 AM CDT TUE MAY 27 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LITTLE ROCK AR HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1235 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTH CENTRAL ARKANSAS

   ...BAXTER COUNTY
 
AT 1202 AM CDT...A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS DETECTED BY DOPPLER RADAR
IN THE VICINITY OF MOUNTAIN HOME MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

LOCATIONS IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...
BUFORD                       AROUND 1205 AM CDT ...
LONE ROCK                    AROUND 1215 AM CDT ...
SALESVILLE                   AROUND 1220 AM CDT ...
NORFORK                      AROUND 1220 AM 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.

44/46

In the hours before

ARZ003>009-012>018-020>028-030>073-270500-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
935 PM CDT MON MAY 26 1997

...TORNADO WATCH IN NORTHERN ARKANSAS UNTIL 3AM...
...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN NORTHERN ARKANSAS OVERNIGHT...
...SEVERE WEATHER AND HEAVY RAIN LIKELY IN NORTHERN ARKANSAS OVERNIGHT...

THUNDERSTORMS WERE RAPIDLY DEVELOPING MONDAY EVENING IN MUCH OF
SOUTHERN MISSOURI...EASTERN OKLAHOMA...AND PARTS OF NORTHERN ARKANSAS.
SEVERE WEATHER WAS WIDESPREAD...WITH REPORTS OF TORNADOES...LARGE
HAIL...AND DAMAGING WINDS.

AS OF 930 PM...THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM JUST NORTH OF MEMPHIS
TO SPRINGFIELD IN MISSOURI. FROM SPRINGFIELD...SCATTERED STORMS
EXTENDED INTO EASTERN OKLAHOMA NEAR MCALESTER.

OVERNIGHT...THE STORMS IN MISSOURI WILL CONTINUE SAGGING SOUTH
INTO NORTHERN ARKANSAS ALONG A SLOW MOVING FRONT. SEVERE WEATHER
WILL BE LIKELY IN NORTHERN ARKANSAS...WITH EXCESSIVE RAIN IN SOME
AREAS.

FARTHER WEST...THE STORMS IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA WILL BE MORE
SLUGGISH...AND WILL MOVE VERY SLOWLY TOWARD WESTERN ARKANSAS.
THESE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO WEAKEN SOMEWHAT AS THEY MOVE
EAST...BUT MAY STILL PRODUCE SOME SEVERE WEATHER.

IN PARTS OF CENTRAL INTO SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS...ONLY WIDELY SCATTERED
TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED OVERNIGHT...WITH STORMS
MORE ORGANIZED IN NORTHERN INTO WESTERN SECTIONS OF THE STATE.
IN CENTRAL INTO SOUTHEAST SECTIONS...STORMS THAT EVENTUALLY
DEVELOP WILL DO SO AFTER MIDNIGHT.

PEOPLE IN ARKANSAS...ESPECIALLY IN NORTHERN AND WESTERN SECTIONS...
SHOULD KEEP AN EYE ON THE WEATHER TONIGHT...AND BE PREPARED FOR
SEVERE WEATHER AND POSSIBLE FLASH FLOODING. LISTEN FOR LATER
STATEMENTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICER.

46

Tornado Warnings in Arkansas, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes in 1997

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.