Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 20, NWS Memphis, TN

February 20, 1997Lawrence County, Randolph County, Arkansas

NWS Memphis, TN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Feb 20, 1997, 11:50 PM CST for Lawrence County, Randolph County, Arkansas. It was in force for 45 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
Feb 20, 1997, 11:50 PM CST (05:50 UTC)
Expired
Feb 21, 1997, 12:35 AM CST
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Lawrence County, AR, Randolph County, AR

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 143 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:51 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Feb 20, 11:00 PM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 5.8 hours before the alert went out and 182 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 1997-02-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 412 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 1997-02-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 324 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
412 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
639 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
65 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
324 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
424 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.7
Supercell composite
3.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KMEM 210550 RRA
SVRMEM
ARC075-121-210635-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1150 PM CST THU FEB 20 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS TN HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1235 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS

   ...LAWRENCE COUNTY
   ...RANDOLPH COUNTY
 
AT 1145 PM A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING INTO WESTERN
RANDOLPH AND LAWRENCE COUNTIES. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 40
MPH AND WILL AFFECT AREAS AROUND POCAHONTAS AND WALNUT RIDGE BY 1230
AM. THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY CONTAIN DAMAGING WINDS.

.A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA.
RxEMEMBER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE
TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. REMAIN CALM BUT BE
ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 21, 12:33 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGLee47 min
Feb 21, 1:06 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMEGPoinsett29 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arkansas, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.