Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 270, NWS Memphis, TN

October 25, 1997Phillips County, Arkansas

NWS Memphis, TN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Oct 25, 1997, 12:56 PM CDT for Phillips County, Arkansas. It was in force for 19 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
Oct 25, 1997, 12:56 PM CDT (17:56 UTC)
Expired
Oct 25, 1997, 1:15 PM CDT
In force
19 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Whole counties

County Phillips County, AR

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 135 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:55 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Oct 25, 1:10 PM CDTThunderstorm WindWest Helena, ARA police car windshield was destroyed by several tree limbs.

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 12:00Z, 5.9 hours before the alert went out and 94 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 12:00Z on 1997-10-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 452 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 12:00Z on 1997-10-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 185 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
452 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-131 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
524 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
68 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
185 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
177 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMEM 251759 RRA
SVRMEM
ARC107-251815-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1256 PM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS TN HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 115 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS

   ...NORTHERN PHILLIPS COUNTY
 
AT 1254 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MARVELL MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH. THIS STORM WILL MOVE BETWEEN WEST HELENA AND
LEXA BY 105 PM.

.WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING...PEOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A
STRONG BUILDING. DO NOT STAND BY WINDOWS. DO NOT USE2 TELEPHONES OR
ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY UNTIL THE STORM HAS
PASSED. MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT DRIVE INTO LOW WATER CROSSINGS.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 25, 11:19 AM CDT, 1 hour 37 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TENNESSEE
1119 AM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0710 AM    GLENDORA                  MS   1 INCH HAIL
10/25/97   TALLAHATCHIE                   QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          BY TIPPO POST OFFICE

0800 AM    SCOBEY                    MS   1 INCH HAIL
10/25/97   YALOBUSHA                      QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          BY SCOBEY POST OFFICE

0800 AM    TILLATOBA                 MS   WIND DAMAGE
10/25/97   YALOBUSHA                      TREES DOWN ACROSS HIGHWAY
                                          51

0815 AM    COFFEEVILLE               MS   1 INCH HAIL
10/25/97   YALOBUSHA                      QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          BY COFFEEVILLE POST OFFICE

0933 AM    HOULKA                    MS   WIND DAMAGE
10/25/97   CHICKASAW                      LARGE TREE DOWN REPORTED
                                          BY CHICKASAW COUNTY EMA

1000 AM    TUPELO                    MS   WIND DAMAGE
10/25/97   LEE                            ROOF CAVED IN AT
                                          GLOUCESTER CREEK MALL
                                          REPORTED BY LEE COUNTY CD

1000 AM    SHANNON                   MS   .75 INCH HAIL
10/25/97   LEE                            DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          LEE COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE

1005 AM    TUPELO                    MS   TORNADO
10/25/97   LEE                            POSSIBLE TORNADO REPORTED
                                          IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF
                                          TUPELO BY LEE COUNTY CD

1010 AM                              MS   .75 INCH HAIL
10/25/97   LEE                            NUMEROUS REPORTS OF DIME
                                          SIZE HAIL FROM THROUGHOUT
                                          LEE COUNTY

1011 AM    TUPELO                    MS   WIND DAMAGE
10/25/97   LEE                            NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER
                                          LINES DOWN THROUGHOUT THE
                                          COUNTY REPORTED BY LEE
                                          COUNTY CD

1015 AM    PLANTERSVILLE             MS   WIND DAMAGE
10/25/97   LEE                            TWISTED TREES DOWN ON
                                          TRAILERS REPORTED BY LEE
                                          COUNTY CD

1020 AM    NEW SALEM                 MS   WIND DAMAGE
10/25/97   ITAWAMBA                       NUMEROUS TREES DOWN
                                          REPORTED BY ITAWAMBA
                                          COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE

1025 AM    FAIRVIEW                  MS   .75 INCH HAIL
10/25/97   ITAWAMBA                       DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTER
Local storm report, Oct 25, 11:22 AM CDT, 1 hour 34 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TENNESSEE
1119 AM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0710 AM    GLENDORA                  MS   1 INCH HAIL
10/25/97   TALLAHATCHIE                   QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          BY TIPPO POST OFFICE

0800 AM    SCOBEY                    MS   1 INCH HAIL
10/25/97   YALOBUSHA                      QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          BY SCOBEY POST OFFICE

0800 AM    TILLATOBA                 MS   WIND DAMAGE
10/25/97   YALOBUSHA                      TREES DOWN ACROSS HIGHWAY
                                          51

0815 AM    COFFEEVILLE               MS   1 INCH HAIL
10/25/97   YALOBUSHA                      QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          BY COFFEEVILLE POST OFFICE

0933 AM    HOULKA                    MS   WIND DAMAGE
10/25/97   CHICKASAW                      LARGE TREE DOWN REPORTED
                                          BY CHICKASAW COUNTY EMA

1000 AM    TUPELO                    MS   WIND DAMAGE
10/25/97   LEE                            ROOF CAVED IN AT
                                          GLOUCESTER CREEK MALL
                                          REPORTED BY LEE COUNTY CD

1000 AM    SHANNON                   MS   .75 INCH HAIL
10/25/97   LEE                            DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          LEE COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE

1005 AM    TUPELO                    MS   TORNADO
10/25/97   LEE                            POSSIBLE TORNADO REPORTED
                                          IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF
                                          TUPELO BY LEE COUNTY CD

1010 AM                              MS   .75 INCH HAIL
10/25/97   LEE                            NUMEROUS REPORTS OF DIME
                                          SIZE HAIL FROM THROUGHOUT
                                          LEE COUNTY

1011 AM    TUPELO                    MS   WIND DAMAGE
10/25/97   LEE                            NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER
                                          LINES DOWN THROUGHOUT THE
                                          COUNTY REPORTED BY LEE
                                          COUNTY CD

1015 AM    PLANTERSVILLE             MS   WIND DAMAGE
10/25/97   LEE                            TWISTED TREES DOWN ON
                                          TRAILERS REPORTED BY LEE
                                          COUNTY CD

1020 AM    NEW SALEM                 MS   WIND DAMAGE
10/25/97   ITAWAMBA                       NUMEROUS TREES DOWN
                                          REPORTED BY ITAWAMBA
                                          COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE

1025 AM    FAIRVIEW                  MS   .75 INCH HAIL
10/25/97   ITAWAMBA                       DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTER

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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.