Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Watches in 1997
Tornado Watch 237
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 2, 1997, 5:15 PM CDT for 58 counties in Arkansas. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 2, 1997, 5:15 PM CDT (22:15 UTC)
- Expired
- May 2, 1997, 11:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 58 counties
Arkansas County, AR, Baxter County, AR, Boone County, AR, Carroll County, AR, Clark County, AR, Clay County, AR, Cleburne County, AR, Cleveland County, AR, Conway County, AR, Craighead County, AR, Crawford County, AR, Cross County, AR, Dallas County, AR, Faulkner County, AR, Franklin County, AR, Fulton County, AR, Garland County, AR, Grant County, AR, Greene County, AR, Hot Spring County, AR, Howard County, AR, Independence County, AR, Izard County, AR, Jackson County, AR, Jefferson County, AR, Johnson County, AR, Lawrence County, AR, Lee County, AR, Lincoln County, AR, Logan County, AR, Lonoke County, AR, Madison County, AR, Marion County, AR, Monroe County, AR, Montgomery County, AR, Newton County, AR, Perry County, AR, Phillips County, AR, Pike County, AR, Poinsett County, AR, Polk County, AR, Pope County, AR, Prairie County, AR, Pulaski County, AR, Randolph County, AR, Saline County, AR, Scott County, AR, Searcy County, AR, Sebastian County, AR, Sevier County, AR, Sharp County, AR, St. Francis County, AR, Stone County, AR, Van Buren County, AR, Washington County, AR, White County, AR, Woodruff County, AR, Yell County, AR
The radar
The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 64 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:15 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.
Warnings issued inside it
15 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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, 5:36 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LZK | Logan | 49 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, 6:17 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LZK | Pope | 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, 7:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Lonoke | 32 min |
| May 2, 7:11 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Conway | 34 min |
| May 2, 7:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Fulton | 32 min |
| May 2, 7:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Faulkner | 36 min |
| May 2, 7:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Prairie | 50 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 235 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.
027 WWUS9 KMKC 022255 SEL7 MKC WW 022255 ARZ000-030400- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 237 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 555 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 1997 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR MUCH OF ARKANSAS EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 515 PM UNTIL 1100 PM CDT. TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 3/4 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 105 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF HOT SPRINGS ARKANSAS TO 50 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF HARRISON ARKANSAS. OTHER WATCH INFORMATION... CONTINUE...WW 232...WW 233...WW 234...WW 235...WW 236... REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. DISCUSSION...STORMS ARE INCREASING AHEAD OF PRE-FRONTAL TROUGH. AIRMASS HAS RECOVERED CONSIDERABLY DURING THE DAY WITH CAPES OF 2000 TO 3000 J/KG. TORNADO THREAT IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE THIS EVENING AS STRONG MID LEVEL TROUGH MOVES ACROSS WARM SECTOR... STRENGTHENING DEEP LAYER SHEAR PROFILE. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 3/4 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26035. ...VESCIO 335,0943 362,0940 362,0902 335,0905
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 1:30 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Greene, Jackson and 4 more | 6 hr |
| May 2, 4:30 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Chicot, Columbia, Desha and 7 more | 7 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 1997Every tornado watch 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.