Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 332

May 27, 199724 counties in Arkansas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 27, 1997, 12:15 AM CDT for 24 counties in Arkansas. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 27, 1997, 12:15 AM CDT (05:15 UTC)
Expired: May 27, 1997, 5:00 AM CDT
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 24 counties

Bradley County, AR, Calhoun County, AR, Clark County, AR, Cleveland County, AR, Dallas County, AR, Garland County, AR, Grant County, AR, Hempstead County, AR, Hot Spring County, AR, Howard County, AR, Jefferson County, AR, Little River County, AR, Lonoke County, AR, Montgomery County, AR, Nevada County, AR, Ouachita County, AR, Perry County, AR, Pike County, AR, Polk County, AR, Pulaski County, AR, Saline County, AR, Scott County, AR, Sevier County, AR, Yell County, AR

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 137 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:15 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

14 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 27, 12:24 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Montgomery, Yell	61 min
May 27, 1:08 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Pike	62 min
May 27, 1:08 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Garland	62 min
May 27, 1:25 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Clark, Hot Spring	60 min
May 27, 2:02 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Perry, Saline	63 min
May 27, 2:23 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Grant, Pulaski	62 min
May 27, 2:27 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Clark, Dallas, Hot Spring	63 min
May 27, 2:48 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Faulkner, Lonoke, White	62 min
May 27, 2:50 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Hempstead, Howard, Little River, Sevier	55 min
May 27, 2:58 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Jefferson	62 min
May 27, 3:17 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Cleveland	63 min
May 27, 3:56 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Ouachita	64 min
May 27, 4:31 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Calhoun	64 min
May 27, 4:57 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Bradley	63 min

The nearest sounding before it

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 00:00Z, 5.3 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 4528 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -57 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1057 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 29 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 94 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.5
Supercell composite: 3.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

865 
WWUS9 KMKC 270442
SEL2  
MKC WW 270442
ARZ000-271000-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 332
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1142 PM CDT MON MAY 26 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ARKANSAS                           

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY MORNING FROM 1215 AM UNTIL 500 AM 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 80 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES EAST OF TEXARKANA ARKANSAS TO 40 MILES
NORTH OF HOT SPRINGS ARKANSAS.

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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 327...WW 328...WW
329...WW 330...WW 331...

DISCUSSION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER EXTREME EAST CENTRAL AND
SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO ARKANSAS DURING THE
EARLY MORNING HOURS.  AIR MASS AHEAD OF THE STORMS REMAINS QUITE
UNSTABLE WITH LIFTED INDEX TO -7...AND VAD WINDS FROM AREA RADARS
SHOW CONSIDERABLE VEERING IN THE LOW TO MID LEVELS.  THIS SUGGESTS
CONTINUED THREAT FOR SUPERCELL STORMS INCLUDING POTENTIAL FOR
TORNADO DEVELOPMENT.


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 27030.


...WEISS

332,0943 350,0943 350,0914 332,0914

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 26, 9:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Clay, Cleburne and 31 more	6 hr
May 27, 1:45 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Little River	5 hr
May 27, 2:45 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Chicot, Clark and 37 more	5 hr
May 27, 3:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Arkansas, Bradley, Calhoun, Clark, Cleburne, Cleveland and 40 more	6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 1997 Every 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.