Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 68

February 26, 19974 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Feb 26, 1997, 2:45 PM CST for 4 states. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Feb 26, 1997, 2:45 PM CST (20:45 UTC)
Expired: Feb 26, 1997, 8:00 PM CST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 69 counties

Arkansas County, AR, Ashley County, AR, Baxter County, AR, Bradley County, AR, Calhoun County, AR, Chicot County, AR, Clark County, AR, Clay County, AR, Cleburne County, AR, Cleveland County, AR, Columbia County, AR, Conway County, AR, Craighead County, AR, Crittenden County, AR, Cross County, AR, Dallas County, AR, Desha County, AR, Drew County, AR, Faulkner County, AR, Fulton County, AR, Grant County, AR, Greene County, AR, Hot Spring County, AR, Independence County, AR, Izard County, AR, Jackson County, AR, Jefferson County, AR, Lawrence County, AR, Lee County, AR, Lincoln County, AR, Lonoke County, AR, Mississippi County, AR, Monroe County, AR, Nevada County, AR, Ouachita County, AR, Perry County, AR, Phillips County, AR, Poinsett County, AR, Prairie County, AR, Pulaski County, AR, Randolph County, AR, Saline County, AR, Sharp County, AR, St. Francis County, AR, Stone County, AR, Union County, AR, Van Buren County, AR, White County, AR, Woodruff County, AR, Bienville Parish, LA, Bossier Parish, LA, Caldwell Parish, LA, Claiborne Parish, LA, De Soto Parish, LA, East Carroll Parish, LA, Franklin Parish, LA, Jackson Parish, LA, Lincoln Parish, LA, Morehouse Parish, LA, Ouachita Parish, LA, Red River Parish, LA, Richland Parish, LA, Union Parish, LA, Webster Parish, LA, West Carroll Parish, LA, Winn Parish, LA, Dunklin County, MO, Bolivar County, MS, Coahoma County, MS

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 130 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:49 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

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 26, 5:53 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Lawrence	47 min
Feb 26, 5:55 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Jackson	45 min
Feb 26, 6:26 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Lincoln	49 min
Feb 26, 6:37 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Morehouse	38 min
Feb 26, 6:41 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Grant, Winn	49 min
Feb 26, 6:48 PM CST	Tornado Warning	SHV	Grant, Winn	42 min
Feb 26, 6:49 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Ashley	41 min
Feb 26, 6:50 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Arkansas, Desha	50 min
Feb 26, 7:10 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Caldwell	35 min
Feb 26, 7:29 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Richland	46 min
Feb 26, 7:46 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Bolivar	44 min

The nearest sounding before it

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 184 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: 11 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -123 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 572 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 267 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 323 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

231 
WWUS9 KMKC 262034
SEL8  
MKC WW 262034
ARZ000-LAZ000-MOZ000-270200-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 68
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
234 PM CST WED FEB 26 1997

A...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR

   PARTS OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN ARKANSAS                          
   PARTS OF NORTHERN LOUISIANA                          
   THE BOOTHEEL OF MISSOURI                           

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING UNTIL 800 PM CST.

TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING
THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.


THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MONROE LOUISIANA TO 20 MILES
NORTH NORTHWEST OF WALNUT RIDGE 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.
$$

C...TORNADOES AND A FEW SVR TSTMS WITH HAIL SFC AND ALF TO 1
INCHES.  EXTRM TURBC AND SFC WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CBS
WITH MAX TOPS TO 450.  MEAN WIND VECTOR 24050.

D...DEEPENING SURFACE LOW NOW OVER WESTERN AR WITH COLD FRONT
TRAILING SOUTHWESTWARD INTO NORTHWEST LA. AIR MASS AHEAD OF
FRONT/LOW UNSTABLE WITH 1000 TO 2000 J/KG CAPES. 50 TO 60 KT LOW
LEVEL JET COMBINED WITH MID LEVEL FLOW INCREASING ABOVE 80 KTS
INDICATES POTENTIAL FOR SUPERCELLS AS STRONG UPPER VORT AXIS
APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. 

E...OTR TSTMS... 

...ROGASH

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 1997 Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 1997 Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 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.