Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 768

October 25, 19974 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 25, 1997, 2:45 PM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Oct 25, 1997, 2:45 PM CDT (19:45 UTC)
Expired
Oct 25, 1997, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 72 counties

Arkansas County, AR, Ashley County, AR, Bradley County, AR, Calhoun County, AR, Chicot County, AR, Clark County, AR, Cleveland County, AR, Columbia County, AR, Dallas County, AR, Desha County, AR, Drew County, AR, Garland County, AR, Grant County, AR, Hempstead County, AR, Hot Spring County, AR, Howard County, AR, Jefferson County, AR, Lafayette County, AR, Lee County, AR, Lincoln County, AR, Lonoke County, AR, Miller County, AR, Monroe County, AR, Montgomery County, AR, Nevada County, AR, Ouachita County, AR, Phillips County, AR, Pike County, AR, Prairie County, AR, Pulaski County, AR, Saline County, AR, St. Francis County, AR, Union County, AR, Bienville Parish, LA, Bossier Parish, LA, Caddo Parish, LA, Caldwell Parish, LA, Catahoula Parish, LA, Claiborne Parish, LA, De Soto Parish, LA, East Carroll Parish, LA, Franklin Parish, LA, Grant Parish, LA, Jackson Parish, LA, LaSalle Parish, LA, Lincoln Parish, LA, Madison Parish, LA, Morehouse Parish, LA, Natchitoches Parish, LA, Ouachita Parish, LA, Red River Parish, LA, Richland Parish, LA, Sabine Parish, LA, Tensas Parish, LA, Union Parish, LA, Webster Parish, LA, West Carroll Parish, LA, Winn Parish, LA, Bolivar County, MS, Claiborne County, MS, Coahoma County, MS, Copiah County, MS, Hinds County, MS, Humphreys County, MS, Issaquena County, MS, Jefferson County, MS, Sharkey County, MS, Sunflower County, MS, Warren County, MS, Washington County, MS, Yazoo County, MS, Sabine County, TX

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 158 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:46 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.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 25, 3:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVMiller50 min
Oct 25, 4:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKGrant49 min
Oct 25, 4:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVCaddo37 min
Oct 25, 4:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVLafayette44 min
Oct 25, 4:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVBossier, Caddo47 min
Oct 25, 5:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVHoward54 min
Oct 25, 5:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVColumbia48 min
Oct 25, 5:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVCaddo56 min
Oct 25, 6:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVUnion49 min
Oct 25, 6:30 PM CDTTornado WarningJANLeflore, Sunflower30 min
Oct 25, 6:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVClaiborne52 min
Oct 25, 7:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVWebster39 min
Oct 25, 7:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANAshley49 min
Oct 25, 8:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANAshley47 min

The nearest sounding before it

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 12:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 154 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, Shreveport, LA at 12:00Z on 1997-10-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2771 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, Shreveport, LA at 12:00Z on 1997-10-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 191 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
2771 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
488 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
191 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
190 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.2
Supercell composite
10.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

762 
WWUS9 KMKC 251914
SEL8  
MKC WW 251914
ARZ000-LAZ000-MSZ000-260200-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 768
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
214 PM CDT SAT OCT 25 1997

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

   SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL ARKANSAS                           
   NORTHERN AND CENTRAL LOUISIANA                          
   WESTERN MISSISSIPPI                        

EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 245 PM UNTIL 900
PM CDT.

THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF
VERY DAMAGING TORNADOES.  ALSO...LARGE HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN
DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 95 MPH...AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 115 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF SHREVEPORT
LOUISIANA TO 35 MILES EAST OF GREENVILLE MISSISSIPPI.

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 763...WW 764...WW
765...WW 766...WW 767...

DISCUSSION...HIGH POTENTIAL FOR SUPERCELLS AND TORNADOES THIS
EVENING AS VERTICAL SHEAR AND INSTABILITY INCREASE ABOVE PLUME OF
RICH GULF INFLOW AHEAD OF EAST TEXAS COLD FRONT.  STATIONARY FRONT
ACROSS NORTHERN PART OF WATCH APPEARS ESPECIALLY FAVORABLE FOR
CONCENTRATED ACTIVITY...BUT GIVEN CAPE AND STRONG SHEAR...ISOLATED
SUPERCELLS ALSO EXPECTED SOUTHWARD INTO WARM SECTOR. 

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 80 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23040.


...CORFIDI

343,0940 350,0902 314,0902 311,0940

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 25, 12:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCLittle River, Miller7 hr
Oct 25, 1:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCCrawford, Franklin, Howard, Little River, Polk, Scott and 2 more7 hr
Oct 25, 3:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAscension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Livingston, Saint Helena, Saint John the Baptist and 4 more5 hr
Oct 25, 8:30 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAlcorn, Benton, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Clay and 23 more7 hr
Oct 25, 3:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAlcorn, Benton, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw and 23 more6 hr

Nearby

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