Alert archive / Arkansas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1997

Flash Flood Warning 15, NWS Tulsa, OK

June 16, 1997Sebastian County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this flash flood warning at Jun 16, 1997, 10:23 PM CDT for Sebastian County, Arkansas. It was in force for 4 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Jun 16, 1997, 10:23 PM CDT (03:23 UTC)
Expired: Jun 17, 1997, 2:30 AM CDT
In force: 4 hr
Issued by: NWS Tulsa, OK
Area: Whole counties

County Sebastian County, AR

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 3.4 hours before the alert went out and 194 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: 621 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -18 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1258 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -27 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 74 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: -0.0
Supercell composite: -0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000
TTAA00 KTUL 170323
FFWTUL
ARC131-OKC091-101-061-077-079-121-170730-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1023 PM CDT MON JUN 16 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 230 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

IN WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS

...SEBASTIAN COUNTY

IN EAST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA

...MCINTOSH COUNTY...MUSKOGEE COUNTY

IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA

...HASKELL COUNTY...LATIMER COUNTY...LE FLORE COUNTY
...PITTSBURG COUNTY

A LARGE AREA OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES TO DEVELOP AND
MOVE ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS. AT 1020 PM...
VERY HEAVY RAINS WERE OCCURRING ACROSS MOST OF THE WARNED AREA. THE
HEAVY RAINS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL AT LEAST MIDNIGHT BEFORE THE RAIN BEGINS
TO DIMINISH.

RADAR ESTIMATES OF 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN HAVE FALLEN IN AN AREA EXTENDINFROM MCALESTER TO NEAR FORT SMITH. THE HEAVIEST RAINS HAVE FALLEN ACROSS
NORTHERN PITTSBURG...NORTHERN LATIMER...AND SOUTHERN HASKELL COUNTIES.

AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN COULD FALL IN THE WARNED AREA
TONIGHT. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WILL QUICKLY RUNOFF AND CAUSE FLASH
FLOODING.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS LIKELY OR HAS BEEN
REPORTED. STAY ALERT AND WATCH FOR RAPIDLY RISING WATER.
REMEMBER...IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE RELATIVE TO THE
NEAREST STREAM...CREEK OR RIVER WHICH CAN BECOME A KILLER DURING
PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN.

MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR
VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. THE WATER
MAY BE TOO DEEP TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY. IF YOUR
VEHICLE GETS CAUGHT IN RISING WATER...ABANDONED IT QUICKLY. THEN
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

KEEP TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER BULLETINS.

What forecasters said that day

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

NWS Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jun 16, 3:38 PM CDT, 6 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 16, 3:38 PM CDT, 6 hours 45 minutes before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
333 PM CDT MON JUN 16 1997

LOOKS LIKE ITS GONNA GET VERY BUSY AROUND HERE OVER NEXT SEVERAL
HOURS.  SWRN UPR LOW LIFTING OUT...BUT NOT BEFORE GIVING FCSTRS
ACROSS THE REGION A FEW HEADACHES.  MODELS IN FAIR AGREEMENT IN A
WET OVERNIGHT ON INTO TUESDAY ACROSS THE FCST AREA.  WL ISSUE FLASH
FLOOD WATCH FOR ERN OK/NWRN AR TONIGHT AND WL MENTION POSSIBILITY
OF SEVERE TSRA MOST IF NOT ALL OF THE ZONES.

90 KT UPR JETMAX WL CONTINUE MOVG OUT OF SERN QUAD OF FILLING UPR
CIRCULATION...MOVG ACRS FCST AREA OVERNIGHT.  FAVORABLE RR QUAD OF
UPR JET POSND SUCH THAT SRN 2/3 OF FCST AREA EXPECTED TO SEE HEAVY
RAINFALL THRU 12Z.  HOWEVER...RAINS FROM LAST NIGHT SATURATED THE
GROUND ACRS NRN FCST AREA...SUCH THAT NWRN ZONE FLASH FLOOD
GUIDANCES ARE NOW VERY LOW.  WL THEREFORE PUT FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN
EFFECT FOR EVERYBODY.

AS FAR AS OTHER SVR POTNL...EXTREME INSTABILITY COUPLED WITH
MODERATELY STRONG UPR DYNAMICS AND FVBL MID LVL WNDS SUGGEST POTNL
OF NMRS SVR TSTMS LATE THIS AFTN AND INTO THE EVENING HRS.  WINDS
MAY GET BACKED JUST ENOUGH NEAR THE SFC BNDRY POSND FROM SPS TO BVO
TO SUGGEST THAT HELICITIES MAY FAVOR TORNADIC TENDENCIES WITH SOME
CELLS.  WL MENTION POTNL OF SVR ALL ZONES TONIGHT.  BUSY LATE AFTN
AND NIGHT IN STORE ON THE RADAR.

WL KEEP LIKELY POPS IN THRU TOMORROW AS SFC BNDRY AND REFLECTION
SLOWLY INCHES EWD AND UPR DYNAMICS MOVE OUT TO E.   POPS MORE
FAVORED THRU MID DAY ERN OK AND THRU EARLY AFTN WRN AR.  WL LEAVE
IN A CHC POP FAR SERN ZONES TUE NIGHT FOR LINGERING BNDRY AND LLVL
MSTR...BUT MAINLY FOR EARLY.

TEMPWISE...WL JUST ADJUST FWC GUIDANCES FOR LOCAL TRENDS AND FOR
CLOUDCOVER TOMORROW.  OTHER THAN THAT...GENLY ACCEPTED.

IN THE EXTENDED...MEDIUM RANGE GUIDANCES SUGGESTING THAT WE WILL BE
TRENDING BACK INTO A MORE SUMMERLIKE PATTERN AFTER TUE.  HIGHS WL
MOVE INTO LWR 90S WITH AMPLE DRY RIDGING IN PLACE TO SUGGEST WARM
AND SUNNY DAYS...CLEAR COOL NIGHTS.

COORD WITH NWSFO OUN...NWSFO LIT...NWSO SHV.  THANKS.   /14

PRELIM NUMBERS...

TUL 68/83/64/88 87-0    FYV 66/79/60/85 972-
FSM 69/83/65/90 972-    IDB 70/85/65/88 973-
ML"C 70/84/65/91 972-    BYV 66/79/60/85 972-
BVO 68/83/64/88 77-0

.TUL...
OK...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT ZONES 054>077.
AR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT ZONES 001/002/010/011/019/029.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 16, 4:50 PM CDT, 5 hours 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
450 PM CDT TUE JUN 17 1997

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

0705 PM    HARTFORD                  AR   WIND DAMAGE
06/16/97   SEBASTIAN                      AT LEAST ONE TREE AND SEVERAL
                                          TREE LIMBS DOWN NEAR HARTFORD

0900 PM    5 W NOWATA                OK   WIND DAMAGE
06/16/97   NOWATA                         SEVERAL LARGE TREE LIMBS
                                          BLOWN DOWN                                         DOWN

0905 PM    10 N TALALA               OK   WIND DAMAGE
06/16/97   ROGERS |                        TREE BLOWN OVER INTO TRAILER

Local storm report, Jun 16, 5:25 PM CDT, 4 hours 58 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
525 PM CDT TUE JUN 17 1997

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

0700 PM    WHITEFIELD                OK   1.75 INCH HAIL
06/16/97   HASKELL                        WIND UP TO 60 MPH AROUND
                                          700 TO 715 PM...POWER
                                          OUTAGE

Local storm report, Jun 16, 5:35 PM CDT, 4 hours 48 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
535 PM CDT TUE JUN 17 1997

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

0855 PM 2   8 S BRISTOW               OK   .75 INCH HAIL
06/16/97   CREEK

Local storm report, Jun 16, 8:00 PM CDT, 2 hours 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
800 PM CDT MON JUN 16 1997

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

0745 PM    7 SW BURBANK              OK   62 MPH TSTM GUST
06/16/97   OSAGE                          MEASURED BY OKLAHOMA
                                          MESONET STATION

Local storm report, Jun 16, 8:04 PM CDT, 2 hours 19 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
800 PM CDT MON JUN 16 1997

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

0745 PM    7 SW BURBANK              OK   62 MPH TSTM GUST
06/16/97   OSAGE                          MEASURED BY OKLAHOMA
                                          MESONET STATION

The office that day

Everything else NWS Tulsa, OK issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 16, 7:21 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Crawford	54 min
Jun 16, 8:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Washington	48 min
Jun 16, 8:30 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Sebastian	30 min
Jun 16, 8:48 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Crawford	42 min
Jun 16, 9:05 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Washington	55 min
Jun 16, 9:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Madison	45 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arkansas, 1997 Every flash flood 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.