Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 271, NWS Tulsa, OK

July 17, 1997Carroll County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 17, 1997, 3:55 PM CDT for Carroll County, Arkansas. It was in force for 50 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jul 17, 1997, 3:55 PM CDT (20:55 UTC)
Expired
Jul 17, 1997, 4:45 PM CDT
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

County Carroll County, AR

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 100 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:57 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 17, 4:00 PM CDTHail 0.75Urbanette, AR

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 66 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 1997-07-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2949 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 1997-07-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 24 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
2949 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-28 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
923 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
10 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
61 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.

000 
TTAA00 KTUL 172056 RRA
SVRTUL
ARC015-172145-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
355 PM CDT THU JUL 17 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  445 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
 
   ...CARROLL COUNTY
 
AT 3 55 PM RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 1 MILE NORTH OF GREEN
FOREST. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE WESnT AT 5 MILES AN HOUR. BERRYVILLE IS IN
THE PATH OF THIS STORM.
 
HAIL TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS AND WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED
IN THE WARNED AREA.
 
KEEP TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER BULLETINS.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 17, 3:42 PM CDT, 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 17, 3:42 PM CDT, 13 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
340 PM CDT THU JUL 17 1997

UPPER LOW OVER OSAGE COUNTY CONTINUES TO FOCUS CONVECTION OVER
WATER-LOGGED NWRN ZONES...MEANWHILE OTHER STRONG CONVECTION HAS
FIRED UP ALONG OUTFLOW BOUNDARY IN OKFUSKEE AND OKMULGEE COUNTIES.
FEEL THAT UPPER-LOW WILL BE THE MAJOR PLAYER IN THE PRECIP GAME
OVER NEXT 24 HOURS.  WILL GO WITH ETA/AVN MOVEMENT OF THIS FEATURE
AND ASSOCIATED PRECIP.  BOTH OF THESE MODELS SLIDE THE LOW SLOWLY
WEST OR SOUTHWEST OVER THE NEXT 36 HOURS AS UPPER RIDGE WEAKENS
WITH THE APPROACH OF T.S. DANNY.

WILL EXTEND/EXPAND FFA FROM OSAGE TO OKFUSKEE COUNTY FOR TONIGHT AS
UPPER-LOW MOVES SLOWLY SOUTHWESTWARD NEAR THAT AREA.  EACH OF THESE
COUNTIES HAS ALREADY HAD AT LEAST LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN TODAY...WITH
WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAIN OVER OSAGE AND PAWNEE COUNTIES.

FURTHER EAST AND SOUTH EXPECT THAT WIDELY SCATTERED SHRA/TSRA WILL
DISSIPATE EARLY THIS EVENING. WILL GET LAST LOOK AT RADAR BEFORE
ADDING EVENING POPS ACROSS THESE AREAS.

WILL LIKELY SEE SOME REMNANT SHRA/TSRA OVER WATCH AREA INTO THE
MORNING HOURS TOMORROW...BEFORE IT MOVES COMPLETELY OUT OF THE
AREA.  THEREFORE WILL LEAVE CHANCE POPS IN WRN ZONES TOMORROW WITH
WDLY SCT CONVECTION EXPECTED AGAIN TOMORROW AFTERNOON OVER ENTIRE
FA.  THE APPROACH OF T.S. DANNY TO GULF COAST MAY HELP SUPPRESS
THIS DIURNAL ACTIVITY ON SATURDAY...BUT WITH WEAK CAP AND SOME
INSTABILITY WILL LEAVE SLT CHC IN FOR ENTIRE AREA ON SAT.

AS FOR TEMPS FWC/FAN ARE IN VERY GOOD AGREEMENT...BUT NEITHER ONE
OF THEM THINK IT WILL RAIN.  ONLY DEVIATION FROM MOS TEMPS WILL BE
TO COOL THINGS OFF WHERE RAIN IS EXPECTED.

...19...

...:PRELIM NUMBERS...
TUL 72/91 74/93 4412
FSM 72/95 70/94 1212
MLC 71/93 72/93 3312
BVO 68/90 71/94 5412
FYV 67/91 68/91 1212
IDB 69/95 69/94 1212
BYV 66/92 67/92 1212

.TUL...
OK...FFA TONIGHT ZNS 54/59/64/65.
AR...NONE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 17, 10:31 AM CDT, 5 hours 24 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1031 AM CDT THU JUL 17 1997

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

0630 AM    5 SE PONCA CITY           OK   WATER COVERED COUNTY ROAD
07/17/97   OSAGE                          EXTENDING FROM 1/2 MILE
                                          EAST OF HWY 60 SOUTHWARD
                                          TOWARDS ARKANSAS RIVER.
Local storm report, Jul 17, 10:33 AM CDT, 5 hours 22 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1031 AM CDT THU JUL 17 1997

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

0630 AM    5 SE PONCA CITY           OK   WATER COVERED COUNTY ROAD
07/17/97   OSAGE                          EXTENDING FROM 1/2 MILE
                                          EAST OF HWY 60 SOUTHWARD
                                          TOWARDS ARKANSAS RIVER.
Special weather statement, Jul 17, 1:00 PM CDT, 2 hours 55 minutes before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-029-OKZ054>076-181200-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
100 PM CDT THU JUL 17 1997

A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA
THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT.  ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE
POSSIBLE OVER NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING.

A SLOW MOVING UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WAS LOCATED IN NORTH CENTRAL
OKLAHOMA THIS AFTERNOON. THIS SYSTEM SHOWED UP AS A SMALL
CIRCULATION CENTER ON SATELLITE IMAGERY...AND CONTINUED TO SUPPORT
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT ACROSS OSAGE AND PAWNEE COUNTIES AT 100
PM. THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE SLOWLY SOUTH THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

A RAIN-COOLED BOUNDARY...CREATED BY THE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS OSAGE
AND PAWNEE COUNTIES...WAS LOCATED FROM NEAR JAY TO WAGONER TO
OKEMAH EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. THIS BOUNDARY WILL REMAIN STATIONARY
THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS.

THE BEST CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR THE UPPER LEVEL
SYSTEM AND ALONG THE RAIN-COOLED BOUNDARY. THE AIRMASS WILL BE VERY
UNSTABLE IN MOST AREAS THIS AFTERNOON...AND SOME OF THE STORMS
COULD BE SEVERE.

ALTHOUGH THE EFFECTS OF THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WILL REMAIN CONFINED
TO EASTERN OKLAHOMA...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO BE
POSSIBLE OVER NORTHWEST ARKANSAS MAINLY DURING THE HEAT OF THE
AFTERNOON. THE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHWEST
ARKANSAS WILL DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET...WHILE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
COULD LINGER INTO THE NIGHT OVER EASTERN OKLAHOMA.

STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE SLOW MOVING...SO IN ADDITION TO THE
THREAT OF LARGE HAIL AND STRONG DAMAGING WINDS...VERY HEAVY RAIN
WILL BE POSSIBLE.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES AND STORM SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD
MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE READY FOR POSSIBLE
ACTIVATION.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 17, 5:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACrawford, Sebastian47 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arkansas, 1997Every severe thunderstorm 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.