Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 299, NWS Tulsa, OK

July 23, 1997Sebastian County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 23, 1997, 5:17 PM CDT for Sebastian County, Arkansas. It was in force for 28 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 23, 1997, 5:17 PM CDT (22:17 UTC)
Expired: Jul 23, 1997, 5:45 PM CDT
In force: 28 min
Issued by: NWS Tulsa, OK
Area: Whole counties

County Sebastian County, AR

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jul 23, 5:25 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Greenwood, AR	A severe thunderstorm produced dime size hail 5 miles southeast of Greenwood.

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, 10.3 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: 2014 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -26 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 799 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 3 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTUL 232217 RRA
SVRTUL
ARC131-232245-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
517 PM CDT WED JUL 23 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  545 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS
 
   ...EASTERN SEBASTIAN COUNTY
 
AT 515 PM RADAR INDICATED A NEARLY STATIONARY SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR
WASHBURN.
 
HAIL TO THE SIZE OF DIMES AND WIND GUSTS TO 65 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED
IN THE WARNED AREA.
 
DURING THE STORM MOVE INDOORS AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM LIGHTNING DO NOT USE THE TELEPHONE
OR HAND HELD ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES...UNLESS (IN AN EMERGENCY.
MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR WATER ON ROADWAYS AND NEVER
DRIVE ONTO A FLOODED ROAD.

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 23, 4:22 PM CDT, 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 23, 4:22 PM CDT, 55 minutes before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
420 PM CDT WED JUL 23 1997

...UPDATED TO INCLUDE SPECFIC FORECAST NUMBERS...

WIDELY SCATTERED STORMS WERE OVER THE FA AT LATE AFTERNOON AND WILL
END NEAR OR A LITTLE AFTER SUNSET.  WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL SEVERE
REPORTS IN TULSA AND THE ATMOSPHERE WILL SUPPORT PULSE SEVERE CELLS
WITH MICROBURSTS AND HAIL. /NWS STAFF WATCHED AN IMPRESSIVE RAIN
FOOT ACCELERATE ACROSS TULSA THIS AFTERNOON/.  ANY STORM WILL BE
SHORT LIVED AND SLOW MOVING.  THE WEAK LOW-LEVEL WINDS WILL LIMIT
REGERNERATION OF ACTIVITY ON SUBSEQUENT BOUNDARIES SO COVERAGE WILL
REMAIN IN THE ISOLATED TO SCATTERED CATEGORIES.

SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW RIDGING CONTINUES ALONG THE EAST SIDE OF THE
ROCKIES...BUT THE RESULTING DOWNSTREAM TROFING WILL BE SHUNTED EAST
OF THE AREA AS THE MID-LEVEL HIGH CENTER SHIFTS INTO THE PLAINS.
THIS SHOULD WARM THE MID-LEVELS SOME AND BEGIN TO LIMIT AFTERNOON
STORMS...HOWEVER CAN NOT COMPLETELY RULE THEM OUT TOMORROW IN THE
HIGHER TERRAIN OF NW ARKANSA AND SE OKLAHOMA.

TEMP FORECAST IS A BLEND OF NGM AND AVN MOS GUIDANCE.  WE WILL BE
NEAR HEAT ADVISORY CRITERIA IN THE TULSA METRO AREA.  CRITERIA FOR
THE ADVISORY IS AFTERNOON HEAT INDICES NEAR 110 AND NIGHTTIME LOWS
AT OR ABOVE 80.  RIGHT NOW AM FORECASTING TULSA TO BE JUST BELOW
THIS...LATER SHIFTS CAN ADJUST IF NECESSARY.

TUL 078/097 079/099 079 0000
FSM 074/098 074/098 074 -11-
MLC 074/p097 076/098 075 111-
BVO 075/097 076/098 076 0000
FYV 071/095 071/095 073 -11-
IDB 071/101 073/100 073 3331
BYV 069/092 070/093 072 0---

/8

.TUL...
OK...NONE.
AR...NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 23, 12:58 PM CDT, 4 hours 19 minutes before

ARZ001-002-010-011-019-029-OKZ054>076-241200-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
100 PM CDT WED JUL 23 1997

ISOLATED SHORT-LIVED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING...MAINLY ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND
WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS.

TEMPERATURES IN THE 90S AND DEWPOINTS IN THE 70S WILL CAUSED THE
ATMOSPHERE TO BECOME INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA
AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.  THE BEST CHANCE FOR
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF
SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS...GENERALLY ALONG AND
SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40.  ANY THUNDERSTORM THAT FORMS WILL HAVE THE
POTENTIAL TO BECOME BRIEFLY SEVERE...WITH LARGE HAIL AND STRONG
DOWNBURST WINDS THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT.  LIGHT WINDS ALOFT
ALSO SUGGEST THAT THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE SLOWLY...SO LOCALIZED
HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE.

THUNpDERSTORMS SHOULD DISSIPATE SHORTLY AFTER SUNSET WITH THE LOSS
OF DAYTIME HEATING.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES AND SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD MONITOR THE
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED FOR QUICK ACTIVATION THIS
AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING.

Special weather statement, Jul 23, 1:00 PM CDT, 4 hours 17 minutes before

ARZ001-002-010-011-019-029-OKZ054>076-241200-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
100 PM CDT WED JUL 23 1997

ISOLATED SHORT-LIVED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING...MAINLY ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND
WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS.

TEMPERATURES IN THE 90S AND DEWPOINTS IN THE 70S WILL CAUSED THE
ATMOSPHERE TO BECOME INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA
AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.  THE BEST CHANCE FOR
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF
SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS...GENERALLY ALONG AND
SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40.  ANY THUNDERSTORM THAT FORMS WILL HAVE THE
POTENTIAL TO BECOME BRIEFLY SEVERE...WITH LARGE HAIL AND STRONG
DOWNBURST WINDS THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT.  LIGHT WINDS ALOFT
ALSO SUGGEST THAT THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE SLOWLY...SO LOCALIZED
HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE.

THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD DISSIPATE SHORTLY AFTER SUNSET WITH THE LOSS
OF DAYTIME HEATING.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES AND SPOTTER GROUPS SHOULD MONITOR THE
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED FOR QUICK ACTIVATION THIS
AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING.

Local storm report, Jul 23, 3:38 PM CDT, 1 hour 39 minutes before

PRELIMINARY STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
338 PM CDT WED JUL 23 1997

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

0238 PM    TULSA                     OK   65 MPH TSTM GUST
07/23/97   TULSA                          AT 71ST AND SHERIDAN

0247 PM    1 N BROKEN ARROW          OK   1.25 INCH HAIL AND
07/23/97   TULSA                          60 MPH TSTM GUST

0250 PM    TULSA                     OK   65 MPH TSTM GUST
07/23/97   TULSA                          AT 43RD AND SHERIDAN

Local storm report, Jul 23, 3:44 PM CDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
338 PM CDT WED JUL 23 1997

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

0238 PM    TULSA                     OK   65 MPH TSTM GUST
07/23/97   TULSA                          AT 71ST AND SHERIDAN

0247 PM    1 N BROKEN ARROW          OK   1.25 INCH HAIL AND
07/23/97   TULSA                          60 MPH TSTM GUST

0250 PM    TULSA                     OK   65 MPH TSTM GUST
07/23/97   TULSA                          AT 43RD AND SHERIDAN

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 22, 7:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Sebastian	35 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arkansas, 1997 Every 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.