Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 76, NWS Tulsa, OK

April 4, 1997Carroll County, Madison County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 4, 1997, 11:20 PM CST for Carroll County, Madison County, Arkansas. It was in force for 55 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
Apr 4, 1997, 11:20 PM CST (05:20 UTC)
Expired
Apr 5, 1997, 12:15 AM CST
In force
55 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

Counties Carroll County, AR, Madison County, AR

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 4, 11:55 PM CSTThunderstorm Wind 52Green Forest, ARIsolated severe thunderstorms developed in northwest Arkansas during the late evening of April 4th. Thunderstorm winds gusted to 60 miles an hour in Mountainburg and 1 mile southwest of Green Forest, and power lines were blown down in Van Buren.

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 00:00Z, 5.3 hours before the alert went out and 82 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 00:00Z on 1997-04-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 15 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 1997-04-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 132 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
15 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-33 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
521 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
132 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
153 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.

886 
WUUS1 KTUL 050522 RRA
SVRTUL
ARC015-087-050615-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1120 PM CST FRI APR 4 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1215 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
 
   ...CARROLL COUNTY...EASTERN MADISON COUNTY
 
AT 11 20 PM A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS NEAR AURORA. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE
NORTHEAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR. HUNTSVILLE...MARBLE...AND METALTON ARE IN
THE PATH OF THIS STORM.
 
HAIL TO THE SIZE OF DIMES 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 Apr 4, 9:43 PM CST, 1 hour 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 4, 9:43 PM CST, 1 hour 37 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
940 PM CST FRI APR 4 1997

ELONGATED UPR LO CRNTLY NR THE TX/NM BRDR IS GRADU MVG EWD. SFC
TROF STRETCHES FM LO IN ERN CO ACRS CNTRL OK INTO ERN TX W/SRN PTN
OF TROF MVG QUITE A BIT MORE THAN NRN SCTNS. APRS TO BE A DRYLINE
REMAINING ACRS ERN TX PNHDL. ADAP SHOWS MOISTURE CONV INCRSG OVR
THE PAST FEW HRS ALNG BOTH OF THESE BNDRYS. HV SEEN CNVCTN INCRS IN
CVRG AND INTENSITY DURING THE PAST HR ACRS SE OK RESULTING IN FIRST
WARNINGS FOR CWA. SOME HVY RAINFALL WL OCCUR W/THESE STRMS BUT
BELIEVE THEY SHLD QUICKLY MV THROUGH FA. SO ALTHO PARTS OF SE OK
ALREADY HV SATURATED GRND W/LO FFG VALUES WL LET LCLY HVY RAINFALL
IN ZFP COVER IT.

QUESTION IS WHETHER ANY SHRA/TSRA CAN REDEVELOP FURTHER W ALNG
DRYLINE AS DYNAMICS MV OVR IT. 00Z RUC SAYS YES WHILE 00Z NGM SAYS
NO. IF IT DOES OCCUR SHLD JUST BE SOME ADNTL PRECIP AS INSTABILITY
IS CONCENTRATED AL$ONG AND AHEAD OF INIT TROF AXIS. CRNT FCST SEEMS
TO HV SITN IN HAND ALTHO LOOKS LIKE SVR THREAT IS MINIMAL ACRS NE
OK. BUT WL HOLD OFF ON UPDATE FOR NOW AND PROB MAKE SOME ADJS TO
FCST BTWN 05 AND 06Z.

07

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

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 4, 8:21 PM CST, 2 hours 59 minutes before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-029-OKZ054>076-051200-

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
820 PM CST FRI APR 4 1997

...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TONIGHT...

...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
TONIGHT...

A STRONG UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM WAS BEGINNING TO APPROACH THE AREA
THIS EVENING. AT THE SURFACE...A DRYLINE WAS MOVING INTO CENTRAL
OKLAHOMA AND WAS LOCATED JUST WEST OF OKLAHOMA CITY AND NORMAN AT
8 PM. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE INCREASING IN COVERAGE AND
INTENSITY ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA THIS EVENING AND THIS TREND IS
EXPECTED TO CONTINUE AS THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM AND DRYLINE CONTINUE
TO MOVE EAST.

A FEW OF THE THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA ARE EXPECTED TO
BECOME SEVERE BEFORE 9 PM THIS EVENING. THE STORMS WILL MOVE RAPIDLY
NORTH NORTHEAST AND ENTER NORTHWEST ARKANSAS AFTER 10 PM. THE MAIN
SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS ALTHOUGH LARGE HAIL WILL
ALSO BE POSSIBLE. THE VERTICAL WIND PROFILE ALSO SUGGESTS THE
POSSIBILITY OF AN ISOLATED TORNADO OR TWO IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.

ALTHOUGH INSTABILITY IS RATHER LIMITED IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA...THERE
IS STILL A POSSIBILITY OF ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING
AHEAD OF THE DRYLINE AND UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM. DAMAGING WINDS
WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT WITH ANY SEVERE STORM IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA.

AS THE DRYLINE MOVES RAPIDLY EAST ACROSS THE AREA LATER TONIGHT...THE
THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL DIMINISH AFTER 2 AM IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA
AND AFTER 4 AM IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES AND STORM SPOTTER GROUPS ACROSS
EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS SHOULD MONITOR THE LATEST
STATEMENTS AND FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION
TONIGHT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 4, 9:48 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACrawford, Sebastian57 min
Apr 4, 10:42 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACrawford18 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.