Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 31, NWS Little Rock, AR

May 9, 1998Hot Spring County, Arkansas

NWS Little Rock, AR issued this tornado warning at May 9, 1998, 7:46 PM CDT for Hot Spring County, Arkansas. It was in force for 34 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
May 9, 1998, 7:46 PM CDT (00:46 UTC)
Expired
May 9, 1998, 8:20 PM CDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Little Rock, AR
Area
Whole counties

County Hot Spring County, AR

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 85 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:46 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 9, 8:00 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50Malvern, ARThunderstorm winds downed trees and some city street signs.

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 9, 6:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 218 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 00:00Z on 1998-05-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1998-05-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 47 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
2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-14 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2710 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
64 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
86 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.

773 
WFUS1 KLIT 100046 RRA
TORLIT
ARC059-100120-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
746 PM CDT SAT MAY 9 1998


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LITTLE ROCK HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN HOT SPRING COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 820 PM CDT

* AT 745 PM CDT... DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE
  TORNADO 3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MALVERN OR IN THE VICINITY OF
  GIFFORD MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN MOSTLY IN RURAL AREAS.

FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN SIGHTED BY THE PUBLIC. THERE HAS NOT BEEN
A CONFIRMED TORNADO YET...BUT THERE MAY BEFORE LONG. FOR YOUR
SAFETY...GO INDOORS NOW TO AN INTERIOR ROOM AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

22/206

What forecasters said that day

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

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 9, 7:07 PM CDT, 39 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
707 PM CDT SAT MAY 9 1998

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

230 PM     DEER                      AR   0.75 INCH HAIL
5/9/98     NEWTON

623 PM     CRYSTAL SPRING            AR   0.50 INCH HAIL
5/9/98     GARLAND                        BY STORM SPOTTER

650 PM     HARMONY GROVE             AR   1.00 INCH HAIL
5/9/98     OUACHITA                       BY COUNTY SHERIFF

650 PM     HARMONY GROVE             AR   WIND DAMAGE
5/9/98     OUACHITA                       ROOF OFF HOUSE
                                          LARGE TREE DOWN
655 PM     CRYSTAL SPRINGS           AR   0.50 INCH HAIL
5/9/98     GARLAND                        BY PUBLIC

705 PM     AMITY                     AR   POSSIBLE FUNNEL
5/9/98     CLARK                          BY HAMS

16
Local storm report, May 9, 7:07 PM CDT, 39 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
707 PM CDT SAT MAY 9 1998

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

230 PM     DEER                      AR   0.75 INCH HAIL
5/9/98     NEWTON

623 PM     CRYSTAL SPRING            AR   0.50 INCH HAIL
5/9/98     GARLAND                        BY STORM SPOTTER

650 PM     HARMONY GROVE             AR   1.00 INCH HAIL
5/9/98     OUACHITA                       BY COUNTY SHERIFF

650 PM     HARMONY GROVE             AR   WIND DAMAGE
5/9/98     OUACHITA                       ROOF OFF HOUSE
                                          LARGE TREE DOWN
655 PM     CRYSTAL SPRINGS           AR   0.50 INCH HAIL
5/9/98     GARLAND                        BY PUBLIC

705 PM     AMITY                     AR   POSSIBLE FUNNEL
5/9/98     CLARK                          BY HAMS

16
Local storm report, May 9, 7:32 PM CDT, 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
732 PM CDT SAT MAY 9 1998

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

712 PM     7 N MALVERN               AR   FUNNEL CLOUD
5/9/98     HOT SPRING                     BY PUBLIC.

718 PM     4 W MALVERN               AR   0.75 INCH HAIL
5/9/98     HOT SPRING                     BY HAMS.

16
Local storm report, May 9, 7:32 PM CDT, 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
732 PM CDT SAT MAY 9 1998

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

712 PM     7 N MALVERN               AR   FUNNEL CLOUD
5/9/98     HOT SPRING                     BY PUBLIC.

718 PM     4 W MALVERN               AR   0.75 INCH HAIL
5/9/98     HOT SPRING                     BY HAMS.

16
Local storm report, May 9, 7:43 PM CDT, 3 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
743 PM CDT SAT MAY 9 1998

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

735 PM     HOT SPRINGS               AR   TORNADO
5/9/98     GARLAND                        DEBRIS ALOFT. BRIEF TORNADO
                                          TOUCHDOWN.
                                          BY HOT SPRINGS POLICE.

735 PM     MALVERN                   AR   FUNNEL CLOUD
5/9/98     HOT SPRING                     BY CITY POLICE.

735 PM     MALVERN                   AR   0.75 INCH HAIL
5/9/98     HOT SPRING                     BY CITY POLICE.

735 PM     10 S WARREN               AR   0.88 INCH HAIL
5/9/98     BRADLEY                        BY COUNTY SHERIFF.

16
Local storm report, May 9, 7:43 PM CDT, 3 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
743 PM CDT SAT MAY 9 1998

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

735 PM     HOT SPRINGS               AR   TORNADO
5/9/98     GARLAND                        DEBRIS ALOFT. BRIEF TORNADO
                                          TOUCHDOWN.
                                          BY HOT SPRINGS POLICE.

735 PM     MALVERN                   AR   FUNNEL CLOUD
5/9/98     HOT SPRING                     BY CITY POLICE.

735 PM     MALVERN                   AR   0.75 INCH HAIL
5/9/98     HOT SPRING                     BY CITY POLICE.

735 PM     10 S WARREN               AR   0.88 INCH HAIL
5/9/98     BRADLEY                        BY COUNTY SHERIFF.

16

The office that day

Everything else NWS Little Rock, AR issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 9, 7:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKIndependence, Stone66 min
May 9, 7:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKGrant62 min
May 9, 7:17 PM CDTTornado WarningLZKBradley, Calhoun63 min
May 9, 7:21 PM CDTTornado WarningLZKGarland34 min
May 9, 7:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKHot Spring51 min
May 9, 7:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKWhite33 min
May 9, 7:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKDrew64 min
May 9, 8:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKGrant64 min
May 9, 8:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKJefferson62 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Arkansas, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes in 1998

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.