Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 313, NWS Memphis, TN

June 15, 1998Mississippi County, Arkansas; Pemiscot County, Missouri

NWS Memphis, TN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 15, 1998, 11:31 PM CDT for Mississippi County, Arkansas; Pemiscot County, Missouri. It was in force for 34 min. 4 reports 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
Jun 15, 1998, 11:31 PM CDT (04:31 UTC)
Expired
Jun 16, 1998, 12:05 AM CDT
In force
34 min
Issued by
NWS Memphis, TN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Mississippi County, AR, Pemiscot County, MO

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 72 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:34 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
Jun 15, 11:35 PM CDTThunderstorm WindYarbro, ARSeveral cars were blown off Interstate 55 near the Arkansas-Missouri border.
Jun 15, 11:35 PM CDTHail 0.88Steele, MO
Jun 15, 11:40 PM CDTThunderstorm WindGosnell, AROne home near Gosnell was destroyed by a blown down tree. Some highway equipment was also damaged. Trees and interstate highway signs were also knocked down. A tree also fell on a house 10 miles northeast of Blytheville producing major damage to the house.
Jun 15, 11:43 PM CDTHail 1Blytheville, ARNearly all crops grown between Yarbro and Huffman were totally destroyed by the hail.

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

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 299 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1998-06-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 588 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1998-06-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 128 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
588 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1367 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
128 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
253 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
3.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMEM 160431 RRA
SVRMEM
ARC093-MOC155-160505-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
1131 PM CDT MON JUN 15 1998


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI COUNTY IN NORTHEAST ARKANSAS
  SOUTHERN PEMISCOT COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

* UNTIL 1205 AM CDT

* AT 1129 PM CDT... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
  WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS 5 MILES WEST OF BLYTHEVILLE
  MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
  BLYTHEVILLE BY 1135 PM CDT
  GOSNELL BY 1135 PM CDT
  COOTER BY 1140 PM CDT

.WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING...PEOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A
STRONG BUILDING. DO NOT STAND BY WINDOWS. DO NOT USE TELEPHONES OR
ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY UNTIL THE STORM HAS
PASSED. MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT DRIVE INTO LOW WATER CROSSINGS.

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.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 15, 7:25 PM CDT, 4 hours 6 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TENNESSEE
725 PM CDT MON JUN 15 1998

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

0645 PM    BIG CREEK                 MS   1.75 INCH HAIL
06/15/98   CALHOUN                        GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          BY SPOTTER

0645 PM    BIG CREEK                 MS   WIND DAMAGE
06/15/98   CALHOUN                        ROOF BLOWN OFF OF HOUSE
                                          REPORTED BY SPOTTER

0700 PM    DERMA                     MS   .88 INCH HAIL
06/15/98   CALHOUN                        NICKLE SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          BY SPOTTER

0700 PM    DERMA                     MS   WIND DAMAGE
06/15/98   CALHOUN                   MS   TREES DOWN REPORTED BY
                                          SPOTTER

0720 PM    HOUSTON                   MS   1.00 INCH HAIL
06/15/98   CHICKASAW                      QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED
                                          BY SPOTTER
Local storm report, Jun 15, 8:30 PM CDT, 3 hours 1 minute before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TENNESSEE
830 PM CDT MON JUN 15 1998

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

0
Local storm report, Jun 15, 8:55 PM CDT, 2 hours 36 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TENNESSEE
855 PM CDT MON JUN 15 1998

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

0830 PM    SLATE SPRINGS             MS   .75 INCH HAIL
06/15/98   CALHOUN                        DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          CALHOUN COUNTY SHERIFF

0830 PM    SLATE SPRINGS             MS   WIND DAMAGE
06/15/98   CALHOUN                        TREES DOWN REPORTED BY
                                          CALHOUN COUNTY SHERIFF
Local storm report, Jun 15, 8:55 PM CDT, 2 hours 36 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TENNESSEE
855 PM CDT MON JUN 15 1998

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

0830 PM    SLATE SPRINGS             MS   .75 INCH HAIL
06/15/98   CALHOUN                        DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED BY
                                          CALHOUN COUNTY SHERIFF

0830 PM    SLATE SPRINGS             MS   WIND DAMAGE
06/15/98   CALHOUN                        TREES DOWN REPORTED BY
                                          CALHOUN COUNTY SHERIFF
Special weather statement, Jun 15, 9:38 PM CDT, 1 hour 53 minutes before
MSZ013>017-020>024-030-031-160340-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
938 PM CDT MON JUN 15 1998

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 590 CANCELLED FOR NORTH
MISSISSIPPI...

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 590 HAS BEEN CANCELLED ACROSS NORTH
MISSISSIPPI WHICH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...

CALHOUN..CHICKASAW..CLAY..ITAWAMBA..LAFAYETTE..LEE..LOWNDES..
MONROE..PONTOTOC..TALLAHATCHIE..UNION AND YALOBUSHA.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THAT PROMPTED THE WATCH ACROSS NORTH
MISSISSIPPI HAVE WEAKENED AND MOVED EAST. THUS..THE THREAT OF SEVERE
WEATHER HAS ENDED ACROSS NORTH MISSISSIPPI.
Special weather statement, Jun 15, 9:38 PM CDT, 1 hour 53 minutes before
MSZ013>017-020>024-030-031-160340-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
938 PM CDT MON JUN 15 1998

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 590 CANCELLED FOR NORTH
MISSISSIPPI...

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 590 HAS BEEN CANCELLED ACROSS NORTH
MISSISSIPPI WHICH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...

CALHOUN..CHICKASAW..CLAY..ITAWAMBA..LAFAYETTE..LEE..LOWNDES..
MONROE..PONTOTOC..TALLAHATCHIE..UNION AND YALOBUSHA.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THAT PROMPTED THE WATCH ACROSS NORTH
MISSISSIPPI HAVE WEAKENED AND MOVED EAST. THUS..THE THREAT OF SEVERE
WEATHER HAS ENDED ACROSS NORTH MISSISSIPPI.

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arkansas, 1998Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Missouri, 1998Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.