Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 95, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 16, 1998, 2:36 AM CDT for Craighead County, Mississippi County, Arkansas. It was in force for 49 min. 2 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
- Apr 16, 1998, 2:36 AM CDT (07:36 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 16, 1998, 3:25 AM CDT
- In force
- 49 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Craighead County, AR, Mississippi County, AR
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 2:50 AM CDT | Tornado F4 | Manila, AR | The tornado began just west of Manila and tracked northeast. The tornado demolished or heavily damaged several homes including some mobile homes. Two children were killed in one of these mobile homes. The tornado continued northeast flattening a discount depar |
| Apr 16, 3:25 AM CDT | Tornado F1 | Blytheville, AR | The tornado touched down in the south central part of Blytheville. The main damage was contained in a two-block section. A 60-ton air conditioner until located on the roof of a supermarket was moved. Many large trees were toppled and several residences sustain |
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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 12:00 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 113 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1219 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 868 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 54 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 100 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 136 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.7
- Supercell composite
- 2.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KMEM 160736 RRA SVRMEM ARC031-093-160825- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 236 AM CDT THU APR 16 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... EASTERN CRAIGHEAD COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI COUNTY IN NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS * UNTIL 325 AM CDT * AT 234 AM CDT... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR LAKE CITY MOVING EAST AT 50 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... GOSNELL BY 245 AM CDT BURDETTE BY 245 AM CDT BLYTHEVILLE BY 250 AM CDT .A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA. REMEMBER... SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.
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
Special weather statement, Apr 15, 9:30 PM CDT, 5 hours 6 minutes before
ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115-MSZ001>017- 020>024-030-031-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>054-088>092-161000- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 930 PM CDT WED APR 15 1998 THIS OUTLOOK COVERS THE COUNTY WARNING AREA OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN MEMPHIS TENNESSEE..INCLUDING WEST TENNESSEE..NORTH MISSISSIPPI..EAST ARKANSAS AND THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL. THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT ACROSS EAST ARKANSAS..THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL AND WEST TENNESSEE. THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF JONESBORO..MEMPHIS..DYERSBURG.. PARIS AND JACKSON. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT ACROSS NORTH MISSISSIPPI INCLUDING TUPELO..CLARKSDALE..COLUMBUS AND CORINTH. A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTHEAST INTO THE GREAT LAKES WITH A COLD FRONT TRAILING SOUTHWEST INTO TEXAS. THE COLD FRONT AND ASSOCIATED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL PROGRESS SLOWLY EASTWARD AND AFFECT EAST ARKANSAS AND THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL BY MIDNIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO WEST TENNESSEE AND NORTH MISSISSIPPI AFTER MIDNIGHT. INCREASING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND STRENGTHENING WIND PROFILES SUGGEST MANY STORMS WILL BECOME SEVERE WITH TORNADOES..LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. THIS WILL BE PARTICULARLY TRUE IN THE HIGH RISK AREA WHERE WIND PROFILES WILL BE STRONGEST. RESIDENTS ACROSS THE MID SOUTH SHOULD REVIEW SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY RULES NOW..AND LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO..COMMERCIAL RADIO OR TELEVISION..OR LOCAL CABLE TELEVISION PROVIDER FOR THE LATEST SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION. LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES...EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS...STORM SPOTTER GROUPS...AND OTHER INTERESTED CONCERNS SHOULD BE READY FOR SEVERE WEATHER THROUGHT THE REMAINDER OF TONIGHT AND INTO EARLY THURSDAY.
Special weather statement, Apr 15, 9:30 PM CDT, 5 hours 6 minutes before
ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115-MSZ001>017- 020>024-030-031-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>054-088>092-161000- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 930 PM CDT WED APR 15 1998 THIS OUTLOOK COVERS THE COUNTY WARNING AREA OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN MEMPHIS TENNESSEE..INCLUDING WEST TENNESSEE..NORTH MISSISSIPPI..EAST ARKANSAS AND THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL. THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT ACROSS EAST ARKANSAS..THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL AND WEST TENNESSEE. THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF JONESBORO..MEMPHIS..DYERSBURG.. PARIS AND JACKSON. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT ACROSS NORTH MISSISSIPPI INCLUDING TUPELO..CLARKSDALE..COLUMBUS AND CORINTH. A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTHEAST INTO THE GREAT LAKES WITH A COLD FRONT TRAILING SOUTHWEST INTO TEXAS. THE COLD FRONT AND ASSOCIATED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL PROGRESS SLOWLY EASTWARD AND AFFECT EAST ARKANSAS AND THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL BY MIDNIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE INTO WEST TENNESSEE AND NORTH MISSISSIPPI AFTER MIDNIGHT. INCREASING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND STRENGTHENING WIND PROFILES SUGGEST MANY STORMS WILL BECOME SEVERE WITH TORNADOES..LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. THIS WILL BE PARTICULARLY TRUE IN THE HIGH RISK AREA WHERE WIND PROFILES WILL BE STRONGEST. RESIDENTS ACROSS THE MID SOUTH SHOULD REVIEW SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY RULES NOW..AND LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO..COMMERCIAL RADIO OR TELEVISION..OR LOCAL CABLE TELEVISION PROVIDER FOR THE LATEST SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION. LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES...EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS...STORM SPOTTER GROUPS...AND OTHER INTERESTED CONCERNS SHOULD BE READY FOR SEVERE WEATHER THROUGHT THE REMAINDER OF TONIGHT AND INTO EARLY THURSDAY.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 15, 11:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Randolph | 50 min |
| Apr 16, 12:03 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Lawrence | 47 min |
| Apr 16, 2:16 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Greene | 29 min |
| Apr 16, 2:42 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Mississippi | 33 min |
| Apr 16, 3:15 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Mississippi | 20 min |
| Apr 16, 6:19 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Randolph | 36 min |
| Apr 16, 7:00 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Clay | 35 min |
| Apr 16, 9:19 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | St. Francis | 46 min |
| Apr 16, 9:56 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Crittenden | 34 min |
| Apr 16, 11:05 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Poinsett | 50 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arkansas, 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.