Alert archive / Arkansas / Flash Flood Warnings in 1998

Flash Flood Warning 5, NWS Tulsa, OK

January 4, 1998Sebastian County, Arkansas; LeFlore County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this flash flood warning at Jan 4, 1998, 9:50 PM CST for Sebastian County, Arkansas; LeFlore County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 4 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties.

The facts

Issued
Jan 4, 1998, 9:50 PM CST (03:50 UTC)
Expired
Jan 5, 1998, 2:00 AM CST
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Sebastian County, AR, LeFlore County, OK

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 3.8 hours before the alert went out and 210 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 1998-01-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 1998-01-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 203 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
489 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
203 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
194 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.

000 
TTAA00 KOKC 050353
FFWTUL
ARC131-OKC079-050730-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
950 PM CST SUN JAN 4 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS REISSUED A FLASH FLOOD
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 200 AM CST MONDAY MORNING FOR PEOPLE IN THE
FOLLOWING COUNTIES

IN OKLAHOMA
     LE FLORE

IN ARKANSAS
     SEBASTIAN

INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS
     POTEAU...HEAVENER...FORT SMITH...GREENWOOD...AND HARTFORD

AT 940 PM CST...HEAVY RAINS HAD RESULTED IN NUMEROUS FLOODED ROADS 
ACROSS SOUTHERN SEBASTIAN COUNTY AND ALSO SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL 
PORTIONS OF LE FLORE COUNTY.  LIGHT TO MODERATE RAINFALL IS EXPECTED 
TO CONTINUE OVER THESE COUNTIES THROUGH MIDNIGHT...WHICH WILL KEEP 
THE WATER LEVELS HIGH...AND MAY RESULT IN ADDITIONAL FLASH FLOODING 
OVER OTHER PORTIONS OF THESE COUNTIES. 

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR OCCURRING.
IF YOU ARE IN THE WARNING AREA MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY.
RESIDENTS LIVING ALONG STREAMS AND CREEKS SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE
PRECAUTIONS. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS SWIFTLY FLOWING WATERS OR WATERS
OF UNKNOWN DEPTH BY FOOT OR BY AUTOMOBILE. IF YOUR VEHICLE STALLS,
ABANDON IT IMMEDIATELY AND. SEEK HIGHER GROUND.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN
TULSA.

LAT...LON 3534 9415 3503 9411 3455 9491 3517 9490

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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 flash flood warning went out at Jan 4, 8:55 PM CST, 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 4, 8:55 PM CST, 55 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
855 PM CST SUN JAN 4 1998

WILL NOT TAMPER WITH FLASH FLOOD WATCH.

CONVECTION OVER NORTH TEXAS COULD BE A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME.
BOTH THE 12Z ETA AND 12Z NGM BROUGHT A SHORTWAVE OVER THE AREA LATE
TONIGHT AND TOMORROW MORNING AND BOTH GENERATE RAIN ACROSS THE
AREA.  WITH THE SATURATED GROUND AND SWOLLEN STREAMS DUE TO HEAVY
RAINS EARLIER TODAY ANY ADDITIONAL RAIN WILL JUST FUEL THE FIRE.

WILL MAKE SOME COSMETIC CHANGES TO WORDING AND ALSO MAKE MINOR
CHANGES TO TEMPERATURES AND WINDS TONIGHT.

.TUL...
OK...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT...OKZ063-065>077
AR...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT...ARZ001-002-010v-011-019-029

ABBAS

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 4, 6:01 PM CST, 3 hours 49 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
601 PM CST SUN JAN 04 1998

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

0100 PM    FAYETTEVILLE              AR   FLOODING
01/04/98   WASHINGTON                     SEVERAL COUNTY ROADS
                                          FLOODED IN FAYETTEVILLE
                                          AREA

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 4, 7:17 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningTSASebastian3 hr
Jan 5, 1:58 AM CSTFlash Flood WarningTSASebastian3 hr
Jan 4, 7:17 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningTSALatimer, LeFlore3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arkansas, 1998Flash Flood Warnings in Oklahoma, 1998Every flash flood 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.