Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 384, NWS Tulsa, OK

July 9, 1998Sebastian County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 9, 1998, 7:34 PM CDT for Sebastian County, Arkansas. It was in force for 26 min. 3 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
Jul 9, 1998, 7:34 PM CDT (00:34 UTC)
Expired
Jul 9, 1998, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
26 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Whole counties

County Sebastian County, AR

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 9, 7:39 PM CDTHail 0.75Ft Smith, AR
Jul 9, 7:40 PM CDTHail 1Ft Smith, AR
Jul 9, 7:41 PM CDTHail 1.75Ft Smith, ARLocation: Fort Smith Police Department

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, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 194 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 1998-07-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 153 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, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 1998-07-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 14 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
153 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-113 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2030 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
14 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
100 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTUL 100034 RRA
SVRTUL
ARC131-100100-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
734 PM CDT THU JUL 9 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...

  NORTHERN SEBASTIAN COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 800 PM CDT

* AT 732 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR DETECTED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM OVER FORT SMITH.  THE STORM WAS STATIONARY.

* SOME LOCAT2IONS AFFECTED INCLUDE...
  FORT SMITH

  HAIL TO THE SIZE OF DIMES AND WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED
  IN THE WARNED AREA.

BE ALERT TO RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AS STORMS APPROACH.

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 Jul 9, 3:36 PM CDT, 3 hours 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 9, 3:36 PM CDT, 3 hours 58 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
336 PM CDT THU JUL 9 1998

PROBLEM(S) OF THE DAY:
POPS...WILL MCS STAY TO THE NORTH AGAIN TONIGHT?

CAN'T EXACTLY SAY THAT WE ARE OVERWHELMED WITH CONFIDENCE WRT THE
FIVE DAY FCST.  FOR NEXT 24 HRS...MODELS SUGGEST THAT PERSISTENCE WL
BE BEST BET AND THIS SEEMS REASONABLE GIVEN CURRENT MID/UPR LVL
PATTERN.  EXPECT ANOTHER CONVECTIVE COMPLEX TO FIRE SOMEWHERE TO THE
NW TONIGHT.  QUESTION IS...WL WEAKNESS IN MID/UPR RIDGE DEVELOP TO
ALLOW BULK OF THIS SYSTEM TO MOVE SEWD INTO FCST AREA BY TOMORROW
MORNING.  WL STAY THE COURSE FOR NOW AND THINK THAT UPR RIDGE WL HOLD
ENOUGH TO KEEP MAIN SHOW N AND NE OF OUR ZONES THRU FRI...BUT WL
CARRY SOME CHC POPS ALG KS BORDER.

EXPECT OUTFLOW BNDRY FM PASSING COMPLEX TO THE N TO AGAIN TRAVERSE
NRN ZONES TOMORROW MORNING AND SET UP ACRS SERN ZONES BY THE TIME MAX
HEATING GET THINGS BUBBLING.  WL CARRY CHC POPS ALG KS BORDER
TOMORROW MORNING...AND AGAIN IN THE SERN ZONES WHERE CONVERGENCE ZONE
WL SET UP IN AFTN HEATING (MUCH LIKE TODAY).

ETA/NGM/AVN SHOW UPR RIDGE RETROGRADING A BIT TO THE W SAT ALLOWING
US TO COME MORE UNDER INFLUENCE OF NWLY FLOW BY SAT.  HOWEVER...WE
HAVE BEEN SEEING THIS PATTERN ALL WEEK.  WL CARRY A CHC POP FOR
SATURDAY...BUT GENL PATTERN BY SAT STILL A BIT MURKY.

IN FACT...THE REST OF THE FIVE DAY FCST REMAINS A BIT MURKY.  GIVEN
OVERALL POOR PERFORMANCE OF THE MEDIUM MODELS PAST SEVERAL RUNS...SEE
NO GOOD REASON FOR MAIN UPR RIDGE TO BREAK DOWN AND RETROGRADE AS FAR
W AS THEY ADVERTISE.  CURRENT OVERALL PATTERN SHOULD HOLD A WHILE
LONGER.  THIS MEANS THAT ANYTHING THAT FIRES WL PROBABLY REMAIN
ISOLD/WDLY SCT AT BEST WITH MOST SPOTS REMAINING DRY.  NOT MUCH TO
HANG OUR HAT ON...SO THINK WE WL HOLD ONTO IT A WHILE AND KEEP DRY
EXTENDED GOING.

FCSTID = 14

VERY PRELIM NUMBERS...
TUL   78  97  77  97 /  20  20  20  30
FSM   77  99  75  98 /  20  30  10  30
MLC   78 100  76  99 /  10  20  10  20
BVO   76  95  76  95 /  30  30  30  40
FYV   75  94  73  94 /  20  20  20  40
IDB   78 100  76  99 /  10  30  10  20
BYV   75  94  73  94 /  20  20  20  40
MIO   76  94  75  93 /  30  30  30  40
MKO   78  97  77  97 /  20  20  20  30
F10   78  97  77  97 /  20  20  20  30
HHW   78 100  76  99 /  10  30  10  20

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

--------------------
EXPERIMENTAL OUTPUT:

SYNOPTIC PATTERN: MODERATE UPPER HIGH/RIDGE TO THE WEST
EXPECTED MESOSCALE PATTERN: MODERATE OUTFLOW BOUNDARY BY MORNING
GENERAL WEATHER EXPECTED NEXT 24 HOURS: SCT CONV PRECIP
HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED NEXT 24 HOURS: SLIGHT CHANCE HEAVY
RAINFALL
NGM CONFIDE@NCE:  4 ON A SCALE OF 0 TO 10
ETA CONFIDENCE:  5 ON A SCALE OF 0 TO 10
AVN CONFIDENCE:  3 ON A SCALE OF 0 TO 10
FCST CONFIDENCE: 6 ON A SCALE OF 0 TO 10
MOST USEFUL TOOL: SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS
BEST MODEL FIELD: 700-500 MB HGTS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 9, 8:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMadison25 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.