Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 59, NWS Shreveport, LA

May 4, 1999Sevier County, Arkansas

NWS Shreveport, LA issued this tornado warning at May 4, 1999, 3:47 PM CDT for Sevier County, Arkansas. It was in force for 63 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 4, 1999, 3:47 PM CDT (20:47 UTC)
Expired: May 4, 1999, 4:50 PM CDT
In force: 63 min
Issued by: NWS Shreveport, LA
Area: Whole counties

County Sevier County, AR

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 4, 3:56 PM CDT	Tornado F3	Falls Chapel, AR	Damage path consisted of a few small trees and twigs broken. The tornado rating in the county was only an F0 but the overall intensity was F3 in Bowie County, TX.

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
May 4, 3:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 175 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1116 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -31 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 498 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 275 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 392 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 2.0
Supercell composite: 12.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

999 
WFUS1 KSHV 042046 RRA
TORSHV
ARC133-042150-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
347 PM CDT TUE MAY 4 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SHREVEPORT HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SEVIER COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 450 PM CDT

* AT 345 PM CDT... THE SHREVEPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER
  RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 5 MILES EAST OF FOREMAN ARKANSAS.  THE
  THUNDERSTORM CONTAINING THIS TORNADO WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35
  MILES AN HOUR.  THIS TORNADO WILL CROSS THE LITTLE RIVER AND MOVE
  INTO SEVIER COUNTY BY 400 PM CDT.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  FALLS CHAPEL BY 410 PM CDT
  LOCKESBURG BY 420 PM CDT

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION.  THIS TORNADO HAS
ALREADY RESULTED IN A DEATH IN TEXAS AND HAS BEEN ON THE GROUND FOR
OVER 100 MILES.

THIS THUNDERSTORM CAN PRODUCE A TORNADO THAT IS OBSCURED BY
RAIN AND DIFFICULT TO SEE. GO TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.

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.

NWS Shreveport, LA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at May 4, 3:06 PM CDT, 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 4, 3:06 PM CDT, 41 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
300 AM CDT TUE MAY 4 1999

CONVECTION CURRENTLY MOVING ACROSS CWA WELL AHEAD OF DRYLINE. MOST
STORMS SHOWING SIGNS OF ROTATION WITH A COUPLE OF TOUCHDOWNS ALREADY
REPORTED. FEEL THIS IS ONLY FIRST SURGE...WITH ANOTHER BEHIND THIS
WHICH WILL KEEP SCATTERED TSTMS GOING INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS
ACROSS TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA COUNTIES...WITH MODELS A LITTLE A LITTLE
FAST.  STORMS MAY CONTINUE UNTIL AFTER MIDNIGHT EASTERN MOST
LOUISIANA PARISHES. FEEL DRY SURGE BEHIND ALL THIS ACTIVITY WILL END
PRECIP CHANCES..SO WORK ZONES WILL HAVE DRY FORECAST WEDNESDAY
THROUGH THURSDAY. MOS TEMPS LOOK OK..BUT LOWS LOOK TOO COOL
TONIGHT WITH SOUTH WIND CONTAINING THROUGH MOST OF PERIOD.

SHV  64/82/54/77 6110   MLU  67/86/59/80 7110    TXK  62/80/51/74/ 6111
TYR  61/80/51/75 5110   LFK  65/85/54/79 6110

14

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 4, 10:10 AM CDT, 5 hours 37 minutes before

ARZ050-051-059>061-070>073-LAZ001>006-010>014-017>022-OKZ077-TXZ096-
097-108>112-124>126-136>138-149>153-165>167-041630-

THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
1010 AM CDT TUE MAY 4 1999

...AN OUTBREAK OF SEVERE WEATHER COULD AFFECT MOST OF THE THE
FOUR STATE REGION TODAY AND TONIGHT...

THERE IS HIGH RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR ALL
OF NORTHEAST TEXAS...NORTH LOUISIANA...SOUTHERN ARKANSAS AND
MC CURTAIN COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA.  THE AIRMASS ACROSS THE
AREA IS MOIST AND UNSTABLE.  A STRONG UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM WILL
MOVE ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS TODAY AND TONIGHT.  THUNDERSTORMS
WILL LIKELY DEVELOP ACROSS NORTHEAST TEXAS AND SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA BY
EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS.

WINDS IN THE LOWER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF ROTATING STORMS. THEREFORE THE THREAT WILL EXIST FOR
A FEW TORNADOES IN ADDITION TO LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE
WIND.

THIS IS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION. RESIDENTS IN THE
FOUR STATE REGION ARE URGED TO REVIEW SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY RULES AND
TO LISTEN TO RADIO...TELEVISION AND NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR POSSIBLE
WATCHES...WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS LATER TODAY.

ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTERS...EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS AND
HAM RADIO OPERATORS WILL LIKELY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT.

14

Local storm report, May 4, 3:46 PM CDT, 1 minute before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SHREVEPORT LA
346 PM CDT TUE MAY 04 1999

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

0215 PM    5 SE TALCO                TX   TORNADO
05/04/99   TITUS                          REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT

0215 PM    6 SE TALCO                TX   TORNADO
05/04/99   TITUS                          *** 1 DEAD ***
                                          TORNADO NEAR BRIDGE CHAPEL
                                          CAUSED DAMAGE. REPORTED BY
                                          S.O.

0300 PM    DE KALB                   TX   TORNADO
05/04/99   BOWIE                          DAMAGE AND INJURIES AND A
                                          CONFIRMED SIGHTING OF
                                          TORNADO REPORTED BY STATE
                                          TROOPER JUST NORTH OF
                                          DE KALB.
03

The office that day

Everything else NWS Shreveport, LA issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 4, 3:14 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	SHV	Little River	46 min
May 4, 3:59 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	SHV	Howard	61 min
May 4, 4:03 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	SHV	Miller	47 min
May 4, 4:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SHV	Hempstead, Lafayette	63 min
May 4, 5:00 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	SHV	Hempstead, Nevada	50 min
May 4, 5:43 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	SHV	Lafayette	47 min
May 4, 6:03 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	SHV	Columbia	47 min
May 4, 6:56 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	SHV	Columbia	49 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Arkansas, 1999 Every tornado warning in 1999 Tornadoes in 1999

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.