Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Tulsa, OK

April 3, 1999Madison County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at Apr 3, 1999, 3:53 AM CST for Madison County, Arkansas. It was in force for 52 min. 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: Apr 3, 1999, 3:53 AM CST (09:53 UTC)
Expired: Apr 3, 1999, 4:45 AM CST
In force: 52 min
Issued by: NWS Tulsa, OK
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Madison County, AR

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:54 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.

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 3, 3:45 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 115 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: 862 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -76 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1523 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 135 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 272 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 4.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

999 
WFUS54 KTSA 030954 RRA
TORTUL
ARC087-031045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
353 AM CST SAT APR 3 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  MADISON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 445 AM CST

* AT 353 AM CST...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG
  ROTATION 13 MILES WEST OF ST PAUL. MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH...
  THIS DANGEROUS STORM COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...  JAPTON...
  WITTER...AURORA AND ST PAUL

TORNADOES IN HILLY OR MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN ARE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS -
TAKE COVER NOW YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SEE OR HEAR THE TORNADO
COMING.

LAT...LON 3579 9401 3574 9394 3587 9351 3612 9365

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 Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Apr 3, 12:53 AM CST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 3, 12:53 AM CST, 3 hours before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1253 AM CST SAT APR 3 1999

JUST UPDATED ZONES TO ADD NEW WW HEADLINE TO APPROPRIATE ZONES.  ALSO
INCREASED OVERNIGHT LOWS AND INCREASED POPS IN THE ZONES WITH THE
WATCH GIVEN SOLID NATURE OF THE LINE WHICH WILL APPROACH FROM THE
WEST BEFORE SUNRISE. LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS LARGEST PRESSURE
FALLS AND THE LOWEST LIFTED INDICES SOUTH ALONG THE RED
RIVER...THOUGH MODERATE INSTABILITIES AND PRESSURE FALLS EXTEND
NORTHEASTWARD ALL THE WAY INTO CENTRAL MO.

MORE BETWEEN 400 AND 500 AM.

FCSTID = 22

.TUL...
OK...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 600 AM CST SATURDAY FOR ZONES
OKZ054>056...OKTZ059>061...OKZ064>066.

AR...NONE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 3, 3:16 AM CST, 37 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
416 AM CST SAT APR 03 1999

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

0306 AM 4   BRISTOW                   OK   60 MPH TSTM GUST
04/03/99   CREEK

Local storm report, Apr 3, 3:18 AM CST, 35 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
418 AM CST SAT APR 03 1999

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

0306 AM :   MANNFORD                  OK   60 MPH TSTM GUST
04/03/99   CREEK

0306 AM    MANNFORD                  OK   .75 INCH HAIL
04/03/99   CREEK

Local storm report, Apr 3, 3:21 AM CST, 32 minutes before

STORM REPORT CORRECTED                ...CORRECTED FOR TIME...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
321 AM CST SAT APR 03 1999

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

0306 AM    MANNFORD                  OK   60 MPH TSTM GUST
04/03/99   CREEK

0306 AM    MANNFORD                  OK   .75 INCH HAIL
04/03/99   CREEK

Local storm report, Apr 3, 3:52 AM CST, 1 minute before

STORM REPORT CORRECTED                  ...CORRECTED FOR TIME...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA, OK
352 AM CST SAT APR 03 1999

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

0344 AM    BIXBY                     OK   .75 INCH HAIL
04/03/99   TULSA

0344 AM    BIXBY                     OK   60 MPH TSTM GUST
04/03/99   TULSA

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 3, 2:47 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Crawford, Franklin, Sebastian	43 min
Apr 3, 3:10 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Crawford, Madison, Washington	65 min
Apr 3, 3:37 AM CST	Tornado Warning	TSA	Crawford, Washington	23 min
Apr 3, 4:44 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Madison	31 min
Apr 3, 6:39 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	TSA	Crawford, Madison, Washington	2 hr
Apr 3, 6:39 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	TSA	Crawford, Madison, Washington	66 min
Apr 3, 6:59 AM CST	Flash Flood Warning	TSA	Sebastian	3 hr
Apr 3, 7:42 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Sebastian	48 min
Apr 3, 7:47 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Franklin	43 min
Apr 3, 1:35 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Carroll	40 min
Apr 3, 1:55 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Madison	35 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.