Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Tulsa, OK

January 21, 1999Sebastian County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at Jan 21, 1999, 7:37 PM CST for Sebastian County, Arkansas. It was in force for 38 min. 1 report came from 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, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Jan 21, 1999, 7:37 PM CST (01:37 UTC)
Expired: Jan 21, 1999, 8:15 PM CST
In force: 38 min
Issued by: NWS Tulsa, OK
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Sebastian County, AR

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 38 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:40 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jan 21, 7:42 PM CST	Hail 1	Hartford, AR

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
Jan 21, 5:00 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 1.6 hours before the alert went out and 224 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: 852 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -30 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1195 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 140 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 160 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.5
Supercell composite: 2.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTUL 220140
TORTUL
ARC131-220215-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
737 PM CST THU JAN 21 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  SOUTHERN SEBASTIAN COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 815 PM CST

* AT 737 PM CST...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG
  ROTATION 4 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HARTFORD. MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35
  MPH...THIS DANGEROUS STORM COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...  EXCELSIOR...
  BURNVILLE...MIDLAND...HUNTINGTON...GREENWOOD AND HARTFORD

IN ADDITION TO THE THREAT OF A TORNADO...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING
STRAIGHT LINE WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. GO TO A SAFE
PLACE NOW!

IF YOU ARE IN OR NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM...TAKE COVER NOW! IF NO
UNDERGROUND SHELTER IS AVAILABLE MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR. MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR MORE
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. AVOID WINDOWS!

NIGHTTIME TORNADOES ARE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS - TAKE COVER NOW! IF YOU
WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE OR HEAR IT COMING...IT MAY BE TOO LATE TO GET TO A
SAFE PLACE!

LAT...LON 3496 9465 3483 9450 3512 9418 >3531 9419

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jan 21, 6:11 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TSA	Sebastian	34 min
Jan 21, 6:41 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TSA	Sebastian	34 min
Jan 21, 6:53 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Franklin	52 min
Jan 21, 7:12 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TSA	Franklin, Sebastian	48 min
Jan 21, 7:20 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Sebastian	40 min
Jan 21, 8:13 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TSA	Franklin, Sebastian	47 min
Jan 21, 9:45 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Sebastian	45 min
Jan 21, 10:21 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Crawford, Franklin, Sebastian	24 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.