Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Tulsa, OK

January 21, 1999Franklin County, Sebastian County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at Jan 21, 1999, 8:13 PM CST for Franklin County, Sebastian County, Arkansas. It was in force for 47 min. 5 reports 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, 8:13 PM CST (02:13 UTC)
Expired: Jan 21, 1999, 9:00 PM CST
In force: 47 min
Issued by: NWS Tulsa, OK
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Franklin County, AR, Sebastian County, AR

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 25 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:15 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, 8:15 PM CST	Hail 1.25	Witcherville, AR
Jan 21, 8:18 PM CST	Hail 1.75	Greenwood, AR	Hail of unknown size broke out car windows along Milltown Road 5 miles southeast of Greenwood.
Jan 21, 8:20 PM CST	Hail 2.75	Milltown, AR
Jan 21, 8:30 PM CST	Hail 1.75	Charleston, AR	Large hail caused minor roof damage to the Charleston Post Office. Hail covered the ground in Charleston.
Jan 21, 8:30 PM CST	Hail 1.75	Caulksville, 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, 2.2 hours before the alert went out and 188 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 220215
TORTUL
ARC047-131-220300-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  SOUTHERN FRANKLIN COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
  SOUTHEAST SEBASTIAN COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 900 PM CST

* AT 813 PM CST...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG
  ROTATION OVER BURNVILLE. MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH...THIS
  DANGEROUS STORM COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...  
  FT CHAFFEE...BURNVILLE...WASHBURN...GREENWOOD AND BRANCH

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!

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 3517 9433 3504 9418 3529 9384 3548 9383

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 Jan 21, 4:50 PM CST, 3 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 21, 4:50 PM CST, 3 hours 23 minutes before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
450 PM CST THU JAN 21 1999

JUST UPDATED TO ADD MENTION OF SEVERE IN A FEW ZONE GROUPINGS GIVEN
THE AREAL EXTENT OF THE NEW TORNADO WATCH BOX.  NEW RUN OF THE 21Z
RUC SHOWS LIFTED INDICES OF -10 IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AT 06Z.  MAY
NEED TO UPDATE AGAIN LATER ON TO EXTEND MENTION OF SEVERE INTO LATER
TONIGHT.

22

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

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 21, 4:42 PM CST, 3 hours 31 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
442 PM CST THU JAN 21 1999

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

0423 PM    STANLEY                   OK   1 INCH HAIL
01/21/99   PUSHMATAHA                     REPORTED BY CLAYTON CD
                                          DIRECTOR

Local storm report, Jan 21, 5:41 PM CST, 2 hours 32 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
541 PM CST THU JAN 21 1999

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

0529 PM    BENGAL                    OK   1 INCH HAIL
01/21/99   LATIMER                        REPORTED BY AMATEUR RADIO
                                          SPOTTER

Local storm report, Jan 21, 6:05 PM CST, 2 hours 8 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
605 PM CST THU JAN 21 1999

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

0545 PM    LEFLORE                   OK   1 INCH HAIL
01/21/99   LE FLORE                       REPORTED BY PUBLIC

0554 PM    WISTER                    OK   1.75 INCH HAIL
01/21/99   LE FLORE                       REPORTED BY AMATEUR
                                          RADIO SPOTTER

0553 PM    8 SW CLAYTON              OK   0.75 INCH HAIL
01/21/99   PUSHMATAHA                       REPORTED BY AMATEUR
                                          RADIO SPOTTER

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, 7:37 PM CST	Tornado Warning	TSA	Sebastian	38 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.