Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Watches in 2000

Tornado Watch 306

May 18, 200017 counties in Arkansas; 9 counties in Oklahoma; 15 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 18, 2000, 3:15 PM CDT for 17 counties in Arkansas; 9 counties in Oklahoma; 15 counties in Texas. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 18, 2000, 3:15 PM CDT (20:15 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 2000, 10:00 PM CDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 41 counties

Baxter County, AR, Boone County, AR, Carroll County, AR, Crawford County, AR, Franklin County, AR, Johnson County, AR, Logan County, AR, Madison County, AR, Marion County, AR, Newton County, AR, Polk County, AR, Pope County, AR, Scott County, AR, Searcy County, AR, Sebastian County, AR, Washington County, AR, Yell County, AR, Atoka County, OK, Bryan County, OK, Choctaw County, OK, Haskell County, OK, Latimer County, OK, LeFlore County, OK, McCurtain County, OK, Pushmataha County, OK, Sequoyah County, OK, Collin County, TX, Dallas County, TX, Delta County, TX, Denton County, TX, Fannin County, TX, Grayson County, TX, Hopkins County, TX, Hunt County, TX, Kaufman County, TX, Lamar County, TX, Parker County, TX, Rains County, TX, Red River County, TX, Rockwall County, TX, Tarrant County, TX

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 165 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:17 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.

Warnings issued inside it

32 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 3:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSALatimer, Pushmataha46 min
May 18, 3:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDDenton25 min
May 18, 3:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKScott49 min
May 18, 4:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSALatimer, LeFlore, Pushmataha47 min
May 18, 4:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBryan29 min
May 18, 4:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKBoone28 min
May 18, 4:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDParker41 min
May 18, 4:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAChoctaw51 min
May 18, 4:38 PM CDTTornado WarningLZKScott37 min
May 18, 4:44 PM CDTTornado WarningLZKBoone, Marion46 min
May 18, 4:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMadison43 min
May 18, 4:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKNewton41 min
May 18, 4:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBryan50 min
May 18, 4:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDGrayson33 min
May 18, 4:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSALeFlore, Pushmataha62 min
May 18, 4:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDParker, Wise61 min
May 18, 5:01 PM CDTTornado WarningLZKNewton44 min
May 18, 5:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVMcCurtain52 min
May 18, 5:09 PM CDTTornado WarningLZKYell51 min
May 18, 5:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKBaxter46 min
May 18, 5:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSALeFlore50 min
May 18, 6:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAPushmataha67 min
May 18, 6:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDGrayson37 min
May 18, 6:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKBaxter34 min
May 18, 6:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAFranklin29 min
May 18, 7:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDFannin27 min
May 18, 7:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKPolk49 min
May 18, 7:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKScott36 min
May 18, 7:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDLamar46 min
May 18, 8:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSHVMcCurtain60 min
May 18, 9:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDTarrant39 min
May 18, 9:41 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFWDCollin, Fannin, Lamar3 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 12:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 208 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, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2000-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2000-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 144 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1634 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
66 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
144 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
279 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

967 
WWUS9 KMKC 181939
SEL6  

SEL6  
MKC WW 181939
ARZ000-OKZ000-TXZ000-190300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 306
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
239 PM CDT THU MAY 18 2000

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   NORTH AND WEST ARKANSAS                           
   EASTERN OKLAHOMA                           
   NORTHCENTRAL TEXAS                              

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 315 PM UNTIL
1000 PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 20 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF DALLAS TEXAS TO 25 MILES
NORTHEAST OF HARRISON ARKANSAS.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 301...WW 302...WW
303...WW 304...WW 305...

DISCUSSION...STORMS BEGINNING TO DEVELOP ALONG THE DRY LINE FROM
NWRN AR SWWD TO SW OF FTW.  AIRMASS E OF DRY LINE HAS BECOME VERY
UNSTABLE WITH CAPES AOA 3500 J/KG.  DEEP LAYER SHEAR SUFFICIENT FOR
SUPERCELLS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES GIVEN AMOUNT OF INSTABILITY.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 600. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24030.


...HALES

363,0914 323,0955 323,0980 363,0935

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 2000Tornado Watches in Texas, 2000Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 2000Every tornado watch in 2000

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.