Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 129, NWS Little Rock, AR

May 2, 2002Desha County, Arkansas

NWS Little Rock, AR issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 2, 2002, 7:50 PM CDT for Desha County, Arkansas. It was in force for 35 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 2, 2002, 7:50 PM CDT (00:50 UTC)
Expired
May 2, 2002, 8:25 PM CDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Little Rock, AR
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Desha County, AR

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 145 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:50 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 2, 8:10 PM CDTHail 0.75Kelso, 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 nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 163 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 2002-05-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 8 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 2002-05-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 105 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
8 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
439 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
71 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
105 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
228 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Little Rock, AR wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 2, 3:30 PM CDT, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 2, 3:30 PM CDT, 4 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
330 PM CDT THU MAY 2 2002

COLD FRONT PUSHING THROUGH SOUTHERN ARKANSAS THIS AFTERNOON. WIDE
TEMPERATURE RANGE ACROSS STATE...WITH 50S IN THE NORTH AND 80S IN
THE SOUTH. UNSTABLE ALONG FRONT...BUT CAP HAS HELD MOST OF THE DAY.
IT APPEARED THE CAP WAS READY TO GIVE AS OF 300 PM...WITH A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN THE SOUTH UNTIL 800 PM THIS EVENING.

FRONT WILL CONTINUE PUSHING INTO NORTHERN LOUISIANA BEFORE STALLING.
A STORM SYSTEM WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE FRONT IN TEXAS AND WILL MOVE
NORTHEAST. NORTH OF THE FRONT...CLOUDS WILL INCREASE ACROSS ARKANSAS
ON FRIDAY WITH THUNDERSTORMS BECOMING LIKELY. STORMS THAT DEVELOP
MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT.

FRIDAY NIGHT...STORM SYSTEM WILL HEAD TO EAST AND WILL DRAG FRONT
BACK TO THE SOUTH. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO ARKANSAS FROM THE
NORTH...WITH DRY WEATHER RETURNING THROUGH SATURDAY.

LOOKING AHEAD...HIGH WILL MOVE TO EAST ON SUNDAY WITH FRONT MOVING
SLOWLY BACK TO THE NORTH. CLOUDS WILL AGAIN INCREASE WITH SCATTERED
SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS IN THE FORECAST.

OTHER THAN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDER ON MONDAY/TUESDAY IN THE
NORTH...LOOKS LIKE FRONT WILL EXIT THE STATE INTO MISSOURI.
WARM AND HUMID CONDITIONS WILL BE LEFT BEHIND...WITH MOSTLY DRY
WEATHER WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY.

FCSTID = 46
HRO   45  63  50  73 /  10  40  10  10
LIT   54  68  55  78 /  30  60  30  10
HOT   54  70  55  79 /  20  60  10  10
PBF   57  72  58  82 /  40  60  30  10

.LZK...NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 2, 2:34 PM CDT, 5 hours 16 minutes before
ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-030930-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
200PM CDT THU MAY 2 2002

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS MUCH OF
ARKANSAS TODAY AND TONIGHT...

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS MUCH OF
ARKANSAS TODAY AND TONIGHT....BUT THE BIGGEST THREAT OF ANY
SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SECTIONS THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

A COLD FRONT WAS MOVING SLOWLY SOUTH ACROSS CENTRAL ARKANSAS
THIS AFTERNOON AND IT WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE SOUTH INTO TONIGHT...
REACHING THE LOUISIANA BORDER EARLY TONIGHT.

WARM AIR ALOFT HAS KEPT PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE COLD
FRONT TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. HOWEVER...THERE
IS STILL A THREAT THAT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS COULD DEVELOP THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING ALONG AND JUST TO THE NORTH OF THE COLD
FRONT...AND ISOLATED SEVERE STORMS COULD DEVLOP TO THE SOUTH
OF THE FRONT.

THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT...SHOULD SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
DEVELOP...WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND. AN ISOLATED
TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT ALONG THE COLD FRONT.

THE CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHERN ARKANSAS APPEARS
TO BE VERY SLIM...BUT AN ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH LARGE
HAIL THIS AFTERNOON CANNOT BE RULED OUT.

STORM SPOTTERS...EMERGENCY MANAGERS...AND HAM RADIO OPERATORS MAY
NEED TO BE ACTIVATED LATER THIS AFTERNOON OR EARLY TONIGHT...
ESPECIALLY IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ARKANSAS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL RADIO OR TELEVISION
STATIONS...OR YOUR CABLE TELEVISION PROVIDER FOR THE LATEST WEATHER
INFORMATION FROM YOUR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

29
Local storm report, May 2, 5:48 PM CDT, 2 hours 2 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK, AR
548 PM CDT THU MAY 2 2002

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

0520 PM    DE WITT                   AR   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/02/02   ARKANSAS                       REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT

57/46
Local storm report, May 2, 6:21 PM CDT, 1 hour 29 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK, AR
621 PM CDT THU MAY 2 2002

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

0525 PM    3 E RAGTOWN               AR   .88 INCH HAIL
05/02/02   MONROE                         REPORTED BY
PUBLIC

57/46
Local storm report, May 2, 6:21 PM CDT, 1 hour 29 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK, AR
621 PM CDT THU MAY 2 2002

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

0525 PM    3 E RAGTOWN               AR   .88 INCH HAIL 05/02/02
           MONROE                         REPORTED BY PUBLIC

57/46

The office that day

Everything else NWS Little Rock, AR issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 7:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKCalhoun, Ouachita31 min
May 2, 7:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKBradley37 min
May 2, 8:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKDrew35 min
May 2, 9:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKCleveland, Lincoln42 min
May 2, 10:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKDesha33 min
May 2, 11:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKCleveland, Lincoln50 min
May 3, 12:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKDesha40 min
May 3, 12:08 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKDesha37 min
May 3, 1:35 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKCalhoun40 min
May 3, 1:59 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKBradley31 min
May 3, 2:52 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKDesha23 min
May 3, 6:06 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKHot Spring19 min
May 3, 6:21 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKSaline24 min
May 3, 6:46 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKClark, Hot Spring29 min
May 3, 6:51 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKPulaski24 min
May 3, 7:19 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKGrant26 min
May 3, 9:43 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningLZKArkansas, Desha, Drew, Lincoln3 hr
May 3, 9:47 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningLZKArkansas, Desha, Drew, Lincoln3 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arkansas, 2002Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2002

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.