Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 237, NWS Little Rock, AR

July 17, 2002Lonoke County, Arkansas

NWS Little Rock, AR issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 17, 2002, 4:02 PM CDT for Lonoke County, Arkansas. It was in force for 38 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
Jul 17, 2002, 4:02 PM CDT (21:02 UTC)
Expired
Jul 17, 2002, 4:40 PM CDT
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS Little Rock, AR
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Lonoke County, AR

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 35 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:02 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
Jul 17, 4:05 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50 EEngland, ARThunderstorm winds downed some large tree limbs and power lines.

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 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 177 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 12:00Z on 2002-07-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 235 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 12:00Z on 2002-07-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 59 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
235 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
609 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
59 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
78 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3

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 Jul 17, 3:32 PM CDT, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 17, 3:32 PM CDT, 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
332 PM CDT WED JUL 17 2002

PROBLEMS TODAY CONTINUE TO BE CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION.

KLZK RADAR SHOWS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVING NORTHEAST ACROSS
MUCH OF ARKANSAS. SATELLITE PICTURES SHOW DISSIPATING CLOUDS ACROSS
SOUTH ARKANSAS. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS DRY AIR MOVING NORTH INTO
TEXAS AND LOUISIANA.

HIGH PRESSURE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN U.S. CONTINUES TO TRY TO WORK
NORTH AND IS PUSHING THE PRECIPITATION NORTHWARD. ABUNDANT MOISTURE
CONTINUES TO STREAM NORTHEAST FROM TEXAS...AROUND THE HIGH...AND
INTO ARKANSAS. THE UPPER LEVEL LOW IN MISSOURI WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST
INTO ARKANSAS THURSDAY NIGHT AND WILL GIVE NORTHEAST PORTIONS OF THE
CWFA THE BEST CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. MODELS ARE IN
SIMILAR AGREEMENT BUT BELIEVE THE AVN IS OVERDONE A BIT WITH THE
MOISTURE. WILL USE A BLEND OF ETA AND AVN AS FAR AS QPF IS
CONCERNED. THIS NEXT SYSTEM WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA.
SEVERAL SHORT WAVES WILL COME ACROSS THE NORTHEAST PART OF THE AREA
SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

WITH PLENTY OF CLOUDS AROUND THURSDAY...WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES IN
THE 80S. FWC LOW TEMPERATURES LOOK GOOD BUT WENT COOLER ON THE
HIGHS.

.LZK...NONE.

51

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 17, 2:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKSaline27 min
Jul 17, 4:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKArkansas, Prairie39 min
Jul 17, 5:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKArkansas26 min

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.