Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 241, NWS Little Rock, AR

July 18, 20026 counties in Arkansas

NWS Little Rock, AR issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 18, 2002, 3:58 PM CDT for 6 counties in Arkansas. It was in force for 62 min. 4 reports 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 18, 2002, 3:58 PM CDT (20:58 UTC)
Expired
Jul 18, 2002, 5:00 PM CDT
In force
62 min
Issued by
NWS Little Rock, AR
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Baxter County, AR, Boone County, AR, Marion County, AR, Newton County, AR, Searcy County, AR, Stone County, AR

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 142 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:58 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 18, 4:00 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50 EWhiteville, ARA large tree was blown down.
Jul 18, 4:40 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50 EHasty, ARThunderstorm winds downed some large tree limbs.
Jul 18, 4:40 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50 EFifty Six, ARA large tree was blown down.
Jul 18, 4:45 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50 EMarshall, ARThunderstorm winds blew down some large tree limbs.

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

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 133 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2002-07-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2076 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2002-07-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 134 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
2076 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
601 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
134 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
120 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.5

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 18, 3:41 PM CDT, 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 18, 3:41 PM CDT, 17 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
341 PM CDT THU JUL 18 2002

MAIN CONCERN IS PRECIPITATION CHANCES.

AFTER A RAIN FILLED MORNING...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE
REDEVELOPED. A LARGE COMPLEX OF STORMS LOCATED FROM SOUTHERN
MISSOURI TO NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA...ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER LEVEL
TROUGH...IS MOVING INTO NORTH ARKANSAS.

THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL SLOWLY MOVE SOUTHEAST THROUGH SATURDAY.
THIS WILL BRING THE BEST CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE
NORTHEAST PORTION OF THE CWFA. MODELS ARE IN SIMILAR AGREEMENT WITH
THE AVN SHOWING HIGHER MOISTURE VALUES. I WILL TEND TOWARD THE DRIER
ETA MODEL. THE MOISTURE WILL MOVE OFF TO THE EAST SATURDAY NIGHT
INTO SUNDAY. SUNDAY AND MONDAY LOOK TO BE DRIER AS HIGH PRESSURE
BUILDS IN OVER THE AREA. ANOTHER TROUGH WILL MOVE IN ON NORTHWEST
FLOW ON TUESDAY AND BRING ADDITIONAL MOISTURE AND A CHANCE OF
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THIS CHANCE WILL LAST INTO WEDNESDAY AND
THURSDAY WITH SEVERAL SHORT WAVES MOVING THROUGH THE AREA.

TEMPERATURES WILL BE SLOW TO WARM UP WITH ALL THE MOISTURE IN THE
GROUND AND IN THE AIR. SOME DRYING (THIS WEEKEND) WILL BE NEEDED
BEFORE HIGH TEMPERATURES CAN GET INTO THE UPPER 90S. IN THE SHORT
TERM HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE CLOSER TO THE MAV TEMPERATURES.

.LZK...NONE.

51

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 18, 3:53 PM CDT, 5 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
353 PM CDT THU JUL 18 2002

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

0340 PM    3 N LEAD HILL             AR   60 MPH TSTM GUST
07/18/02   BOONE                          LARGE LIMBS DOWN AND
                                          HEAVY RAIN AT DIAMOND
                                          CITY. REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.

28

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 18, 10:09 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningLZKJohnson, Pope, Van Buren3 hr
Jul 18, 3:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKBaxter, Boone, Marion54 min
Jul 18, 4:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKYell38 min
Jul 18, 4:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKIzard57 min
Jul 18, 6:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKWhite48 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.