Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 86, NWS Little Rock, AR

April 16, 2002Baxter County, Searcy County, Stone County, Arkansas

NWS Little Rock, AR issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 16, 2002, 7:23 PM CDT for Baxter County, Searcy County, Stone County, Arkansas. It was in force for 27 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Apr 16, 2002, 7:23 PM CDT (00:23 UTC)
Expired: Apr 16, 2002, 7:50 PM CDT
In force: 27 min
Issued by: NWS Little Rock, AR
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Baxter County, AR, Searcy County, AR, Stone County, AR

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 142 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:26 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
Apr 16, 7:30 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50 E	Harriet, AR	Thunderstorm winds knocked down some road signs at Harriet.

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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 161 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: 571 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 806 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 201 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 237 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.7
Supercell composite: 4.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS54 KLZK 170023
SVRLIT
ARC005-129-137-170050-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
721 PM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LITTLE ROCK HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN BAXTER COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ARKANSAS
  EXTREME NORTHEAST SEARCY COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ARKANSAS
  NORTHERN STONE COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 750 PM CDT

* AT 719 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF NORFORK...OR ABOUT 10
  MILES NORTHEAST OF MARSHALL...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  NORFORK AROUND 740 PM CDT

&&

THE MAIN THREATS WITH THIS STORM ARE HAIL TO THE SIZE OF 
QUARTERS...AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 65 MPH. FOR YOUR PROTECTION...GO 
INDOORS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

INTENSE LIGHTNING IS OCCURRING WITH THIS STORM. IF OUTDOORS...STAY
AWAY FROM ISOLATED HIGH OBJECTS SUCH AS TREES. MOVE INDOORS IF
POSSIBLE. WHEN INDOORS...STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND DOORS AND AVOID
USING TELEPHONES UNLESS IT IS AN EMERGENCY. TRY TO UNPLUG UNNECESSARY
ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES BEFORE THE THUNDERSTORM APPROACHES.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN LITTLE ROCK.

LAT...LON 3629 9216 3619 9216 3617 9221 3611 9217
          3611 9212 3607 9211 3588 9244 3602 9257
          3607 9251 3607 9242 3613 9240

$$

54

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 Apr 16, 2:30 PM CDT, 4 hours 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 16, 2:30 PM CDT, 4 hours 53 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
230 PM CDT TUE APR 16 2002

A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE NORTHWEST FRIDAY. ABNORMALLY WARM
CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED UNTIL THEN. NEAR NORMAL CONDITIONS WILL
LIKELY PREVAIL AFTER THE FRONTAL PASSAGE. THE CHANCES OF RAIN WILL
INCREASE AS THE FRONT NEARS.

FCSTID = 38
HRO   60  86  64  86 /  30  10   0  10
LIT   64  87  65  88 /  20  10   0  10
HOT   64  88  65  88 /  30  10   0  10
PBF   67  88  66  89 /  20  10   0  10

.LZK...
AR...NONE.

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arkansas, 2002 Every 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.