Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Memphis, TN

March 29, 2002Craighead County, Poinsett County, Arkansas

NWS Memphis, TN issued this tornado warning at Mar 29, 2002, 4:46 PM CST for Craighead County, Poinsett County, Arkansas. It was in force for 29 min. 3 reports 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: Mar 29, 2002, 4:46 PM CST (22:46 UTC)
Expired: Mar 29, 2002, 5:15 PM CST
In force: 29 min
Issued by: NWS Memphis, TN
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Craighead County, AR, Poinsett County, AR

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 72 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:49 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
Mar 29, 4:58 PM CST	Hail 1	Bay, AR
Mar 29, 5:08 PM CST	Tornado F0	Trumann, AR	A tornado briefly touched down in an open field producing very little damage.
Mar 29, 5:18 PM CST	Hail 0.75	Trumann, 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 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 114 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: 791 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -159 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 514 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 317 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 319 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KMEG 292246
TORMEM
ARC031-111-292315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
446 PM CST FRI MAR 29 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEMPHIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CRAIGHEAD COUNTY IN EASTERN ARKANSAS
  POINSETT COUNTY IN EASTERN ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 515 PM CST.

* AT 440 PM CST...WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO 3
  MILES WEST OF BAY...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* CITIES IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO THROUGH 515 PM CST INCLUDE...
  TRUMANN...LAKE CITY...
  CARAWAY...
  LEPANTO...

.IF YOU ARE NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...TAKE COVER IN AN INTERIOR
ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. PROTECT YOUR BODY FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

.STAY TUNED TO THIS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROADCAST FOR THE LATEST
UPDATES AND INFORMATION.

LAT...LON 3586 9060 3569 9070 3555 9032 3577 9030

The office that day

Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 29, 3:31 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Craighead	29 min
Mar 29, 3:59 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Craighead	46 min
Mar 29, 4:41 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Craighead	34 min
Mar 29, 4:53 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Clay	37 min
Mar 29, 5:16 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Craighead, Mississippi, Poinsett	44 min
Mar 29, 5:57 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Mississippi	33 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Arkansas, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes 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.