Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Watches in 2002

Tornado Watch 162

April 27, 200211 counties in Arkansas; 13 counties in Missouri

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 27, 2002, 11:15 PM CDT for 11 counties in Arkansas; 13 counties in Missouri. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Apr 27, 2002, 11:15 PM CDT (04:15 UTC)
Expired: Apr 28, 2002, 4:00 AM CDT
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 24 counties

Baxter County, AR, Clay County, AR, Fulton County, AR, Izard County, AR, Lawrence County, AR, Marion County, AR, Randolph County, AR, Searcy County, AR, Sharp County, AR, Stone County, AR, Van Buren County, AR, Bollinger County, MO, Butler County, MO, Carter County, MO, Howell County, MO, Iron County, MO, Madison County, MO, Oregon County, MO, Ozark County, MO, Reynolds County, MO, Ripley County, MO, Shannon County, MO, Stoddard County, MO, Wayne County, MO

Warnings issued inside it

11 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 27, 11:30 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LSX	Reynolds	30 min
Apr 27, 11:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PAH	Wayne	43 min
Apr 28, 12:11 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Fulton, Sharp	34 min
Apr 28, 12:21 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Randolph	39 min
Apr 28, 12:32 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	LZK	Sharp	13 min
Apr 28, 12:35 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PAH	Bollinger	25 min
Apr 28, 12:36 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Randolph	39 min
Apr 28, 12:58 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Izard, Sharp	32 min
Apr 28, 1:03 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Clay	42 min
Apr 28, 1:21 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Clay	24 min
Apr 28, 1:23 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Lawrence	52 min

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 4.3 hours before the alert went out and 198 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: 1053 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 905 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 69 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 256 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 299 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 2.1
Supercell composite: 9.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000
WWUS20 KWNS 280410
SEL2  
SPC WW 280406
ARZ000-MOZ000-280900-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 162
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1106 PM CDT SAT APR 27 2002

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   NORTH CENTRAL ARKANSAS                           
   SOUTHEAST MISSOURI                           

EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING FROM 1115 PM UNTIL
400 AM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 50 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 70 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WEST PLAINS MISSOURI TO
50 MILES NORTHEAST OF POPLAR BLUFF MISSOURI.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 159...WW 161...

DISCUSSION...LINE OF SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER SOUTH
CENTRAL MO AND NORTHWEST AR IS EXPECTED TO TRACK EASTWARD THROUGH
MUCH OF THE NIGHT.  VERY STRONG SHEAR PROFILES AND SUFFICIENT
INSTABILITY SUGGEST THE POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED TORNADOES AS WELL AS
DAMAGING WINDS.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24045.

...HART

363,0894 351,0924 364,0924 380,0894

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 28, 2:00 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Craighead, Mississippi	5 hr
Apr 27, 7:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Clark, Putnam, Schuyler, Scotland	4 hr
Apr 27, 10:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Cape Girardeau, Mississippi, New Madrid, Perry, Scott	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Missouri, 2002 Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 2002 Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.