Alert archive / Arkansas / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 16, NWS Tulsa, OK

April 7, 2002Crawford County, Franklin County, Sebastian County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this flash flood warning at Apr 7, 2002, 6:26 PM CDT for Crawford County, Franklin County, Sebastian County, Arkansas. It was in force for 4 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 7, 2002, 6:26 PM CDT (23:26 UTC)
Expired
Apr 7, 2002, 10:15 PM CDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Crawford County, AR, Franklin County, AR, Sebastian County, AR

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 31 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:32 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 156 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 2002-04-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2002-04-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 182 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1952 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
182 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
345 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS54 KTSA 072326
FFWTUL
ARC033-047-131-080315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
627 PM CDT SUN APR 7 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR
  CRAWFORD COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
  FRANKLIN COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS
  SEBASTIAN COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 1015 PM CDT

* AT 625 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN
  CONTINUING ACROSS WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS 
  WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE LOCATED ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND 
  WILL MOVE NORTHEAST INTO WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS THIS EVENING. ALL 
  OF THE SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 
  MPH.

  1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN HAS ALREADY FALLEN ACROSS MOST OF 
  CRAWFORD...FRANKLIN...AND SEBASTIAN COUNTIES OVER THE PAST 24 
  HOURS. AN ADDITIONAL 2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN CAN BE EXPECTED IN
  THESE COUNTIES THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. MUCH OF THIS RAIN WILL 
  RUN OFF AND WILL LIKELY PRODUCE FLASH FLOODING. 

  FLOODING HAS ALREADY BEEN REPORTED NEAR INDUSTRIAL PARK IN VAN 
  BUREN AND ALONG HIGHWAY 59 IN CRAWFORD COUNTY. 

* SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE AFFECTED BY THE HEAVY 
  RAIN AND FLOODING INCLUDE FORT SMITH...GREENWOOD...VAN BUREN... 
  OZARK AND MULBERRY. 

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS. IF FLASH FLOODING IS OBSERVED ACT
QUICKLY. MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS. DO NOT STAY
IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.

LAT...LON 3577 9449 3496 9446 3535 9374 3578 9369
2 follow-up statements
000 
WGUS74 KTSA 080057
FFSTUL
ARC033-047-131-080315-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
755 PM CDT SUN APR 7 2002

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR FRANKLIN...CRAWFORD AND
   SEBASTIAN COUNTIES UNTIL 1015 PM CDT...

RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED ACROSS THE WARNED.  RAIN AMOUNTS SO 
FAR TODAY HAVE BEEN AROUND 2 INCHES AT MOST LOCATIONS.  THIS HAS 
SATURATED THE GROUND AND THE CONTINUED RUNOFF HAS CAUSED SOME STREET 
FLOODING IN FORT SMITH.

RADAR INDICATES THAT HEAVY RAINS WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD OVER THE 
WARNED AREA WITH AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN LIKELY.  
SERIOUS FLOODING MAY DEVELOP THIS EVENING IN THE FORT SMITH...
VAN BUREN...MOUNTAINBURG AND OZARK AREAS.

IF YOU LIVE IN A FLOOD PRONE AREA...YOU SHOULD ALREADY BE PREPARED 
TO MOVE TO A SAFER LOCATION.  DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS 
WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. THE WATER MAY BE TOO DEEP TO 
ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY. VEHICLES CAUGHT IN RISING WATER 
SHOULD BE ABANDONED QUICKLY. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

LAT...LON 3565 9369 3538 9370 3541 9380 3532 9380
          3532 9391 3523 9391 3523 9403 3515 9402
          3515 9413 3508 9424 3496 9423 3493 9444
          3576 9449 3577 9369
000 
WGUS74 KTSA 080202
FFSTUL
ARC015-033-047-087-131-143-080315-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
900 PM CDT SUN APR 7 2002

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR CARROLL...MADISON...
   WASHINGTON...FRANKLIN...CRAWFORD AND SEBASTIAN COUNTIES UNTIL
   1015 PM CDT...

...A SERIOUS FLASH FLOOD SITUATION IS DEVELOPING...

HEAVY RAINS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MIDNIGHT ACROSS THE WARNED AREA.  
RAINFALL OF 2 TO 3 INCHES HAS ALREADY OCCURRED AND AND ADDITIONAL 1 
TO 2 INCHES IS LIKELY AT MANY LOCATIONS BEFORE THE RAIN DIMINISHES.

FLASH FLOODING IS ALREADY UNDERWAY AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS IN SEBASTIAN 
COUNTY AND THE SITUATION WILL ONLY GET WORST THROUGHOUT THE REGION.  
SEVERAL FORT SMITH STREETS HAVE BEEN FLOODED AND A BRIDGE ON HIGHWAY 
252 JUST NORTHEAST OF LAVAC HAS BEEN COVERED WITH WATER.  

WIDESPREAD FLOODING IS LIKELY TONIGHT.  THIS IS A DANGEROUS 
SITUATION.  MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. DO NOT 
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR OTHER LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS 
THE ROADWAY. NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL 
ONE...ON FOOT. TO ESCAPE RISING WATER MOVE UP TO HIGHER GROUND.

ALL INDICATIONS ARE THAT THE CURRENT FLASH FLOOD WARNING WILL BE 
EXTENDED.

RAINFALL AMOUNTS AT 9PM INCLUDE...FORT SMITH 3.32 INCHES AND 2.46 
INCHES AT FAYETTEVILLE.

LAT...LON 3613 9329 3577 9368 3538 9370 3532 9380
          3532 9391 3523 9391 3493 9444 3541 9443
          3611 9455 3610 9439 3621 9432 3624 9386
          3649 9385 3649 9329

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arkansas, 2002Every flash flood 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.