Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 130, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 9, 2002Benton County, Washington County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 9, 2002, 2:45 AM CDT for Benton County, Washington County, Arkansas. It was in force for 45 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: May 9, 2002, 2:45 AM CDT (07:45 UTC)
Expired: May 9, 2002, 3:30 AM CDT
In force: 45 min
Issued by: NWS Tulsa, OK
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Benton County, AR, Washington County, AR

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 91 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:44 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
May 9, 2:55 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52 E	Cave Spgs, 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.

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 9, 1:15 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 7.8 hours before the alert went out and 97 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: 1675 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -36 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 811 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 285 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 375 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 2.9
Supercell composite: 13.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS54 KTSA 090745
SVRTUL
ARC007-143-090830-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
245 AM CDT THU MAY 9 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN BENTON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
  WASHINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 330 AM CDT

* AT 245 AM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG
  A LINE EXTENDING FROM SPRINGTOWN TO 8 MILES WEST OF TONTITOWN TO 5
  MILES SOUTHWEST OF LINCOLN...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THESE STORMS INCLUDE...LOWELL...
  GENTRY...SPRINGTOWN...HIGHFILL...CAVE SPRINGS...WAR EAGLE...
  FAYETTEVILLE...SPRINGDALE...WINSLOW...WEST FORK...LINCOLN...PRAIRIE
  GROVE...ELKINS...FARMINGTON...BLACKBURN...STRICKLER...BRENTWOOD...
  GREENLAND AND TONTITOWN.

HAIL TO THE SIZE OF DIMES AND WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED IN
THE WARNED AREA. STAY INDOORS AND AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM
HAS PASSED.

LAT...LON 3630 9453 3612 9443 3579 9449 3579 9396
          3610 9392 3632 9386

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 Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 8, 9:15 PM CDT, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 8, 9:15 PM CDT, 5 hours 30 minutes before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA
915 PM CDT WED MAY 8 2002

RUNNING A BIT BEHIND WITH ONGOING WEATHER AND GFE PROBLEMS.

SE KS CONVECTION HAS RACED OUT AHEAD OF COLD FRONT...WITH
WELL-DEFINED OUTFLOW BOUNDARY PUSHING INTO OUR FAR NRN COUNTIES AT
THIS TIME.  ADDITIONAL SEVERE CONVECTION JUST TO THE W OF OUR NWRN
CWA CONTINUES ALONG COLD FRONT.  00Z OUN SOUNDING WAS QUITE
IMPRESSIVE WITH NEARLY 4000 J/KG OF CAPE AND JUST A SLIVER OF A CAP
LEFT.

EXPECT THIS ACTIVITY TO GRADUALLY BECOME MORE LINEAR WITH TIME...AND
EVENTUALLY DEVELOP INTO A MCS OVERNIGHT. PROGGD CORFIDI VECTORS
SUGGEST MCS WILL PEEL ESE INTO FAR NE OK AND EVENTUALLY NW AR LATER
TONIGHT.

WILL UPDATE TO TWEAK POPS SOME...AND ADJUST TIMING OF CONVECTION.

UPDATE SHOULD BE OUT BETWEEN 930 AND 945 PM.

.TSA...
AR...NONE.
OK...NONE.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Tulsa, OK issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 8, 11:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Benton, Carroll, Madison, Washington	65 min
May 9, 12:44 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Carroll, Madison, Washington	61 min
May 9, 3:35 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Crawford, Sebastian	55 min
May 9, 4:09 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Franklin	66 min

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.