Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 73, NWS Tulsa, OK

April 30, 2002Sebastian County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 30, 2002, 1:57 AM CDT for Sebastian County, Arkansas. It was in force for 48 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 30, 2002, 1:57 AM CDT (06:57 UTC)
Expired: Apr 30, 2002, 2:45 AM CDT
In force: 48 min
Issued by: NWS Tulsa, OK
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Sebastian County, AR

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Apr 30, 2:04 AM CDT	Hail 0.88	Hartford, 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 nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 7.0 hours before the alert went out and 217 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1922 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 67 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 94 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 104 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 
WUUS54 KTSA 300657
SVRTUL
ARC131-300745-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
157 AM CDT TUE APR 30 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN SEBASTIAN COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 245 AM CDT

* AT 157 AM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 8
  MILES WEST OF HARTFORD...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...HARTFORD AND
  MANSFIELD.

HAIL TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE WARNED AREA. STAY 
INDOORS AND AWAY FROM WINDOWS UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

LAT...LON 3509 9445 3492 9445 3480 9413 3505 9405

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 Apr 29, 9:35 PM CDT, 4 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 29, 9:35 PM CDT, 4 hours 22 minutes before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
935 PM CDT MON APR 29 2002

WARM FRONT HAS REMAINED DRAPED ACROSS RED RIVER VALLEY MOST OF THE
DAY...WITH LARGE SUPERCELLS FORMING IN THE WARM SECTOR OF NORTH
CENTRAL TEXAS THIS EVENING.  FTW HODOGRAPH SUPPORTS SPLITTING STORM
EVOLUTIONS AND THIS HAS BEEN EVIDENT ON AREA RADARS.  MEAN WIND FLOW
IS WESTERLY WITH ONLY THE LEFT SPLIT STORMS HAVING THE GREATEST
CHANCE OF ENTERING THE AREA LATE THIS EVENING.  AS THEY
APPROACH...THEY WILL ENCOUNTER WARM FRONTAL BOUNDARY AND BEGIN TO
WEAKEN AS SURFACE BASED INSTABILITY SOURCE IS LOST.  ABSENCE OF LOW
LEVEL JET DURING THIS TIME FRAME WILL ALSO INHIBIT STORM SURVIVAL.

LOW LEVEL JET WILL BEGIN TO STRENGTHEN OVERNIGHT AND PROVIDE SOURCE
FOR ELEVATED THUNDERSTORMS TO REDEVELOP.  INITIATION AREA IS
SOMEWHAT QUESTIONABLE...HOWEVER AREAS NEAR WARM FRONTAL BOUNDARY
WILL LIKELY EXPERIENCE THE INITIAL STRONGEST THETA-E
ADVECTION...WITH PRECIP DEVELOPING FURTHER NORTHWARD TOWARD SUNRISE
AS NOSE OF LOW LEVEL JET PUSHES NORTHWARD.  BELIEVE FAR NORTHWEST
ARKANSAS WILL BE LEAST LIKELY TO RECEIVE RAINFALL DURING THE
OVERNIGHT PERIOD AND HAVE LOWERED POPS.  WILL KEEP OTHER POPS
SIMILIAR TO GOING FORECAST...WITH MINOR TWEAKS MADE TO FORECAST LOWS.

UPDATE OUT QUICKLY.

FCSTID = 07

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

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 30, 1:19 AM CDT, 38 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
119 AM CDT TUE APR 30 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1220 AM    STIGLER                   OK   .88 INCH HAIL
04/30/02   HASKELL                        REPORTED BY POLICE
                                          DEPARTMENT

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 30, 6:26 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Madison	49 min
Apr 30, 6:56 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Carroll	49 min
Apr 30, 10:32 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Benton	43 min
Apr 30, 11:20 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Carroll, Madison	40 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.