Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 2, 2002Washington County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this tornado warning at May 2, 2002, 1:38 AM CDT for Washington County, Arkansas. It was in force for 37 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 2, 2002, 1:38 AM CDT (06:38 UTC)
Expired: May 2, 2002, 2:15 AM CDT
In force: 37 min
Issued by: NWS Tulsa, OK
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Washington County, AR

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 2, 1:50 AM CDT	Hail 1.75	West Fork, 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 watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 1, 9:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 110 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: 1175 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1882 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 62 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 199 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 4.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KTSA 020638
TORTUL
ARC143-020715-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
138 AM CDT THU MAY 2 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  WASHINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 215 AM CDT

* AT 138 AM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH
  STRONG ROTATION 3 MILES SOUTH OF PRAIRIE GROVE...MOVING EAST AT 35
  MPH. THIS DANGEROUS STORM COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  FAYETTEVILLE...WEST FORK...PRAIRIE GROVE...ELKINS...FARMINGTON AND
  GREENLAND.

IF YOU ARE NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM...TAKE COVER NOW IF NO
UNDERGROUND SHELTER IS AVAILABLE MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR. MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES SHOULD BE ABANDONED FOR MORE
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. AVOID WINDOWS

LAT...LON 3600 9443 3583 9437 3589 9395 3614 9393

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 1, 8:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Benton	46 min
May 1, 8:44 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Benton	31 min
May 1, 8:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Carroll	51 min
May 1, 9:00 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Washington	45 min
May 1, 9:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Benton	33 min
May 1, 9:33 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Madison	42 min
May 1, 10:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Madison, Washington	46 min
May 2, 1:15 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Washington	45 min
May 2, 1:55 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Madison	50 min
May 2, 2:03 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Madison	42 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.