Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 102, NWS Jackson, MS

April 24, 2003Ashley County, Arkansas

NWS Jackson, MS issued this tornado warning at Apr 24, 2003, 8:39 PM CDT for Ashley County, Arkansas. It was in force for 101 min. 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 24, 2003, 8:39 PM CDT (01:39 UTC)
Expired
Apr 24, 2003, 10:20 PM CDT
In force
101 min
Issued by
NWS Jackson, MS
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Ashley County, AR

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 180 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:39 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 watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 24, 7:50 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 00:00Z, 1.7 hours before the alert went out and 180 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, Shreveport, LA at 00:00Z on 2003-04-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3303 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Shreveport, LA at 00:00Z on 2003-04-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 152 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
3303 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1062 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
152 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
208 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.9
Supercell composite
16.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS54 KJAN 250139
TORJAN
ARC003-250320-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON MS
838 PM CDT THU APR 24 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  ASHLEY COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 1020 PM CDT

* AT 838 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 16 MILES WEST OF WEST CROSSETT...OR ABOUT 12 MILES
  NORTHWEST OF HUTTIG...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO...
  BE NEAR WEST CROSSETT AT 905 PM CDT
  BE NEAR NORTH CROSSETT AT 915 PM CDT
  BE NEAR HAMBURG AT 935 PM CDT

TORNADOES AT NIGHT ARE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU
SEE OR HEAR THE TORNADO - IT MAY BE TOO LATE. TAKE COVER NOW

IN ADDITION TO THE THREAT OF A TORNADO...DAMAGING HAIL...POSSIBLY TO 
THE SIZE OF BASEBALLS...AND STRONG WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED. GO TO A 
SAFE PLACE NOW

THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE NEAR ITS PATH YOU SHOULD
BE READY FOR DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...VIOLENT WINDS AND POSSIBLY A TORNADO.
MOVE TO A SAFE PLACE NOW

LAT...LON 3326 9240 3308 9236 3315 9157 3339 9146

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Jackson, MS issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 24, 10:01 PM CDTTornado WarningJANAshley, Chicot39 min
Apr 24, 10:41 PM CDTTornado WarningJANChicot44 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Arkansas, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes in 2003

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.