Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 256, NWS Little Rock, AR

May 13, 2003Pike County, Arkansas

NWS Little Rock, AR issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 13, 2003, 7:10 PM CDT for Pike County, Arkansas. It was in force for 40 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: May 13, 2003, 7:10 PM CDT (00:10 UTC)
Expired: May 13, 2003, 7:50 PM CDT
In force: 40 min
Issued by: NWS Little Rock, AR
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Pike County, AR

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 141 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:14 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 13, 5:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 00:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 187 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: 2326 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1006 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 142 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 401 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 3.2
Supercell composite: 18.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 Little Rock, AR wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 13, 3:45 PM CDT, 3 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 13, 3:45 PM CDT, 3 hours 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
345 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2003

MCS ACROSS KANSAS AND OKLAHOMA IS NOW MOVING INTO NORTHWEST
ARKANSAS. LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ON KLZK RADAR
EXTENDS WEST OF A LINE FROM MOUNTAIN HOME TO FORT SMITH. THIS AREA
WILL SPREAD SOUTH AND EAST. THE RAIN IS MOST DOMINANT IN THE 60+ DEW
POINT AREA ACROSS EAST OKLAHOMA AND WEST ARKANSAS.

GFS SEEMS TO HAVE A GOOD HANDLE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MCS FOR
TONIGHT. DIVERGING HEIGHTS ARE NOTED ACROSS NORTH ARKANSAS AT 12Z
WEDNESDAY. 60+ DEW POINTS ARE SLOWLY MOVING INTO SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS
AT THIS TIME. A WARM FRONT STILL SOUTH OF ARKANSAS WILL MOVE NORTH
TONIGHT AND HELP TO DESTABILIZE THE ATMOSPHERE. THEREFORE WILL
CONTINUE LIKELY POPS FOR TONIGHT.

A COLD FRONT IN THE NORTHERN PLAINS WILL MOVE TO NEAR NORTHWEST
ARKANSAS BY 12Z WEDNESDAY AND MOVE SLOWLY INTO NORTH ARKANSAS.
SEVERAL SHORT WAVES MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE REST OF THE
WEEK CREATING CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE LAST STRONG
SYSTEM IN THE LINE LOOKS TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA SATURDAY NIGHT AND
SUNDAY. THE UPPER LOW MOVING ON TO THE WEST COAST TONIGHT WILL BE
MOVING ACROSS ARKANSAS ON SUNDAY. WITH THE NUMBER OF STORMS MOVING
ACROSS THE AREA THIS WEEK AND RELATIVELY SLOW MOVEMENT...WILL NEED
TO KEEP AN EYE ON EXCESSIVE RAINFALL AND POSSIBLE FLASH FLOODING.

TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN IN THE 70S AND 80S THIS WEEK FOR HIGHS AND
50S AND 60S FOR LOWS. STAYED CLOSE TO THE GFS MOS.

HRO   59  79  55  78 /  60  60  60  40
LIT   64  84  65  83 /  60  60  60  40
HOT   64  85  65  83 /  60  60  60  40
PBF   65  86  65  85 /  60  60  60  40

.LZK...NONE.

51

Hazardous weather outlook, May 13, 2:35 PM CDT, 4 hours 35 minutes before

ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-141000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
235 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED THIS MORNING IN CENTRAL KANSAS AND MOVED
INTO NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA THIS AFTERNOON. THE STORMS WILL CONTINUE
PUSHING THROUGH WESTERN ARKANSAS INTO THIS EVENING...AND SOME OF THE
STORMS MAY BE SEVERE. THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREATS WILL BE LARGE
HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

LATER TONIGHT...ANOTHER CLUSTER OF THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP NORTH AND WEST OF ARKANSAS...AND WILL PUSH INTO THE STATE
MAINLY AFTER MIDNIGHT. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SEVERE STORMS
OVERNIGHT...MAINLY IN THE NORTHWEST HALF OF THE STATE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY OVER MOST AREAS ON WEDNESDAY...WITH A
CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

THERE WILL BE A CONTINUED CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH SATURDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT.

46

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 13, 3:47 PM CDT, 3 hours 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
347 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2003

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

0344 PM    7 NW CLARKSVILLE          AR   1.00 INCH HAIL
05/13/03   JOHNSON                        REPORTED BY STORM SPOTTER
                                          ON HIGHWAY 103. ALSO WINDS
                                          IN EXCESS OF 40 MPH.

28

Local storm report, May 13, 4:18 PM CDT, 2 hours 52 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
418 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2003

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

0355 PM    CLARKSVILLE               AR   WIND DAMAGE
05/13/03   JOHNSON                        LARGE LIMBS DOWN. REPORTED
                                          BY STORM SPOTTER

0410 PM    BOONEVILLE                AR   75 MPH TSTM WIND GUST.
05/13/03   LOGAN                          REPORTED BY STORM SPOTTER

28

Local storm report, May 13, 5:13 PM CDT, 1 hour 57 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
513 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2003

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

0500 PM    1 S GREENBRIER            AR   70 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
05/13/03   FAULKNER                       REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
                                          OPERATOR

28

Local storm report, May 13, 5:23 PM CDT, 1 hour 47 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
523 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2003

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

0450 PM    JERUSALEM                 AR   .75 INCH HAIL
05/13/03   CONWAY                         REPORTED BY EMERGENCY
                                          MANAGEMENT

0459 PM    2 S MORRILTON             AR   .75 INCH HAIL
05/13/03   CONWAY                         REPORTED BY STORM SPOTTER

0459 PM    2 S MORRILTON             AR   60 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
05/13/03   CONWAY                         REPORTED BY STORM SPOTTER

0500 PM    MORRILTON                 AR   WIND DAMAGE
05/13/03   CONWAY                         TREES DOWN. REPORTED BY
                                          LAW ENFORCEMENT

0508 PM    CONWAY                    AR   .75 INCH HAIL
05/13/03   FAULKNER                       ON WEST SIDE OF TOWN.
                                          REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT

0508 PM    CONWAY                    AR   WIND DAMAGE
05/13/03   FAULKNER                       TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN
                                          ON WEST SIDE OF TOWN.
                                          REPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT

28

Local storm report, May 13, 5:46 PM CDT, 1 hour 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
546 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2003

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

0535 PM    LITTLE ROCK               AR   60 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
05/13/03   PULASKI                        IN WEST LITTLE ROCK.
                                          REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER

0540 PM    LITTLE ROCK               AR   WIND DAMAGE
05/13/03   PULASKI                        LARGE LIMBS DOWN IN WEST
                                          LITTLE ROCK. REPORTED BY
                                          STORM SPOTTER

28

Local storm report, May 13, 6:08 PM CDT, 1 hour 2 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
608 PM CDT TUE MAY 13 2003

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

0420 PM    RUSSELLVILLE              AR   WIND DAMAGE
05/13/03   POPE                           MANY TREES DOWN ON POWER
                                          LINES. MANY POWER OUTAGES
                                          AROUND RUSSELLVILLE.
                                          REPORTED BY UTILITY COMPANY

0425 PM    DARDANELLE                AR   WIND DAMAGE
05/13/03   YELL                           POWER LINES DOWN. REPORTED
                                          BY COOP OBSERVER

28

The office that day

Everything else NWS Little Rock, AR issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 13, 7:48 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Clark, Pike	47 min
May 13, 8:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Ouachita	46 min
May 14, 1:03 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Independence, Jackson	27 min
May 14, 7:31 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Independence	29 min
May 14, 9:00 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Faulkner, Lonoke, Pulaski, White	30 min
May 14, 9:36 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Monroe, Prairie	39 min
May 14, 2:04 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	LZK	Pike	116 min
May 14, 3:55 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	LZK	Pike	95 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arkansas, 2003 Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.