Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 71, NWS Little Rock, AR

April 24, 2003Jackson County, Arkansas

NWS Little Rock, AR issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 24, 2003, 5:45 PM CDT for Jackson County, Arkansas. It was in force for 35 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: Apr 24, 2003, 5:45 PM CDT (22:45 UTC)
Expired: Apr 24, 2003, 6:20 PM CDT
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS Little Rock, AR
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Jackson County, AR

The watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Apr 24, 1:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 143 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: 29 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -291 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 788 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 61 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 300 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 346 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.6

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 Apr 24, 3:35 PM CDT, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 24, 3:35 PM CDT, 2 hours 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...AMENDED FOR PRELIMINARY NUMBERS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
335 PM CDT THU APR 24 2003

NOT MUCH TIME TO TALK TODAY...SO I WILL MAKE THIS QUICK.

BIGGEST CONCERN TONIGHT IS SEVERE WEATHER...ESPECIALLY TORNADO
POTENTIAL. GREATEST THREAT WILL BE FROM THE I-30 / US 67-167
CORRIDOR ON EAST TOWARD THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. WILL ADDRESS THESE
ISSUES ACCORDINGLY IN THE ZONES.

ONCE THE DRYLINE MOVES THROUGH...RAIN CHANCES WILL DECREASE. DUE TO
PROXIMITY OF UPPER LOW...STILL A POSSIBILITY OF SOME ISOLATED TSRA
OVER THE NORTH TOMORROW...SO LEFT SLIGHT CHANCE POPS IN THOSE AREAS.

THINGS DRY OUT FRIDAY NIGHT...AS THE COLD FRONT EXITS THE FORECAST
AREA. WEEKEND LOOKS FAIRLY TOLERABLE AS HIGH PRESSURE BRIEFLY BUILDS
IN AND THE FRONT MOVES SOUTH AND STALLS.

STILL LOOKING AT FRONT BACKING NORTH EARLY NEXT WEEK...WITH ANOTHER
COLD FRONT APPROACHING FROM THE NORTH. BASICALLY LEFT THE EXTENDED
AS IS...THOUGH CONFIDENCE CONTINUES TO BE LESS THAN STELLAR.

PRELIMINARY ISC GRIDS HAVE BEEN SENT...THOUGH THEY ARE SUBJECT TO
LAST MINUTE REVISIONS. DISCUSSION WILL BE UPDATED LATER TO INCLUDE
PRELIMINARY NUMBERS.

FCSTID =   57
HRO   50  65  47  71 /  50  20  10   5
LIT   56  75  52  74 /  60  10  10   5
HOT   55  74  53  74 /  60  10  10   5
PBF   58  75  53  75 /  60  10  10   5

.LZK...NONE.

57

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 24, 1:57 PM CDT, 3 hours 48 minutes before

ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-251000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
157 PM CDT THU APR 24 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
THROUGH 8 PM. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP RAPIDLY
THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS ARKANSAS. THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY
DAMAGING HAIL...DAMAGING WIND...AND TORNADOES. THE SEVERE STORMS SHOULD
MOVE EAST OF THE AREA TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

ANOTHER COLD FRONT WILL REACH ARKANSAS ON MONDAY AND MAY STALL IN THE
AREA. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY
THROUGH WEDNESDAY DUE TO THIS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING IN MOST
OF ARKANSAS.

29

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 24, 4:35 PM CDT, 1 hour 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
435 PM CDT THU APR 24 2003

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

0305 PM    4 E MC GEHEE              AR   WIND DAMAGE
04/24/03   DESHA                          TREES DOWN. REPORTED BY
                                          MEDIA

0305 PM    4 E MC GEHEE              AR   .88 INCH HAIL
04/24/03   DESHA                          TOMATO PLANTS STRIPPED OF
                                          LEAVES. REPORTED BY MEDIA

28

Local storm report, Apr 24, 4:40 PM CDT, 1 hour 5 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
440 PM CDT THU APR 24 2003

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

0408 PM    WITTS SPRINGS             AR   1.75 INCH HAIL
04/24/03   SEARCY                         REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT

28

Local storm report, Apr 24, 5:05 PM CDT, 40 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
505 PM CDT THU APR 24 2003

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

0450 PM    1 E STEPROCK              AR   .75 INCH HAIL
04/24/03   WHITE                          REPORTED BY
                                          STORM SPOTTER

0451 PM    CENTER HILL               AR   1.00 INCH HAIL
04/24/03   WHITE                          ALSO...SPOTTER
                                          REPORTED TWO                                           TWO FUNNEL CLOUDS TRYING TO
                                          FUNNEL CLOUDS
                                          TRYING TO DEVELOP

28

Local storm report, Apr 24, 5:05 PM CDT, 40 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
505 PM CDT THU APR 24 2003

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

0450 PM    1 E STEPROCK              AR   .75 INCH HAIL
04/24/03   WHITE                          REPORTED BY
                                          STORM SPOTTER

0451 PM    CENTER HILL               AR   1.00 INCH HAIL
04/24/03   WHITE                          ALSO...SPOTTER
                                          REPORTED TWO
                                          FUNNEL CLOUDS
                                          TRYING TO DEVELOP

28

Local storm report, Apr 24, 5:27 PM CDT, 18 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
527 PM CDT THU APR 24 2003

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

0438 PM    1 S THIDA                 AR   1.00 INCH HAIL
04/24/03   INDEPENDENCE                   REPORTED BY HAM
                                          RADIO OPERATOR

0505 PM    5 SE DENMARK              AR   .88 INCH HAIL
04/24/03   JACKSON                        REPORTED BY HAM
                                          RADIO OPERATOR

0515 PM    5 NW VELVET RIDGE         AR   1.75 INCH HAIL
04/24/03   WHITE                          REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT

28

Local storm report, Apr 24, 5:37 PM CDT, 8 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
537 PM CDT THU APR 24 2003

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

0528 PM    8 N JUDSONIA              AR   1.75 INCH HAIL
04/24/03   WHITE                          REPORTED BY
                                          STORM SPOTTER

28

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 24, 10:29 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Pulaski	36 min
Apr 24, 2:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Drew	28 min
Apr 24, 2:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Desha	46 min
Apr 24, 3:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Independence, Jackson	40 min
Apr 24, 3:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Searcy	42 min
Apr 24, 4:04 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LZK	Independence, Jackson	36 min
Apr 24, 4:09 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Desha	31 min
Apr 24, 4:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Searcy, Stone	45 min
Apr 24, 4:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	White	41 min
Apr 24, 4:56 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LZK	White	29 min
Apr 24, 5:02 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Independence, Jackson	43 min
Apr 24, 5:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Boone, Marion	62 min
Apr 24, 5:17 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LZK	Stone	23 min
Apr 24, 5:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	White	33 min
Apr 24, 5:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Lonoke	36 min
Apr 24, 5:39 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LZK	Izard, Stone	46 min
Apr 24, 5:48 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Woodruff	32 min
Apr 24, 6:00 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LZK	Marion	40 min
Apr 24, 6:13 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LZK	Baxter	62 min
Apr 24, 6:23 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LZK	Izard	42 min
Apr 24, 6:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Grant	34 min
Apr 24, 6:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Marion	40 min
Apr 24, 6:51 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	LZK	Independence, Jackson	119 min
Apr 24, 6:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Sharp	52 min
Apr 24, 6:59 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LZK	Fulton	61 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.