Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 962

November 18, 200344 counties in Arkansas; Bolivar County, Washington County, Mississippi; 8 counties in Missouri

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Nov 18, 2003, 2:50 PM CST for 44 counties in Arkansas; Bolivar County, Washington County, Mississippi; 8 counties in Missouri. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Nov 18, 2003, 2:50 PM CST (20:50 UTC)
Expired
Nov 18, 2003, 8:00 PM CST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 54 counties

Arkansas County, AR, Ashley County, AR, Baxter County, AR, Boone County, AR, Bradley County, AR, Calhoun County, AR, Carroll County, AR, Chicot County, AR, Clark County, AR, Cleburne County, AR, Cleveland County, AR, Conway County, AR, Dallas County, AR, Desha County, AR, Drew County, AR, Faulkner County, AR, Fulton County, AR, Garland County, AR, Grant County, AR, Hot Spring County, AR, Independence County, AR, Izard County, AR, Jackson County, AR, Jefferson County, AR, Johnson County, AR, Lincoln County, AR, Lonoke County, AR, Marion County, AR, Monroe County, AR, Newton County, AR, Ouachita County, AR, Perry County, AR, Pope County, AR, Prairie County, AR, Pulaski County, AR, Saline County, AR, Searcy County, AR, Sharp County, AR, Stone County, AR, Union County, AR, Van Buren County, AR, White County, AR, Woodruff County, AR, Yell County, AR, Barry County, MO, Christian County, MO, Douglas County, MO, Howell County, MO, Oregon County, MO, Ozark County, MO, Stone County, MO, Taney County, MO, Bolivar County, MS, Washington County, MS

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 61 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:50 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.

Warnings issued inside it

8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 18, 3:03 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFOzark57 min
Nov 18, 3:08 PM CSTFlash Flood WarningSGFDent, Douglas, Howell, Oregon, Ozark, Phelps and 3 more6 hr
Nov 18, 3:43 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSGFDouglas62 min
Nov 18, 3:56 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKGrant, Saline59 min
Nov 18, 4:01 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKScott, Yell49 min
Nov 18, 4:03 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKConway, Faulkner52 min
Nov 18, 4:16 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLZKJohnson, Pope44 min
Nov 18, 5:59 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningJANAshley, Chicot61 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 204 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, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2003-11-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 137 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2003-11-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 25 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
137 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-93 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
756 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
25 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
16 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 182053
SEL2  
SPC WW 182050
ARZ000-MOZ000-190200-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 962 
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 
250 PM CST TUE NOV 18 2003

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       MOST OF ARKANSAS
       SOUTHERN MISSOURI

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 250 PM UNTIL 800
PM CST.

HAIL TO 2.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES
EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF WEST
PLAINS MISSOURI TO 55 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF EL DORADO ARKANSAS.

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE
TORNADOES.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REPLACES
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 959. WATCH NUMBER 959 WILL NOT BE
IN EFFECT AFTER 250 PM CST. CONTINUE...WW 960...WW 961...


DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS ARE INTENSIFYING AHEAD OF SURFACE
BOUNDARY ACROSS SWRN AR WHERE LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATES ARE QUITE
STEEP...ON THE ORDER OF 8C/KM...AND SBCAPES EXCEED 1000J/KG.  THIS
ACTIVITY WILL SOON BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL LIKELY.

AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 2.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60
KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 24025.


...HART/DARROW

365,0912 325,0904 325,0930 365,0935

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 17, 7:48 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCalhoun, Columbia, Hempstead, Lafayette, Little River, Miller and 3 more87 min
Nov 18, 1:29 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArkansas, Clay, Cleveland, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross and 21 more3 hr
Nov 18, 1:55 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCArkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Chicot, Clay and 34 more6 hr
Nov 18, 9:55 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Conway, Crawford and 22 more65 min
Nov 18, 10:55 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBenton, Calhoun, Clark, Conway, Crawford, Dallas and 24 more5 hr
Nov 18, 1:11 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBenton, Clark, Conway, Crawford, Dallas, Franklin and 22 more2 hr
Nov 18, 4:44 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArkansas, Ashley, Baxter, Boone, Bradley, Calhoun and 34 more2 hr
Nov 18, 2:08 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Amite, Claiborne, Copiah, Franklin, Hinds and 9 more97 min
Nov 18, 2:25 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCAdams, Amite, Claiborne, Copiah, Franklin, Hinds and 18 more6 hr
Nov 18, 4:48 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Amite, Attala, Carroll, Claiborne, Copiah and 29 more117 min
Nov 18, 6:08 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlcorn, Attala, Benton, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Choctaw and 46 more2 hr
Nov 18, 6:55 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCAlcorn, Amite, Attala, Benton, Calhoun, Carroll and 56 more5 hr
Nov 18, 10:30 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGeorge, Greene, Harrison, Jackson90 min
Nov 18, 11:25 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCGeorge, Greene, Jackson6 hr
Nov 18, 7:35 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCape Girardeau, Mississippi, Scott115 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Arkansas, 2003Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Missouri, 2003Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Mississippi, 2003Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.