Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 156
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 24, 2003, 1:00 PM CDT for 31 counties in Arkansas; 4 parishes in Louisiana. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 24, 2003, 1:00 PM CDT (18:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 24, 2003, 8:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 35 counties
Arkansas County, AR, Bradley County, AR, Calhoun County, AR, Clark County, AR, Cleveland County, AR, Columbia County, AR, Dallas County, AR, Desha County, AR, Drew County, AR, Faulkner County, AR, Garland County, AR, Grant County, AR, Hempstead County, AR, Hot Spring County, AR, Howard County, AR, Jackson County, AR, Jefferson County, AR, Lafayette County, AR, Lincoln County, AR, Lonoke County, AR, Miller County, AR, Monroe County, AR, Nevada County, AR, Ouachita County, AR, Pike County, AR, Prairie County, AR, Pulaski County, AR, Saline County, AR, Union County, AR, White County, AR, Woodruff County, AR, Bossier Parish, LA, Caddo Parish, LA, Claiborne Parish, LA, Webster Parish, LA
The radar
The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 106 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:04 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
20 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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, 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, 4:49 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, 5:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | White | 33 min |
| Apr 24, 5:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Lonoke | 36 min |
| Apr 24, 5:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Jackson | 35 min |
| Apr 24, 5:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Woodruff | 32 min |
| Apr 24, 6:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Grant | 34 min |
| Apr 24, 6:51 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | LZK | Independence, Jackson | 119 min |
| Apr 24, 7:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Lonoke | 42 min |
| Apr 24, 7:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Jefferson | 37 min |
| Apr 24, 7:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Union | 53 min |
| Apr 24, 7:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Columbia | 61 min |
| Apr 24, 7:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Calhoun | 38 min |
| Apr 24, 8:00 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SHV | Union | 30 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
Shreveport, LA (KSHV), launched 12:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 190 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1853 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -92 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 617 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 36 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 320 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 348 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.8
- Supercell composite
- 10.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 241801
SEL6
SPC WW 241800
ARZ000-LAZ000-250100-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 156
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
100 PM CDT THU APR 24 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHERN AND EASTERN ARKANSAS
NORTHWEST LOUISIANA
EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 100 PM UNTIL
800 PM CDT.
...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...
DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...
THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE
POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 80 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 60 MILES EAST OF LITTLE ROCK ARKANSAS TO 20
MILES SOUTH OF TEXARKANA ARKANSAS.
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND 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.
DISCUSSION...THE LOW LEVELS HAVE DESTABILIZED RAPIDLY SINCE MID
MORNING ACROSS SRN AND CENTRAL AR...WHERE MLCAPE HAS INCREASED TO
2000-3000 J/KG. VERTICAL SHEAR REMAINS SUFFICIENT FOR SUPERCELLS
OVER THE AR/NW LA AREA...WHERE CONVECTIVE INITIATION IS EXPECTED IN
THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. THOUGH LOW-LEVEL SHEAR IS NOT
PARTICULARLY STRONG...THE LARGE CAPE/HIGH DEW POINTS AND LIKELIHOOD
OF DISCRETE STORMS WILL SUPPORT THE THREAT OF VERY LARGE HAIL AND A
COUPLE OF STRONG TORNADOES DURING THE AFTERNOON/EVENING...ESPECIALLY
ACROSS AR.
AVIATION...TORDADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25030.
...THOMPSON
333,0911 320,0940 341,0940 355,0911SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 11:43 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Howard, Lafayette, Little River, Miller, Polk, Sevier | 2 hr |
| Apr 24, 2:41 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Columbia, Lafayette, Miller, Nevada, Ouachita | 2 hr |
| Apr 24, 10:12 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Arkansas, Cleburne, Conway, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross and 20 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 24, 12:47 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Arkansas, Bradley, Calhoun, Clark, Cleburne, Cleveland and 38 more | 3 hr |
| Apr 24, 2:05 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Ashley, Chicot | 6 hr |
| Apr 24, 2:46 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Chicot | 119 min |
| Apr 24, 3:25 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baxter, Boone, Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Fulton and 19 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 24, 3:28 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Arkansas, Clark, Cleburne, Cleveland, Conway, Craighead and 32 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 24, 5:52 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Arkansas, Baxter, Boone, Clay, Cleburne, Cleveland and 36 more | 113 min |
| Apr 24, 6:35 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Arkansas, Baxter, Clay, Cleburne, Cleveland, Conway and 33 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 24, 6:49 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Chicot | 56 min |
| Apr 24, 6:30 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia and 17 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 24, 6:40 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia and 17 more | 4 hr |
| Apr 24, 9:39 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia, Grant, LaSalle, Tensas and 1 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 24, 11:40 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia and 10 more | 65 min |
| Apr 24, 5:17 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Orleans, Saint Tammany, Washington | 118 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 2003Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2003Every tornado 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.