Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 299
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 8, 2003, 8:25 AM CDT for 24 counties in Arkansas. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 8, 2003, 8:25 AM CDT (13:25 UTC)
- Expired
- May 8, 2003, 1:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 24 counties
Baxter County, AR, Boone County, AR, Cleburne County, AR, Conway County, AR, Craighead County, AR, Crittenden County, AR, Cross County, AR, Faulkner County, AR, Greene County, AR, Independence County, AR, Izard County, AR, Jackson County, AR, Lawrence County, AR, Marion County, AR, Newton County, AR, Poinsett County, AR, Pope County, AR, Searcy County, AR, Sharp County, AR, St. Francis County, AR, Stone County, AR, Van Buren County, AR, White County, AR, Woodruff County, AR
The radar
The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 107 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:28 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
5 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 8:36 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Pope | 44 min |
| May 8, 8:56 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | LZK | Pope | 49 min |
| May 8, 9:42 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Searcy, Van Buren | 43 min |
| May 8, 10:04 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | LZK | Van Buren | 61 min |
| May 8, 10:30 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Cleburne, Stone | 60 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
Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 1.4 hours before the alert went out and 192 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
- 41 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -340 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1727 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 64 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 501 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 564 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 081321
SEL9
SPC WW 081325
ARZ000-081800-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 299
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
825 AM CDT THU MAY 8 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHERN ARKANSAS
EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 825 AM UNTIL
100 PM CDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 45 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF JONESBORO ARKANSAS
TO 45 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF HARRISON 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.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO
WATCH NUMBER 298. WATCH NUMBER 298 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 825
AM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 297...
DISCUSSION...SUPERCELLS MAY CONTINUE EWD ACROSS NRN AR ALONG SURFACE
FRONT NOW EXTENDING FROM NORTH OF LIT TO JUST NORTH OF MEM. AIR
MASS REMAINS MODERATELY UNSTABLE AND LOW TO MID LEVEL SHEAR IS
FAVORABLE FOR TORNADIC SUPERCELLS IF ACTIVITY REMAINS NEAR SURFACE
BASED. VERY LARGE HAIL IS ALSO A THREAT WITH THESE STORMS.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26030.
...EVANS
350,0900 350,0932 361,0932 361,0900SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 1:18 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Benton, Garland, Grant, Hot Spring, Lincoln, Montgomery and 2 more | 3 hr |
| May 8, 1:55 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Benton, Carroll | 5 hr |
| May 8, 5:02 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Crawford, Franklin, Howard, Johnson, Logan, Madison and 8 more | 2 hr |
| May 8, 6:20 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Crawford, Franklin, Logan, Montgomery, Scott, Sebastian and 1 more | 3 hr |
| May 8, 7:33 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Montgomery, Scott and 2 more | 87 min |
| May 8, 9:55 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Mississippi | 3 hr |
| May 8, 10:21 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clay, Cleburne, Craighead, Greene, Independence, Izard and 8 more | 84 min |
| May 8, 10:25 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Greene, Mississippi and 3 more | 6 hr |
| May 8, 11:59 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clay, Cleburne, Craighead, Greene, Independence, Izard and 8 more | 2 hr |
| May 8, 12:24 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Greene, Mississippi and 2 more | 2 hr |
| May 8, 5:31 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan and 4 more | 59 min |
| May 8, 5:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Benton, Crawford, Sebastian, Washington | 5 hr |
| May 8, 6:38 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Benton, Crawford, Washington | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 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.