Alert archive / Arkansas / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 5, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 16, 2003Madison County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this flash flood warning at May 16, 2003, 5:34 PM CDT for Madison County, Arkansas. It was in force for 4 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 16, 2003, 5:34 PM CDT (22:34 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 2003, 9:30 PM CDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Madison County, AR

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 83 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:37 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 nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 111 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2003-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 189 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2003-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 178 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
189 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-176 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
777 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
178 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
168 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGUS54 KTSA 162234
FFWTUL
ARC087-170230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
534 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR
  MADISON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 930 PM CDT

* AT 534 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN 7
  MILES WEST OF ST PAUL...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH. RADAR INDICATES
  THAT 3 INCHES OF RAIN HAS ALREADY FALLEN OVER THE WARNED   AREA.   
  ANOTHER 1 TO 2 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH 930 PM CDT.

* SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE AFFECTED BY THE HEAVY RAIN
  INCLUDE HUNTSVILLE...ST PAUL...AURORA...WITTER AND JAPTON.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD TO
UNKNOWN DEPTHS. IT ONLY TAKES TWO FEET OF RUSHING WATER TO CARRY AWAY
MOST SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND PICKUPS. TAKE A DIFFERENT ROUTE TO
REACH YOUR DESTINATION OR WAIT UNTIL THE WATER RECEDES. REMEMBER...
MOST FLOOD RELATED DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.

LAT...LON 3582 9405 3569 9389 3599 9346 3617 9367
1 follow-up statement
000 
WGUS74 KTSA 170035
FFSTUL
ARC087-170230-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
733 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 2003

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR MADISON COUNTY UNTIL 930 PM
   CDT...

AT 733 PM CDT...RADAR SHOWED THAT THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL WAS MOVING 
OUT OF MADISON COUNTY. HOWEVER...LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN WILL 
CONTINUE WITH ANOTHER 1/4 TO 1/2 INCH OF RAIN POSSIBLE THROUGH 930 
PM. THUS WATER WILL BE SLOW TO RECEDE ACROSS THE COUNTY.

SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE AFFECTED BY POSSIBLE 
FLOODING INCLUDE HARMONY...HUNTSVILLE...ST PAUL...
AURORA...KINGSTON...COMBS...BRASHEARS...PATRICK...DELANEY...
CROSSES...WITTER...JAPTON...GEORGETOWN...MARBLE AND ALABAM.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD TO
UNKNOWN DEPTHS. IT ONLY TAKES TWO FEET OF RUSHING WATER TO CARRY AWAY
MOST SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND PICKUPS. TAKE A DIFFERENT ROUTE TO
REACH YOUR DESTINATION OR WAIT UNTIL THE WATER RECEDES. REMEMBER...
MOST FLOOD RELATED DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.

LAT...LON 3586 9401 3573 9385 3604 9342 3621 9363

The office that day

Everything else NWS Tulsa, OK issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 5:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSABenton, Crawford, Sebastian, Washington62 min
May 16, 5:56 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACarroll, Franklin, Madison79 min
May 16, 6:45 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACrawford, Sebastian75 min
May 16, 6:52 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACarroll, Franklin, Madison23 min
May 16, 1:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAFranklin, Madison54 min
May 16, 4:04 PM CDTTornado WarningTSACrawford, Sebastian56 min
May 16, 4:27 PM CDTTornado WarningTSAWashington63 min
May 16, 4:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAFranklin55 min
May 16, 4:58 PM CDTTornado WarningTSACrawford47 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arkansas, 2003Every flash flood 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.