Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 120, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 6, 2003Sebastian County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 6, 2003, 7:07 PM CDT for Sebastian County, Arkansas. It was in force for 53 min. 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 6, 2003, 7:07 PM CDT (00:07 UTC)
Expired: May 6, 2003, 8:00 PM CDT
In force: 53 min
Issued by: NWS Tulsa, OK
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Sebastian County, AR

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 11 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:09 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 6, 3:05 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr
May 6, 6:55 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 183 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: 2206 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1529 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 71 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 141 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 234 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.5
Supercell composite: 14.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

917 
WUUS54 KTSA 070007
SVRTUL
ARC131-070100-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
706 PM CDT TUE MAY 6 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  SEBASTIAN COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 800 PM CDT

* AT 706 PM CDT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WINDS UP TO
  75 MPH WERE LOCATED ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 15 MILES
  NORTHWEST OF BONANZA TO 21 MILES WEST OF HACKETT...MOVING EAST AT
  30 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED INCLUDE... FORT SMITH...HARTFORD...
  HACKETT...GREENWOOD...BARLING...LAVACA...HUNTINGTON...MIDLAND...
  BURNVILLE...EXCELSIOR...MANSFIELD...BONANZA...JENNY LIND AND
  BLOOMER.

DAMAGING WINDS ARE LIKELY WITH THESE STORMS...MOVE TO A SAFE PLACE
NOW. MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES ARE ESPECIALLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO HIGH
WINDS AND MAY BE OVERTURNED.

IN ADDITION TO DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL IS ALSO LIKELY WITH THESE
STORMS...MOVE TO A SAFE PLACE NOW.

A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA. TORNADOES CAN
DEVELOP SUDDENLY FROM SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. BE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY
CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AS STORMS APPROACH.

LAT...LON 3540 9409 3510 9419 3508 9424 3502 9423
          3502 9444 3540 9443 3542 9435 3538 9434
          3535 9429 3535 9422 3538 9418 3538 9414
          3541 9414

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 Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 6, 6:50 PM CDT, 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 6, 6:50 PM CDT, 17 minutes before

MESOSCALE FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA
650 PM CDT TUE MAY 6 2003

ROTATING STORM MOVING ACROSS SOUTHERN WASHINGTON CO IS A COMPLEX HP
CELL.  ITS THE PRODUCT OF SEVERAL CELL MERGES.  STORM-RELATIVE
HELICITY IS MAXIMIZED IN ITS PATH INTO SOUTHERN MADISON COUNTY...SO
A TORNADO THREAT SHOUL PERSIST WITH THIS CELL FOR THE NEXT HOUR OR
TWO.

A S-R HELICITY MAX ALSO EXISTS ACROSS FAR SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA IN
PUSHMATAHA COUNTY.  THE CELLS MOVING INTO THIS COUNTY SHOULD
MAINTAIN A SUPERCELL STRUCTURE FOR THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO.

FORECAST ID= 08

.TSA...
AR...NONE.
OK...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, May 6, 1:00 PM CDT, 6 hours 7 minutes before

ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-071100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
100 PM CDT TUE MAY 6 2003

THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS AS WELL AS
MUCH OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK

...SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING
   ACROSS PORTIONS OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS...

SURFACE LOW PRESSURE WAS LOCATED OVER NORTH-CENTRAL OKLAHOMA EARLY
THIS AFTERNOON WITH A DRY LINE EXTENDING SOUTHWEST INTO SOUTHWEST
OKLAHOMA.  THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY DEVELOP ALONG THE DRY LINE BY
MID AFTERNOON ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA...RAPIDLY BECOMING SEVERE.
SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED WITH HAIL UP TO THE SIZE OF
BASEBALLS...DAMAGING DOWNBURST WINDS TO 70 MPH AND A FEW TORNADOES.
THE GREATEST TORNADO THREAT THROUGH THIS EVENING WILL BE ACROSS FAR
NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS...NORTH OF A
BARTLESVILLE...FORT SMITH LINE.

WARNING PROBABILITIES FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES CAN BE
FOUND IN THE OUTLOOK SECTION AT: WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA. GIVEN
PROBABILITIES REPRESENT THE POTENTIAL FOR A WARNING TO BE ISSUED AT
YOUR LOCATION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY
AN ACTIVE SPRING WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND AS A
SERIES OF DISTURBANCES MOVES ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND A
SURFACE BOUNDARY REMAINS OVER THE AREA. IT APPEARS THE BEST CHANCES
OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL OCCUR WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY...AND
AGAIN ON SATURDAY. A MORE STABLE PATTERN MAY FINALLY TAKE OVER BY
EARLY NEXT WEEK.

.SPOTTER / EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON.   A TORNADO
WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST
ARKANSAS UNTIL 700 PM.  EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD
CONTINUE TO CLOSELY MONITOR THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS...AS
WARNINGS WILL LIKELY BE ISSUED LATER THIS AFTERNOON.

ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT...
WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 6, 5:25 PM CDT, 1 hour 42 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
0525 PM CDT TUE MAY 06 2003

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

0521 PM    7 E VINITA                OK   2.75 IN HAIL
05/06/03   CRAIG

SP

Local storm report, May 6, 5:39 PM CDT, 1 hour 28 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
0539 PM CDT TUE MAY 06 2003

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

0514 PM    LOCUST GROVE              OK   0.75 IN HAIL
05/06/03   MAYES

0512 PM    2 S LOCUST GROVE          OK   1.00 IN HAIL
05/06/03   MAYES

SP

Local storm report, May 6, 5:55 PM CDT, 1 hour 12 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
0555 PM CDT TUE MAY 06 2003

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

0515 PM    4 S MIAMI                 OK   1.75 IN HAIL
05/06/03   OTTAWA

SP

Local storm report, May 6, 6:55 PM CDT, 12 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
0655 PM CDT TUE MAY 06 2003

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

0649 PM    WINSLOW                   AR   0.88 IN HAIL
05/06/03   WASHINGTON

0648 PM    5 W MC CURTAIN            OK   75 MPH TSTORM WIND
05/06/03   HASKELL

0648 PM    MC CURTAIN                OK   0.75 IN HAIL
05/06/03   HASKELL

SP

Special weather statement, May 6, 7:00 PM CDT, 7 minutes before

ARZ001>002-010>011-019>020-029-OKZ049-053-069-072>076-070500-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
700 PM CDT TUE MAY 6 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED TORNADO WATCH #277 UNTIL
MIDNIGHT CDT WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS:

IN ARKANSAS THIS WATCH INCLUDES 7 COUNTIES...
IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS:

BENTON                CARROLL               CRAWFORD
MADISON               WASHINGTON

IN WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS:

FRANKLIN              SEBASTIAN

IN OKLAHOMA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 8 COUNTIES...
IN EAST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA:

SEQUOYAH

IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA:

ADAIR

IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA:

CHOCTAW               HASKELL               LATIMER
LE FLORE              PITTSBURG             PUSHMATAHA

THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF ANTLERS...BENTONVILLE...BERRYVILLE...
CEDARVILLE...CLAYTON...EUREKA SPRINGS...FAYETTEVILLE...FORT SMITH...
HUGO...HUNTSVILLE...MCALESTER...MOUNTAINBURG...NATURAL DAM...OZARK...
POTEAU...ROGERS...SALLISAW...SILOAM SPRINGS...SPRINGDALE...STIGLER...
STILWELL...VAN BUREN AND WILBURTON.

Local storm report, May 6, 7:04 PM CDT, 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
0704 PM CDT TUE MAY 06 2003

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

0703 PM    BOKOSHE                   OK   0.75 IN HAIL
05/06/03   LE FLORE

SP

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 6, 7:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Crawford	49 min
May 6, 7:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Franklin	76 min
May 6, 7:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Sebastian	38 min
May 6, 9:05 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Sebastian	40 min
May 6, 10:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Washington	80 min
May 7, 12:34 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Sebastian	41 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.