Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 368, NWS Tulsa, OK

August 3, 2003Madison County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 3, 2003, 7:40 AM CDT for Madison County, Arkansas. It was in force for 65 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
Aug 3, 2003, 7:40 AM CDT (12:40 UTC)
Expired
Aug 3, 2003, 8:45 AM CDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Madison County, AR

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 nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 114 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 2003-08-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1065 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2003-08-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 44 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
1065 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-59 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1236 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
44 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
129 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
4.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

751 
WUUS54 KTSA 031240
SVRTUL
ARC087-031345-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
740 AM CDT SUN AUG 3 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN MADISON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 845 AM CDT

* AT 740 AM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 3
  MILES SOUTH OF WITTER...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...ST PAUL...
  PETTIGREW...BOSTON AND WITTER.

HAIL TO THE SIZE OF QUARTERS AND WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH CAN BE 
EXPECTED IN THE WARNED AREA. STAY INDOORS AND AWAY FROM WINDOWS 
UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

LAT...LON 3599 9378 3581 9380 3573 9315 3598 9312

$$

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 Aug 3, 4:06 AM CDT, 3 hours 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 3, 4:06 AM CDT, 3 hours 34 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA
406 AM CDT SUN AUG 3 2003

DISC...
-------------------------------------------
SUBTLE FEATURES ALL TEAM TO PROVIDE ANOTHER
BUSY NIGHT.  MINOR WAVE IN FLOW TRANSPARENT
AT H500 BUT HINTED AT IN THERMAL FIELD H700
LEVEL... ALONG WITH WEAK LLJ AND CONVECTIVE
BOUNDARY RESIDUE...AND AMPLE MOISTURE YIELD
POTENT THUNDER.  SATELLITE / LIGHTNING DATA
SHOW LINEAR NEBRASKA/KANSAS CONVECTION ALSO
SLIDING SOUTH.  PUSHED POPS INTO LIKELY CAT
FOR MORNING HOURS MOST PLACES.  00Z GFS QPF
BULLSEYE VALID 18Z / 00Z INITIALLY REGARDED
AS OVER-JUICED FEEDBACK...HOWEVER GIVEN THE
CURRENT RADAR PICTURE... LOOKING BETTER ALL
THE TIME.  GFS EVEN DEVELOPS MINOR H500 00Z
KINK AROUND TXK.  MAX TEMPS CLOSER MET THAN
MAV AGAIN TODAY. EVENTUALLY GREAT LAKES LOW
HEADS FOR QUEBEC AND WEST COAST LOW GIVES A
BOOST TO HEIGHTS OVER ROCKIES.   AS HEIGHTS
BUILD..THE BULK OF NORTHWEST FLOW WOES WILL
MIGRATE EAST.  GW
--------------------------------------------
TUL   97   75   94   76  / 70   40   20   20
FSM   93   72   92   74  / 70   30   20   20
MLC   93   73   93   74  / 60   20   20   20
BVO   96   70   93   73  / 50   40   20   20
FYV   87   68   87   69  / 60   40   20   20
BYV   90   70   86   70  / 50   30   20   20
MKO   95   74   93   74  / 70   30   20   20
MIO   94   72   91   72  / 50   30   20   20
F10   96   74   94   74  / 70   20   20   20
HHW   93   74   94   74  / 60   20   20   20

FORECAST ID= 21

.TSA...
AR...NONE.
OK...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 3, 6:00 AM CDT, 1 hour 40 minutes before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-041100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
600 AM CDT SUN AUG 03 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK

...CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND WEST
CENTRAL ARKANSAS THIS MORNING...
...SLIGHT CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT...

ANOTHER COMPLEX OF STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH ACROSS SOUTHEAST
OKLAHOMA AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS EARLY THIS MORNING. LARGE HAIL
WILL BE THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS
WILL DEVELOP ALONG AN EXISTING OUTFLOW BOUNDARY...MAINLY WEST OF
HIGHWAY 75. A FEW OF THESE STORMS MAY ALSO PRODUCE LARGE HAIL. THE
SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL DIMINISH LATER THIS MORNING AS THE LOW
LEVEL JET WEAKENS. HOWEVER...ADDITIONAL STORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS
AFTERNOON ALONG ANY EXISTING OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES AS THE ATMOSPHERE
DESTABILIZES WITH DAYTIME HEATING.

ANOTHER ROUND OF STORMS IS POSSIBLE AGAIN TONIGHT AS THE LOW LEVEL
JET STRENGTHENS AND INTERACTS WITH THE SURFACE BOUNDARIES IN PLACE.
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGER STORMS.

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...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.

THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES INTO TUESDAY AS A NORTHWEST
FLOW ALOFT REMAINS OVER THE AREA. HIGH PRESSURE WILL RETURN BY
MIDWEEK AND BRING A RETURN TO HOT AND DRY WEATHER.

.SPOTTER / EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT...SPOTTER
ACTIVATION WILL BE REQUIRED ACROSS SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND WEST
CENTRAL ARKANSAS EARLY THIS MORNING...AND MAY BE REQUIRED AGAIN
TONIGHT.

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

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 3, 2:33 AM CDT, 5 hours 7 minutes before
OKZ054>055-057>076-031300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
233 AM CDT SUN AUG 3 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
833 UNTIL 800 AM CDT SUNDAY MORNING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS:

IN OKLAHOMA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 23 COUNTIES...
IN EAST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA:

CHEROKEE              MUSKOGEE              OKFUSKEE
SEQUOYAH

IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA:

ADAIR                 CRAIG                 CREEK
DELAWARE              MAYES                 OKMULGEE
OSAGE                 OTTAWA                PAWNEE
ROGERS                TULSA                 WAGONER
WASHINGTON            NOWATA

IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA:

HASKELL               LATIMER               LE FLORE
MCINTOSH              PITTSBURG

THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF BARTLESVILLE...BRISTOW...BROKEN ARROW...
CLAREMORE...EUFAULA...JAY...MCALESTER...MIAMI...MUSKOGEE...OKEMAH...
OKMULGEE...PAWHUSKA...PAWNEE...POTEAU...PRYOR...SALLISAW...SAND
SPRINGS...STIGLER...STILWELL...TAHLEQUAH...TULSA...VINITA...WAGONER
AND WILBURTON.
Local storm report, Aug 3, 4:30 AM CDT, 3 hours 10 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
0430 AM CDT SUN AUG 03 2003

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

0400 AM    DEPEW                     OK   GOLFBALL HAIL
08/03/03   CREEK                          REPORTED BY BRISTOW EM
Local storm report, Aug 3, 7:25 AM CDT, 15 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
0725 AM CDT SUN AUG 03 2003

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

0551 AM    VAN BUREN                 AR   WIND DAMAGE
08/03/03   CRAWFORD                       LARGE TREE LIMBS AND POWER
                                          LINES DOWN...REPORTED BY
                                          VAN BUREN PD

0549 AM    FORT SMITH                AR   WIND DAMAGE
08/03/03   SEBASTIAN                      LARGE TREE LIMBS AND POWER
                                          LINES DOWN...REPORTED BY
                                          FORT SMITH PD

0311 AM    DRUMRIGHT                 OK   1.75 IN HAIL
08/03/03   CREEK                          REPORTED BY DRUMRIGHT PD

0213 AM    CLEVELAND                 OK   0.88 IN HAIL
08/03/03   PAWNEE                         REPORTED BY CLEVELAND PD

0157 AM    6 W HOMINY                OK   1.75 IN HAIL
08/03/03   OSAGE                          REPORTED BY HOMINY PD

RBD

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 3, 5:21 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACrawford, Sebastian54 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arkansas, 2003Every 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.