Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 385, NWS Tulsa, OK

August 21, 2003Crawford County, Arkansas

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 21, 2003, 4:52 PM CDT for Crawford County, Arkansas. It was in force for 38 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 21, 2003, 4:52 PM CDT (21:52 UTC)
Expired
Aug 21, 2003, 5:30 PM CDT
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS Tulsa, OK
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Crawford County, AR

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 51 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:54 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 nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 135 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 2003-08-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1352 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 2003-08-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 29 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1352 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-141 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1499 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
29 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
63 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS54 KTSA 212152
SVRTUL
ARC033-212230-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
452 PM CDT THU AUG 21 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN CRAWFORD COUNTY IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

* UNTIL 530 PM CDT

* AT 452 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5
  MILES NORTHWEST OF CHESTER...STATIONARY.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE...
  MOUNTAINBURG...CHESTER AND LEE CREEK.

HAIL TO THE SIZE OF PENNIES 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 3575 9406 3585 9422 3569 9442 3559 9413

$$

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 21, 2:50 PM CDT, 2 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 21, 2:50 PM CDT, 2 hours 2 minutes before
EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA
250 PM CDT THU AUG 21 2003

LATEST SURFACE DATA AND SATELLITE IMAGERY PLACE A WEAK COLD FRONT
BISECTING KANSAS FROM NE-SW WITH A MEAGER CUMULUS FIELD NOTED ALONG
THE BOUNDARY.  AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS HAVE AGAIN FORMED OVER AR
WITH THE PRIMARY AXIS SHIFTED SLIGHTLY FURTHER WEST THAN PREVIOUS
DAYS.  RADAR TRENDS WILL DETERMINE ANY EVENING WORDING FOR WESTERN
ARKANSAS LOCATIONS.

WEAK FRONT WILL ATTEMPT TO SLIDE SOUTH OVERNIGHT HOWEVER BELIEVE IT
WILL REMAIN NORTH OF THE KS/OK BORDER FOR MUCH OF THE PERIOD.  THUS
WILL CONTINUE WITH NEAR PERSISTENT OVERNIGHT LOW FORECAST DESPITE
WEAKENING GRADIENT PROVIDING CALM WINDS TOWARD MORNING.  WEAKENING
UPPER LEVEL DYNAMICS AND ASSOCIATED DECREASE IN LOW LEVEL JET
STRENGTH HAS YIELDED A DECREASE IN OVERNIGHT CONVECTIVE TRENDS.
THIS WILL CONTINUE AS SUBSTANTIAL FORCING SHIFTS WELL TO THE NORTH
AND EAST KEEPING PRECIP CHANCES ABSENT FROM TEXT PRODUCTS.

WEAK BOUNDARY TO SLIP INTO NORTHERN AREAS BY MID MORNING TOMORROW
HOWEVER HEATING MAY ACTUALLY BE ENHANCED WITHIN SURFACE TROUGH AS
OBSERVED TODAY.  THIS WILL FORCE A CONTINUATION OF THE HEAT ADVISORY
FOR TULSA METRO AREA.  PRECIP CHANCES WILL INCREASE SLIGHTLY BY
AFTERNOON WITHIN THE VICINITY OF THE SURFACE TROUGH AS WEAK
CONVERGENCE AND CONVECTIVE TEMPS COMBINE FORCES.  WILL ALSO CONTINUE
PRECIP CHANCES OVER ARKANSAS AS AIRMASS CHARACTERISTICS TO CHANGE
LITTLE.  WILL HOPE FOR SLIGHTLY LOWER DEWPOINTS ACROSS THE NORTH
TOMORROW NIGHT AND ALONG WITH LIGHT WINDS WILL ALLOW LOWS TO FALL TO
MORE SEASONAL VALUES.

NOT EXCITED ABOUT PRECIP CHANCES ON SATURDAY AS EXPANDING UPPER HIGH
CENTERED OVERHEAD.  NW AR MAY BE THE EXCEPTION WITH REMNANT SURFACE
BOUNDARY NEARBY.  EASTERLY WINDS WILL ALSO HELP KNOCK A FEW DEGREES
OFF THE HEAT.

WARMING AND DRY CONDITIONS RETURN BY SUNDAY AS UPPER HIGH EXPANDS
OVER THE CENTRAL U.S.  RIDGE AXIS MAY BECOME ELONGATED AND CENTERED
SLIGHTLY TO THE NORTH ALLOWING FOR A DEEPER EASTERLY FLOW AND
KEEPING TEMPS JUST SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL.  POTENTIAL MID-WEEK
FRONTAL BOUNDARY STILL EVIDENT IN EXTENDED MODELS TO VARYING
DEGREES.  MODEL ENSEMBLES SUPPORT A MORE NORTHERLY POSITION OF
WESTERLIES WHICH WOULD LIKELY KEEP ANY BOUNDARY WELL TO THE
NORTH...SO LITTLE DAY TO DAY CHANGE REFLECTED IN THE EXTENDED.

PRELIM NUMBERS:

TUL    79  100   75   97 /  10   20   10   10
FSM    74   99   75   96 /  10   20   10   10
MLC    75   99   76   99 /   5   10   10   10
BVO    73  101   71   96 /  10   20   10   10
FYV    69   95   68   93 /  10   20   10   20
BYV    69   94   68   91 /  10   20   10   20
MKO    75  100   75   96 /  10   20   10   10
MIO    74   99   69   92 /  10   20   10   10
F10    75   99   75   98 /  10   20   10   10
HHW    75   97   76   97 /   5    5   10   10

FORECAST ID= 07

.TSA...
AR...NONE.
OK...HEAT ADVISORY THROUGH FRIDAY FOR ZONE OKZ060.
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 21, 1:00 PM CDT, 3 hours 52 minutes before
ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-221100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
100 PM CDT THU AUG 21 2003

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

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS AND FAR SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA THIS AFTERNOON.  THIS
ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO DISSIPATE BY EARLY EVENING WITH THE LOSS OF
SURFACE HEATING. ADDITIONAL STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP ALONG A COLD FRONT THAT IS CURRENTLY PUSHING SLOWLY SOUTH
ACROSS NORTHERN KANSAS AND MISSOURI. THESE STORMS HOWEVER WILL
LIKELY DISSIPATE BY LATE EVENING BEFORE REACHING THE AREA.

A HEAT ADVISORY IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR TULSA COUNTY THROUGH FRIDAY.
SEE /OKCNPWTUL/ FOR DETAILS. HEAT INDICES THIS AFTERNOON AND FRIDAY
WILL RUN IN THE 104 TO 108 RANGE...WITH OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES ONLY
FALLING TO NEAR OR JUST BELOW 80 DEGREES IN THE TULSA METRO.

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...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY
LOW CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE FRIDAY AS THE COLD FRONT
WILL BE LOCATED ACROSS FAR NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST
ARKANSAS. WHILE THIS FRONT EXPECTED TO WASHOUT AS IT MOVES SOUTHEAST
ACROSS OKLAHOMA FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...LOW CHANCES FOR STORMS
WILL CONTINUE OUT AHEAD OF THE FRONT OR ANY OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES LAID
OUT BY PREVIOUS CONVECTION. AN UPPER RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL
BUILD IN FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEKEND AND INTO NEXT WEEK...
RESULTING IN HOT AND DRY CONDITIONS.

.SPOTTER / EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT.

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

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 21, 3:17 PM CDT, 1 hour 35 minutes before
ARZ010-212100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
317 PM CDT THU AUG 21 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TULSA HAS ISSUED A
SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY EFFECTIVE UNTIL 400 PM CDT
FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTY:

IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
     WASHINGTON

AT 317 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER
TUTTLE...MOVING NORTHWEST ABOUT 10 MPH. SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL BE
AFFECTED BY THIS STORM INCLUDE...SHADY GROVE...TUTTLE...MAYFIELD...
HARMON...GOSHEN...JOHNSON AND SONORA.

THIS STORM WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO
40 MPH.
Local storm report, Aug 21, 3:57 PM CDT, 55 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
0357 PM CDT THU AUG 21 2003

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

0350 PM    RUDD                      AR   1.75 IN HAIL
08/21/03   CARROLL

CAS
Local storm report, Aug 21, 4:31 PM CDT, 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
0431 PM CDT THU AUG 21 2003

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

0425 PM    3 N OZARK                 AR   0.75 IN HAIL
08/21/03   FRANKLIN

0415 PM    2 N OZARK                 AR   60 MPH TSTORM WIND
08/21/03   FRANKLIN

BM

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 21, 3:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAMadison42 min
Aug 21, 3:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAFranklin52 min
Aug 21, 4:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAWashington51 min
Aug 21, 4:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSACarroll50 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.