Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Watches in 2004

Tornado Watch 336

May 30, 20045 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 30, 2004, 3:20 PM CDT for 5 states. It was in force for 8 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 30, 2004, 3:20 PM CDT (20:20 UTC)
Expired: May 30, 2004, 11:00 PM CDT
In force: 8 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 85 counties

Arkansas County, AR, Calhoun County, AR, Clay County, AR, Cleburne County, AR, Cleveland County, AR, Craighead County, AR, Crittenden County, AR, Cross County, AR, Dallas County, AR, Desha County, AR, Drew County, AR, Faulkner County, AR, Fulton County, AR, Grant County, AR, Greene County, AR, Independence County, AR, Izard County, AR, Jackson County, AR, Jefferson County, AR, Lawrence County, AR, Lee County, AR, Lincoln County, AR, Lonoke County, AR, Mississippi County, AR, Monroe County, AR, Ouachita County, AR, Phillips County, AR, Poinsett County, AR, Prairie County, AR, Pulaski County, AR, Randolph County, AR, Saline County, AR, Sharp County, AR, St. Francis County, AR, Stone County, AR, White County, AR, Woodruff County, AR, Calloway County, KY, Fulton County, KY, Dunklin County, MO, New Madrid County, MO, Pemiscot County, MO, Ripley County, MO, Alcorn County, MS, Benton County, MS, Bolivar County, MS, Calhoun County, MS, Chickasaw County, MS, Coahoma County, MS, DeSoto County, MS, Grenada County, MS, Lafayette County, MS, Marshall County, MS, Panola County, MS, Pontotoc County, MS, Quitman County, MS, Sunflower County, MS, Tallahatchie County, MS, Tate County, MS, Tippah County, MS, Tunica County, MS, Union County, MS, Webster County, MS, Yalobusha County, MS, Benton County, TN, Carroll County, TN, Chester County, TN, Crockett County, TN, Decatur County, TN, Dyer County, TN, Fayette County, TN, Gibson County, TN, Hardeman County, TN, Haywood County, TN, Henderson County, TN, Henry County, TN, Lake County, TN, Lauderdale County, TN, Madison County, TN, McNairy County, TN, Obion County, TN, Shelby County, TN, Stewart County, TN, Tipton County, TN, Weakley County, TN

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 113 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:23 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

65 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 30, 4:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Fulton	44 min
May 30, 5:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Baxter, Fulton, Izard	52 min
May 30, 5:48 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	PAH	Ripley	57 min
May 30, 6:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Independence, Jackson, White	44 min
May 30, 6:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Randolph	36 min
May 30, 7:08 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Ouachita	57 min
May 30, 7:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Jefferson	54 min
May 30, 7:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Craighead, Poinsett	49 min
May 30, 7:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PAH	Mississippi, New Madrid	49 min
May 30, 7:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Clay, Greene	48 min
May 30, 7:31 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LZK	Ouachita	34 min
May 30, 7:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Dunklin, Pemiscot	40 min
May 30, 7:38 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Clay	37 min
May 30, 7:40 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Dunklin	35 min
May 30, 7:43 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	PAH	New Madrid	47 min
May 30, 7:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Dallas	45 min
May 30, 7:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Lonoke, Prairie	60 min
May 30, 7:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Grant	21 min
May 30, 7:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Calhoun	45 min
May 30, 7:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Arkansas, Monroe	62 min
May 30, 7:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PAH	Fulton, Hickman	62 min
May 30, 8:05 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Jefferson	60 min
May 30, 8:05 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Cross, Poinsett	40 min
May 30, 8:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Bradley, Drew, Lincoln	59 min
May 30, 8:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Mississippi	33 min
May 30, 8:12 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Lee	33 min
May 30, 8:17 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	LZK	Ouachita	3 hr
May 30, 8:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Pemiscot	28 min
May 30, 8:21 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Crittenden	39 min
May 30, 8:41 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Mississippi, Poinsett	34 min
May 30, 8:41 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PAH	Calloway, Graves, Marshall	49 min
May 30, 8:41 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Dyer, Lauderdale	34 min
May 30, 8:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Calhoun	38 min
May 30, 8:44 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Fayette, Shelby	31 min
May 30, 8:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Desha	59 min
May 30, 8:46 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	DeSoto	29 min
May 30, 8:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Tipton	49 min
May 30, 8:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Crittenden	31 min
May 30, 9:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Arkansas	35 min
May 30, 9:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LZK	Bradley, Drew	40 min
May 30, 9:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Bolivar	63 min
May 30, 9:14 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	LZK	Calhoun	3 hr
May 30, 9:15 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	DeSoto, Marshall	30 min
May 30, 9:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OHX	Benton, Houston, Humphreys, Montgomery, Stewart	60 min
May 30, 9:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Phillips	25 min
May 30, 9:24 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Gibson, Weakley	51 min
May 30, 9:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Lauderdale, Tipton	32 min
May 30, 9:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Decatur	36 min
May 30, 9:42 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Fayette	33 min
May 30, 9:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	DeSoto, Tate	28 min
May 30, 9:48 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	OHX	Benton, Hickman, Humphreys, Perry	27 min
May 30, 10:02 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Lafayette, Panola	43 min
May 30, 10:09 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Marshall	51 min
May 30, 10:12 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	LZK	Cleveland, Dallas	3 hr
May 30, 10:13 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MEG	Panola	32 min
May 30, 10:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Hardeman	30 min
May 30, 10:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Chester, Henderson, Madison	41 min
May 30, 10:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Grenada, Leflore	38 min
May 30, 10:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Benton	31 min
May 30, 10:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Tallahatchie, Yalobusha	43 min
May 30, 10:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Tippah, Union	36 min
May 30, 10:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Lafayette	30 min
May 30, 10:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Hardeman	28 min
May 30, 10:52 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	JAN	Grenada	53 min
May 30, 10:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Alcorn	34 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

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 8.3 hours before the alert went out and 98 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: 2272 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -19 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 590 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 281 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 311 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 3.9
Supercell composite: 15.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 302026
SEL6  
SPC WW 302020
ARZ000-MOZ000-MSZ000-TNZ000-310400-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 336
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
320 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       EASTERN ARKANSAS
       THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL
       NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI
       WEST TENNESSEE

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 320 PM UNTIL 1100
PM CDT.

...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...

DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 2.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...
THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE
POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 120 STATUTE MILES EAST AND
WEST OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF DYERSBURG
TENNESSEE TO 60 MILES SOUTHEAST OF PINE BLUFF 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...CONTINUE...WW 330...WW 331...WW 332...WW
333...WW 334...WW 335...

DISCUSSION...SUPERCELLS NOW IN WRN/NRN AR EXPECTED TO MOVE E INTO
ERN AR/W TN AND NRN MS LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS REGION
COMES UNDER SRN FRINGE OF UPPER IMPULSE SWEEPING ENE ACROSS KS/OK.
MODERATE TO STRONG DEEP SHEAR...VERY RICH BOUNDARY LAYER MOISTURE
INFLOW AND ABSENCE OF LINEAR FORCING ALL SUGGEST POSSIBILITY FOR
STRONG AND/OR LONG-LIVED TORNADOES.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
600. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25035.


...CORFIDI

363,0873 333,0890 333,0931 363,0915

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 30, 9:40 AM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Benton, Boone, Carroll, Crawford, Madison, Washington	3 hr
May 30, 10:50 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Conway, Crawford and 14 more	8 hr
May 30, 12:15 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Clark, Hempstead, Hot Spring, Howard, Little River, Montgomery and 4 more	90 min
May 30, 12:35 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Clark, Hempstead, Hot Spring, Howard, Lafayette, Little River and 3 more	6 hr
May 30, 12:53 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Benton, Boone, Carroll, Crawford, Madison, Washington	2 hr
May 30, 2:44 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Baxter, Boone, Carroll, Clark, Clay, Cleburne and 44 more	2 hr
May 30, 5:10 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Arkansas, Baxter, Boone, Bradley, Calhoun, Clark and 59 more	95 min
May 30, 5:53 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Conway, Crawford, Franklin, Garland, Hempstead, Howard and 13 more	97 min
May 30, 6:10 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Baxter, Boone, Carroll, Clark, Cleburne, Conway and 30 more	5 hr
May 30, 10:04 AM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Ballard, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian and 18 more	2 hr
May 30, 11:50 AM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Anderson, Bath, Bell, Bourbon, Boyle, Bracken and 54 more	115 min
May 30, 11:50 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Allen, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Butler, Caldwell, Carlisle and 29 more	7 hr
May 30, 1:05 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Ballard, Fulton	6 hr
May 30, 1:40 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Adair, Anderson, Barren, Bath, Bell, Bourbon and 67 more	7 hr
May 30, 3:05 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Adair, Anderson, Bath, Boone, Bourbon, Boyd and 77 more	115 min
May 30, 3:55 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton and 1 more	5 hr
May 30, 6:40 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Ballard, Carlisle, Hickman, McCracken	6 hr
May 30, 6:55 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Allen, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway and 27 more	8 hr
May 29, 8:45 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Clay, Clinton, DeKalb and 5 more	60 min
May 29, 9:35 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Caldwell, Cass, Clay and 13 more	6 hr
May 29, 11:23 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Caldwell, Clay, Clinton and 10 more	67 min
May 30, 2:38 AM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Andrew, Buchanan, Caldwell, Cass, Clay, Clinton and 17 more	97 min
May 30, 12:13 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Clark	2 hr
May 30, 4:35 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan and 2 more	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 2004 Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2004 Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 2004 Every tornado watch in 2004

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.