Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2009
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 115, NWS Memphis, TN
NWS Memphis, TN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 8, 2009, 3:12 PM CDT for Clay County, Greene County, Randolph County, Arkansas. It was in force for 33 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 8, 2009, 3:12 PM CDT (20:12 UTC)
- Expired
- May 8, 2009, 3:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 33 min
- Issued by
- NWS Memphis, TN
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
Counties Clay County, AR, Greene County, AR, Randolph County, AR
The radar
The Memphis radar (KNQA), 126 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:14 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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 9:21 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 7 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 12:00Z, 8.2 hours before the alert went out and 173 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1297 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -163 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 606 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 28 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 144 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 138 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 2.1
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 Memphis, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 8, 2:55 PM CDT, 17 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 8, 2:55 PM CDT, 17 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 255 PM CDT FRI MAY 8 2009 .DISCUSSION... LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS EXTEND ACROSS NORTHERN BORDER OF FORECAST AREA WITH STRONGEST STORM ON WESTERN END OF THIS LINE. AS THESE STORMS MOVE EAST...WILL BE ABLE TO CLEAR PORTIONS OF TORNADO WATCH 267. DEPENDING ON THE TIMING OF THESE STORMS WILL JUST WAIT UNTIL WATCH EXPIRES BEFORE ISSUING NEW FORECAST PACKAGE. ONE FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXTENDS FROM CENTRAL OKLAHOMA THROUGH NORTHWEST ARKANSAS AND INTO SOUTHERN ILLINOIS WITH A SECOND COLD FRONT ACROSS NORTHERN IOWA THROUGH EASTERN NEBRASKA INTO WESTERN KANSAS. COLD FRONTS WILL APPROACH THE REGION TONIGHT WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA AND A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE SOUTH. THE FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA ON SATURDAY BRINGING MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THE CLOUDS AND WET WEATHER WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES SOME 5 TO 10 DEGREES COOLER THAN TODAY. THE FRONT WILL STALL OUT JUST SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA PROVIDING FOR A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. COOLER AIR WILL BEGIN TO MOVE IN BEHIND THE FRONT WITH TEMPERATURES STRUGGLING TO GETTING OUT OF THE 60S. RAIN SHOULD BE COMPLETELY OUT OF THE FORECAST AREA BY MONDAY AFTERNOON. DRY WEATHER RETURNS ON TUESDAY AS SOUTH WINDS BRING BACK WARMER WEATHER TO THE REGION. ANOTHER COLD FRONT APPROACHES THE REGION WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND MOVES THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA ON THURSDAY. THE RESULT WILL BE A CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY. ARS && AVIATION... 18Z TAFS SCATTERD THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT KJBR AND KMKL THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS FIRST LINE TRACKS EAST. BELIEVE KMEM AND KTUP WILL NOT SEE CONVECTION UNTIL EARLY THIS EVENING. CIGS CURRENTLY MVFR AT KMEM AND SHOULD COME UP BY 19Z TO VFR CONDITIONS. MVFR CONDITIONS WILL THEN BECOME TEMPORARY AS THUNDERSTORMS MOVE ON STATION. LATER AFTER MIDNIGHT...FRONT WILL DROP SOUTH WILL WINDS SHIFTING TO THE NORTHWEST. VFR CEILINGS EXPECTED BEHIND FRONTAL PASSAGE. JAB && .AVIATION... && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... MEM 67 73 57 68 / 60 60 50 50 MKL 66 72 54 65 / 60 60 40 50 JBR 64 70 54 66 / 70 50 40 40 TUP 69 79 59 71 / 40 50 40 50 && .MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AR...NONE. MO...NONE. MS...NONE. TN...NONE. &&
Hazardous weather outlook, May 8, 3:10 PM CDT, 2 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 310 PM CDT FRI MAY 8 2009 ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115- MSZ001>017-020>024-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>055-088>092-091100- ALCORN-BENTON MS-CALHOUN-CARROLL-CHESTER-CHICKASAW-CLAY-COAHOMA- CRAIGHEAD-CRITTENDEN-CROCKETT-CROSS-DESOTO-DECATUR-DUNKLIN-DYER- FAYETTE-GIBSON-GREENE-HARDEMAN-HARDIN-HAYWOOD-HENDERSON-HENRY- ITAWAMBA-LAFAYETTE-LAKE-LAUDERDALE-LAWRENCE-LEE AR-LEE MS-MADISON- MARSHALL-MCNAIRY-MISSISSIPPI-MONROE-OBION-PANOLA-PEMISCOT- PHILLIPS-POINSETT-PONTOTOC-PRENTISS-QUITMAN-RANDOLPH-SHELBY- ST. FRANCIS-TALLAHATCHIE-TATE-TIPPAH-TIPTON-TISHOMINGO-TUNICA- UNION-WEAKLEY-YALOBUSHA- 310 PM CDT FRI MAY 8 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST ARKANSAS... THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...AND WEST TENNESSEE. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE ENTIRE MIDSOUTH THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREATS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL. AN ISOLATED TORNADO OR TWO WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. A COLD FRONT OVER THE MIDDLE MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY WILL MOVE INTO THE MIDSOUTH TONIGHT...SERVING AS A FOCUS FOR CONTINUED THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. SOME THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT MAY REACH SEVERE LIMITS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY SATURDAY WILL SEE A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...MAINLY SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUESTED OVER ANY PART OF THE MIDSOUTH THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 8, 11:58 AM CDT, 3 hours 14 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, May 8, 1:17 PM CDT, 1 hour 55 minutes before
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</html>Special weather statement, May 8, 1:35 PM CDT, 1 hour 37 minutes before
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</html>Special weather statement, May 8, 1:59 PM CDT, 1 hour 13 minutes before
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</html>Special weather statement, May 8, 3:01 PM CDT, 11 minutes before
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</html>Special weather statement, May 8, 3:02 PM CDT, 10 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN 302 PM CDT FRI MAY 8 2009 ARZ008-009-018-082030- CLAY AR-RANDOLPH AR-GREENE AR- 302 PM CDT FRI MAY 8 2009 ...THIS SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IS FOR... CLAY COUNTY IN EASTERN ARKANSAS... NORTHERN GREENE COUNTY IN EASTERN ARKANSAS... EAST CENTRAL RANDOLPH COUNTY IN EASTERN ARKANSAS... A STRONG THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING PEA TO DIME SIZE HAIL WAS LOCATED OVER BIGGERS AT 303 PM CDT...MOVING EAST AT 55 MPH. VERY HEAVY RAIN ALONG WITH CONTINUOUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING ARE ALSO POSSIBLE WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM. PEOPLE IN CLAY...GREENE AND RANDOLPH COUNTIES...INCLUDING LOCATIONS NEAR CORNING AND RECTOR...SHOULD MONITOR THIS STORM CLOSELY. .A TORNADO WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE ALERT AREA.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 11:29 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Lake | 31 min |
| May 8, 5:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Dyer, Lauderdale | 27 min |
| May 8, 5:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Dyer, Haywood, Lauderdale | 46 min |
| May 8, 9:16 AM CDT | River Flood Warning | MEG | Clay, Greene | 36 hr |
| May 8, 9:46 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Clay, Craighead, Greene, Lawrence, Randolph | 44 min |
| May 8, 11:01 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Clay | 29 min |
| May 8, 11:12 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Clay, Greene, Mississippi | 33 min |
| May 8, 2:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Clay, Randolph | 27 min |
| May 8, 3:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Clay, Craighead, Greene, Mississippi | 47 min |
| May 8, 4:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Craighead, Greene, Mississippi | 46 min |
| May 8, 4:55 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | MEG | Clay, Greene | 2 hr |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arkansas, 2009Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2009
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.