Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Watches in 2015
Tornado Watch 20
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 3, 2015, 1:35 AM CDT for 20 counties in Arkansas; 8 counties in Missouri. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 3, 2015, 1:35 AM CDT (06:35 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 3, 2015, 7:18 AM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 28 counties
Baxter County, AR, Boone County, AR, Clay County, AR, Cleburne County, AR, Craighead County, AR, Fulton County, AR, Greene County, AR, Independence County, AR, Izard County, AR, Jackson County, AR, Lawrence County, AR, Marion County, AR, Mississippi County, AR, Newton County, AR, Poinsett County, AR, Randolph County, AR, Searcy County, AR, Sharp County, AR, Stone County, AR, Van Buren County, AR, Butler County, MO, Carter County, MO, Dunklin County, MO, Mississippi County, MO, New Madrid County, MO, Pemiscot County, MO, Ripley County, MO, Stoddard County, MO
The radar
The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 167 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:37 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.
What SPC expected
The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.
- Two or more tornadoes
- 50%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 30%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 20%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 20%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 10%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1:38 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Carter, Ripley | 40 min |
| Apr 3, 1:44 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Baxter, Boone, Marion | 46 min |
| Apr 3, 1:48 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Baxter, Fulton, Izard | 42 min |
| Apr 3, 2:22 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Baxter, Fulton, Izard | 19 min |
| Apr 3, 2:26 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Izard, Sharp | 49 min |
| Apr 3, 5:12 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Baxter, Marion | 48 min |
| Apr 3, 5:43 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Baxter, Fulton, Izard | 47 min |
| Apr 3, 5:58 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Butler, Wayne | 21 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 (KBYH), launched 00:00Z, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 213 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 3351 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 137 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 302 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
160 WWUS20 KWNS 030636 SEL0 SPC WW 030636 ARZ000-MOZ000-031400- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 20 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 135 AM CDT FRI APR 3 2015 THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH-CENTRAL AND NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI * EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY MORNING FROM 135 AM UNTIL 900 AM CDT. * PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE... A FEW TORNADOES POSSIBLE ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE ISOLATED LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 90 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES WEST OF BATESVILLE ARKANSAS TO 20 MILES NORTHEAST OF POPLAR BLUFF MISSOURI. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU0). PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... 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 17...WW 18...WW 19... DISCUSSION...MCS/QLCS WITH BOW/LEWP CIRCULATIONS AND EMBEDDED SUPERCELLS WILL PROCEED ESEWD ACROSS OZARKS TO PORTIONS MS RIVER VALLEY WITH POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING GUSTS...SPORADIC HAIL AND A FEW TORNADOES POSSIBLE. SVR TSTM WW WILL BE REQUIRED FARTHER W FOR MCS MOVING OUT OF KS. REF SPC MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 195 FOR SHORT-TERM METEOROLOGICAL INFO. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 29035. ...EDWARDS
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2, 7:02 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Fulton, Marion | 8 hr |
| Apr 2, 10:12 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Benton, Boone, Carroll, Marion | 93 min |
| Apr 3, 1:16 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Clay, Craighead and 13 more | 59 min |
| Apr 3, 1:52 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Benton, Carroll | 4 hr |
| Apr 3, 5:43 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baxter, Clay, Cleburne, Craighead, Fulton, Greene and 13 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 3, 12:14 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Mississippi | 8 hr |
| Apr 3, 3:57 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Chicot, Cleveland and 6 more | 93 min |
| Apr 3, 5:54 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Union | 2 hr |
| Apr 3, 5:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Ashley, Chicot | 4 hr |
| Apr 2, 7:32 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Boone, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Butler, Caldwell, Carroll and 27 more | 58 min |
| Apr 2, 10:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Ballard, Carlisle, McCracken | 6 hr |
| Apr 3, 3:39 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Ballard, Carlisle, Livingston, McCracken | 66 min |
| Apr 3, 11:56 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adair, Allen, Ballard, Barren, Boyle, Breckinridge and 48 more | 94 min |
| Apr 3, 2:23 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adair, Allen, Anderson, Barren, Bath, Bell and 96 more | 97 min |
| Apr 3, 3:10 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adair, Anderson, Bath, Bell, Bourbon, Boyle and 53 more | 6 hr |
| Apr 3, 5:10 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Boyd, Greenup | 95 min |
| Apr 3, 4:37 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Christian, Dent, Douglas, Howell, Laclede, Oregon and 8 more | 83 min |
| Apr 3, 5:54 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cannon, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Jackson, Morgan and 9 more | 66 min |
| Apr 3, 6:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Franklin, Lincoln, Moore | 4 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 2015Tornado Watches in Missouri, 2015Every tornado watch in 2015
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.