Alert archive / Arkansas / Tornado Watches in 2020
Tornado Watch 59
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 19, 2020, 9:50 PM CDT for 5 states. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 19, 2020, 9:50 PM CDT (02:50 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 20, 2020, 4:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 84 counties
Clark County, AR, Clay County, AR, Cleburne County, AR, Craighead County, AR, Cross County, AR, Dallas County, AR, Faulkner County, AR, Garland County, AR, Grant County, AR, Greene County, AR, Hot Spring County, AR, Independence County, AR, Jackson County, AR, Jefferson County, AR, Lawrence County, AR, Lonoke County, AR, Mississippi County, AR, Perry County, AR, Pike County, AR, Poinsett County, AR, Prairie County, AR, Pulaski County, AR, Randolph County, AR, Saline County, AR, Sharp County, AR, White County, AR, Woodruff County, AR, Alexander County, IL, Franklin County, IL, Gallatin County, IL, Hamilton County, IL, Hardin County, IL, Johnson County, IL, Massac County, IL, Pope County, IL, Pulaski County, IL, Saline County, IL, Union County, IL, White County, IL, Williamson County, IL, Ballard County, KY, Caldwell County, KY, Calloway County, KY, Carlisle County, KY, Christian County, KY, Crittenden County, KY, Daviess County, KY, Fulton County, KY, Graves County, KY, Hancock County, KY, Henderson County, KY, Hickman County, KY, Hopkins County, KY, Livingston County, KY, Lyon County, KY, Marshall County, KY, McCracken County, KY, McLean County, KY, Muhlenberg County, KY, Ohio County, KY, Todd County, KY, Trigg County, KY, Union County, KY, Webster County, KY, Bollinger County, MO, Butler County, MO, Cape Girardeau County, MO, Carter County, MO, Dunklin County, MO, Mississippi County, MO, New Madrid County, MO, Pemiscot County, MO, Ripley County, MO, Scott County, MO, Stoddard County, MO, Wayne County, MO, Crockett County, TN, Dyer County, TN, Gibson County, TN, Henry County, TN, Lake County, TN, Lauderdale County, TN, Obion County, TN, Weakley County, TN
The radar
The Memphis radar (KNQA), 121 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:51 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
- 60%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 30%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 60%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 20%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 50%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 10%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 90%
Warnings issued inside it
14 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 19, 10:05 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | PAH | Bollinger, Carter, Wayne | 8 hr |
| Mar 19, 10:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Clark, Hot Spring, Pike | 43 min |
| Mar 19, 10:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LZK | Lawrence, Randolph, Sharp | 34 min |
| Mar 20, 12:08 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | New Madrid, Stoddard | 52 min |
| Mar 20, 12:16 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Dunklin | 8 min |
| Mar 20, 12:38 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | PAH | Hamilton, White | 6 hr |
| Mar 20, 12:48 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Alexander | 27 min |
| Mar 20, 1:40 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | PAH | Graves, McCracken | 13 min |
| Mar 20, 2:00 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MEG | Dyer, Gibson, Lake, Obion | 30 min |
| Mar 20, 2:30 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | MEG | Crockett, Dyer, Gibson | 30 min |
| Mar 20, 2:48 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Hopkins, McLean, Webster | 27 min |
| Mar 20, 2:54 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | PAH | Hopkins, McLean, Webster | 21 min |
| Mar 20, 3:07 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Daviess, McLean | 23 min |
| Mar 20, 3:56 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Calloway | 19 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 00:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 138 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
- 251 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -30 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 961 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 62 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 311 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 338 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.4
- Supercell composite
- 5.6
The text
As transmitted.
786 WWUS20 KWNS 200247 SEL9 SPC WW 200247 ARZ000-ILZ000-INZ000-KYZ000-MOZ000-TNZ000-200900- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 59 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 950 PM CDT Thu Mar 19 2020 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Central and Northeast Arkansas Southern Illinois Southern Indiana Western Kentucky Southeast Missouri Northwest Tennessee * Effective this Thursday night and Friday morning from 950 PM until 400 AM CDT. * Primary threats include... A few tornadoes likely with a couple intense tornadoes possible Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely Scattered large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible SUMMARY...A line of intense thunderstorms over central Arkansas will track eastward across the watch area overnight. Extremely strong wind fields will promote a risk of tornadoes and locally damaging wind gusts. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 65 statute miles east and west of a line from 35 miles south of Hot Springs AR to 35 miles west northwest of Owensboro KY. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU9). 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 56...WW 57...WW 58... 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 450. Mean storm motion vector 24035. ...Hart
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 19, 8:36 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cleburne, Independence, Lawrence, Sharp, Stone, Van Buren | 114 min |
| Mar 20, 2:22 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allen, Anderson, Barren, Boone, Bracken, Breckinridge and 49 more | 83 min |
| Mar 19, 8:40 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Gentry, Harrison, Mercer, Nodaway, Putnam, Worth | 95 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 2020Tornado Watches in Kentucky, 2020Tornado Watches in Illinois, 2020Every tornado watch in 2020
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.