Alert archive / Arkansas / Flash Flood Warnings in 2020

Flash Flood Warning 15, NWS Tulsa, OK

May 22, 2020Sebastian County, Arkansas; LeFlore County, Oklahoma

NWS Tulsa, OK issued this flash flood warning at May 22, 2020, 10:42 PM CDT for Sebastian County, Arkansas; LeFlore County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 6 hr. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 22, 2020, 10:42 PM CDT (03:42 UTC)
Expired: May 23, 2020, 4:45 AM CDT
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: NWS Tulsa, OK
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

Counties Sebastian County, AR, LeFlore County, OK

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 25 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:44 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 was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 22, 11:15 PM CDT	FLASH FLOOD	2 Ene Greenwood, AR	SPOTTER REPORTED 2.48 INCHES OF RAIN IN AN HOUR ALONG WITH LOCALIZED SMALL STREAM FLOODING.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

Did it verify

Verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow matched one storm report to this flash flood warning; the first came 33 minutes after it went out.

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 00:00Z, 3.7 hours before the alert went out and 210 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: 353 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -178 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 993 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 191 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 241 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

281 
WGUS54 KTSA 230342
FFWTSA
ARC131-OKC079-230945-
/O.NEW.KTSA.FF.W.0015.200523T0342Z-200523T0945Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Flash Flood Warning
National Weather Service Tulsa OK
1042 PM CDT Fri May 22 2020

The National Weather Service in Tulsa has issued a

* Flash Flood Warning for...
  Sebastian County in west central Arkansas...
  Le Flore County in southeastern Oklahoma...

* Until 445 AM CDT Saturday.

* At 1040 PM CDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing 
  heavy rain across the warned area. 2 to 3 inches of rain have 
  already fallen in some places. Flash flooding is ongoing or 
  expected to begin shortly.

  HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms.

  SOURCE...Radar indicated.

  IMPACT...Flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, 
           highways, streets and underpasses as well as other 
           drainage and low lying areas.

* Some locations that may experience flooding include...
  Fort Smith...                     Poteau...
  Greenwood...                      Pocola...
  Heavener...                       Spiro...
  Panama...                         Wister...
  Hackett...                        Howe...
  Hartford...                       Huntington...
  Bonanza...                        Bokoshe...
  Fanshawe...                       Midland...
  Cameron...                        Heavener Runestone State Park...
  Whitesboro...                     Excelsior...

Additional rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches are possible in the 
warned area.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the
dangers of flooding.

&&

LAT...LON 3514 9414 3510 9414 3506 9425 3506 9423
      3497 9424 3495 9434 3496 9437 3493 9445
      3467 9446 3468 9494 3520 9491 3520 9482
      3522 9481 3534 9408 3522 9408 3520 9405
      3514 9405

FLASH FLOOD...RADAR INDICATED

$$

1 follow-up statement

660 
WGUS74 KTSA 230417
FFSTSA

Flash Flood Statement
National Weather Service Tulsa OK
1117 PM CDT Fri May 22 2020

ARC131-OKC079-230945-
/O.CON.KTSA.FF.W.0015.000000T0000Z-200523T0945Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Sebastian AR-Le Flore OK-
1117 PM CDT Fri May 22 2020

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 445 AM CDT FOR
SEBASTIAN AND LE FLORE COUNTIES...

At 1115 PM CDT, trained weather spotters reported thunderstorms 
producing heavy rain in southern Sebastian county. The spotter 
reported 2.48 inches of rain over a one hour time span, along with 
localized small stream flooding. Flash flooding is already occurring.

HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms.

SOURCE...Trained weather spotters.

IMPACT...Flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, 
         highways, streets and underpasses as well as other drainage 
         and low lying areas.

Some locations that may experience flooding include...
Fort Smith...                     Poteau...
Greenwood...                      Pocola...
Heavener...                       Spiro...
Panama...                         Wister...
Hackett...                        Howe...
Hartford...                       Huntington...
Bonanza...                        Bokoshe...
Fanshawe...                       Midland...
Cameron...                        Heavener Runestone State Park...
Whitesboro...                     Excelsior...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood
deaths occur in vehicles.

Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the
dangers of flooding.

&&

LAT...LON 3514 9414 3510 9414 3506 9425 3506 9423
      3497 9424 3495 9434 3496 9437 3493 9445
      3467 9446 3468 9494 3520 9491 3520 9482
      3522 9481 3534 9408 3522 9408 3520 9405
      3514 9405

FLASH FLOOD...OBSERVED
EXPECTED RAINFALL...2-3 INCHES IN 1 HOUR

$$

Lacy

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood 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 flash flood warning went out at May 22, 9:50 PM CDT, 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 22, 9:50 PM CDT, 52 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Tulsa OK
950 PM CDT Fri May 22 2020

.DISCUSSION...
Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms continue across parts of
southeast Oklahoma and west central Arkansas at this time. This
activity will continue into the overnight hours, with additional
storms moving into southeast Oklahoma from the west.

Have adjusted pops overnight based on current and expected trends,
with the rest of the forecast looking good at this time.

Update on the way.

&&

.TSA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OK...None.
AR...None.

&&

SHORT TERM...23
LONG TERM....05

PLATE

Hazardous weather outlook, May 22, 9:13 PM CDT, 1 hour 29 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Tulsa OK
913 PM CDT Fri May 22 2020

ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-231000-
Adair OK-Benton AR-Carroll AR-Cherokee OK-Choctaw OK-Craig OK-
Crawford AR-Creek OK-Delaware OK-Franklin AR-Haskell OK-Latimer OK-
Le Flore OK-Madison AR-Mayes OK-McIntosh OK-Muskogee OK-Nowata OK-
Okfuskee OK-Okmulgee OK-Osage OK-Ottawa OK-Pawnee OK-Pittsburg OK-
Pushmataha OK-Rogers OK-Sebastian AR-Sequoyah OK-Tulsa OK-Wagoner OK-
Washington OK-Washington AR-
913 PM CDT Fri May 22 2020

This Outlook is for Northwest and West Central Arkansas as well as
much of Eastern Oklahoma.

.DAY ONE...Tonight.

TORNADO.
    RISK...Limited.
	AREA...South of Interstate 40.
    ONSET...Ongoing.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM.
	RISK...Elevated.
    AREA...South of Interstate 40.
	ONSET...Ongoing.

FLASH FLOOD.
	RISK...Limited.
	AREA...Far Southeast Oklahoma.
	ONSET...This Evening.

HEAVY RAIN.
	RISK...Limited.
	AREA...Southeast Oklahoma.
	ONSET...This Evening.

DISCUSSION...
Strong to severe thunderstorms have developed across southeast
Oklahoma and west central Arkansas this evening. The strongest
storms will be capable of producing golf ball hail and isolated,
brief tornadoes.  Storms currently across north central Texas and
southwest Oklahoma may impact southeast Oklahoma with additional
chances for severe weather as they move east or northeast later
this evening and into the overnight hours. Large hail and damaging
winds will be the main severe weather threats.

SPOTTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT...
Local Spotter Activation May Be Needed.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday.
SATURDAY...Thunderstorm Potential.
SUNDAY...Severe Thunderstorm Potential.
MONDAY...Thunderstorm Potential...Heavy Rain Potential.
TUESDAY through THURSDAY...Thunderstorm Potential.

EXTENDED DISCUSSION...
An unsettled weather pattern will bring daily thunderstorm
chances, mainly from the latter part of the holiday weekend on
into the following week. While some severe weather will be
possible, flooding may become the main threat. Pockets of locally
heavy rainfall, falling on areas likely to have received previous
rounds of heavy rainfall, may begin to cause river flooding and
localized flash flooding by early next week.

weather.gov/tulsa contains additional information.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 22, 9:04 PM CDT, 1 hour 38 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
904 PM CDT FRI MAY 22 2020

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0856 PM     TORNADO          5 NE HEAVENER           34.94N 94.54W
05/22/2020                   LE FLORE           OK   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

MAT

Local storm report, May 22, 9:32 PM CDT, 1 hour 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
932 PM CDT FRI MAY 22 2020

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0917 PM     HAIL             HARTFORD                35.02N 94.38W
05/22/2020  E1.50 INCH       SEBASTIAN          AR   OTHER FEDERAL

            REPORT RECEIVED VIA MPING

&&

MAT

Local storm report, May 22, 9:37 PM CDT, 1 hour 5 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
937 PM CDT FRI MAY 22 2020

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0933 PM     HAIL             MANSFIELD               35.06N 94.25W
05/22/2020  M1.75 INCH       SEBASTIAN          AR   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

MAT

Special weather statement, May 22, 10:00 PM CDT, 42 minutes before

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Tulsa OK
1000 PM CDT Fri May 22 2020

OKZ071-073-074-230330-
Haskell OK-Pittsburg OK-McIntosh OK-
1000 PM CDT Fri May 22 2020

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHWESTERN HASKELL...
SOUTHEASTERN MCINTOSH AND NORTHEASTERN PITTSBURG COUNTIES UNTIL 1030
PM CDT...

At 1000 PM CDT, a strong thunderstorm was located 3 miles northeast
of Arrowhead State Park, moving east at 20 mph.

Nickel size hail and winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with
this storm.

Locations in or near the path include...
Quinton...                        Kinta...
Enterprise...                     Lewisville...

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 200 AM CDT for
southeastern Oklahoma.

LAT...LON 3537 9535 3530 9535 3530 9531 3511 9524
      3512 9558 3522 9563
TIME...MOT...LOC 0300Z 253DEG 16KT 3518 9557

Local storm report, May 22, 10:18 PM CDT, 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1018 PM CDT FRI MAY 22 2020

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1013 PM     HAIL             GREENWOOD               35.22N 94.26W
05/22/2020  E1.75 INCH       SEBASTIAN          AR   PUBLIC

&&

BLH

Local storm report, May 22, 10:29 PM CDT, 13 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
1029 PM CDT FRI MAY 22 2020

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0832 PM     HAIL             HEAVENER                34.89N 94.60W
05/22/2020  E2.75 INCH       LE FLORE           OK   PUBLIC

&&

BLH

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 22, 7:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Sebastian	47 min
May 22, 8:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Sebastian	49 min
May 22, 8:47 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Sebastian	58 min
May 22, 8:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Sebastian	54 min
May 22, 9:02 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Sebastian	58 min
May 22, 9:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Sebastian	54 min
May 22, 9:42 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Sebastian	19 min
May 22, 9:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Sebastian	49 min
May 22, 10:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Franklin, Sebastian	60 min
May 22, 11:28 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TSA	Sebastian	47 min
May 23, 12:28 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Sebastian	47 min
May 22, 7:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	LeFlore	49 min
May 22, 8:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	LeFlore	45 min
May 22, 8:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Haskell, Latimer, Pittsburg	50 min
May 22, 8:28 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Latimer, Pittsburg	47 min
May 22, 8:40 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TSA	Sequoyah	35 min
May 22, 8:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Sequoyah	25 min
May 22, 9:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Haskell, Latimer, Pittsburg	50 min
May 22, 9:15 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Latimer	45 min
May 22, 9:16 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Latimer, LeFlore, Pushmataha	44 min
May 22, 9:52 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	LeFlore	38 min
May 22, 9:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Haskell, Latimer, LeFlore	52 min
May 22, 10:00 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TSA	McIntosh	30 min
May 22, 10:04 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Haskell, Pittsburg	41 min
May 22, 10:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Choctaw	50 min
May 22, 10:27 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	LeFlore	46 min
May 22, 10:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	LeFlore	53 min
May 22, 10:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Haskell, Muskogee	50 min
May 22, 10:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Choctaw	65 min
May 22, 11:10 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TSA	Latimer	35 min
May 22, 11:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Haskell, Latimer, Pittsburg	49 min
May 22, 11:26 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TSA	Haskell, Latimer, Pittsburg	49 min
May 22, 11:36 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	TSA	Haskell, Latimer, Pittsburg	3 hr
May 22, 11:41 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TSA	Sequoyah	49 min
May 22, 11:47 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TSA	Choctaw	43 min
May 23, 12:13 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Haskell, Latimer, LeFlore	47 min
May 23, 1:01 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Choctaw, Pushmataha	44 min
May 23, 1:20 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TSA	Wagoner	25 min
May 23, 1:43 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TSA	Mayes	32 min
May 23, 1:43 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Choctaw	47 min
May 23, 1:52 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TSA	Delaware, Mayes	38 min
May 23, 1:55 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TSA	Wagoner	35 min
May 23, 2:28 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TSA	Wagoner	32 min
May 23, 2:54 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TSA	Rogers	36 min
May 23, 4:20 AM CDT	Special Weather Statement	TSA	Haskell, Latimer, LeFlore	55 min
May 23, 8:51 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	TSA	LeFlore	19 hr
May 23, 8:51 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	TSA	LeFlore	6 days

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Arkansas, 2020 Flash Flood Warnings in Oklahoma, 2020 Every flash flood warning 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.