Alert archive / Arkansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2025

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 288, NWS Jackson, MS

May 20, 2025Ashley County, Arkansas

NWS Jackson, MS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 20, 2025, 4:16 PM CDT for Ashley County, Arkansas. It was in force for 74 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 20, 2025, 4:16 PM CDT (21:16 UTC)
Expired: May 20, 2025, 5:30 PM CDT
In force: 74 min
Issued by: NWS Jackson, MS
Area: Storm-based polygon
Hail: 1.0 in
Wind: 60.0 mph

County Ashley County, AR

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 189 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:16 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 20, 1:09 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 12:00Z, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 185 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: 1034 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 577 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 225 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 296 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.2
Supercell composite: 9.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 Jackson, MS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 20, 3:23 PM CDT, 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 20, 3:23 PM CDT, 53 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Jackson MS
323 PM CDT Tue May 20 2025

...New DISCUSSION...

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 315 PM CDT Tue May 20 2025

Through tonight: The scenario continues to unfold as expected
with a capped warm sector that is heating up strongly well ahead
of an approaching cold front. Storms including some supercells
have developed from northern LA to eastern AR/nrn MS, and they are
just outside of our forecast area. Given that the mixing layer
depth has just about peaked now, it may take some time for a
tornado threat to ramp up, so damaging wind gusts and large hail
should be the primary threats. By early to mid this evening, as
the storms become more organized, we will see the severe threats
peak over north central to northeast MS, including for tornadoes
with effective low level shear expected to maximize in that area
and time frame. The lift associated with the front will be less
as you go south, which makes storm coverage and the overall storm
threat more conditional, especially south of the I-20 corridor
late tonight. There has been little change to timing and hazards.
/EC/

Wednesday through Monday: Cyclonic northwest flow aloft around a
large northeast CONUS trough will bring drier and slightly cooler
conditions to the forecast area making for more comfortable
conditions through late week. As is often the case this time of
year, less humidity is a very temporary condition, and the heat
and humidity will begin to build back in this weekend along with
rain chances. It looks like stormy conditions will peak late
Sunday and perhaps intol Monday ahead of a seasonably strong cold
front pushing south into the area. /EC/

&&

.AVIATION...
(18Z TAFS)
Issued at 1239 PM CDT Tue May 20 2025

VFR conditions will prevail through the period with a gusty
southerly wind, as sustained winds will be up to 20mph and gusts
of up to 30mph. Expect periods of TSRA and VCTS this afternoon and
well into the evening as a line of storms pushes through the area with
periods of gusts of up to 60mph along the line. Early tomorrow
morning sites PIB and HBG will have possible low stratus/fog
dropping categories to IFR,conditions will begin to deteriorate
by 8Z and improve by 14Z. /KP/

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Jackson       64  86  63  88 /  50   0   0   0
Meridian      65  86  61  90 /  60   0   0   0
Vicksburg     62  86  63  89 /  30   0   0   0
Hattiesburg   72  91  65  93 /  20   0   0   0
Natchez       64  87  64  90 /  30   0   0   0
Greenville    61  85  63  86 /  20   0   0   0
Greenwood     61  85  62  86 /  30   0   0   0

&&

.JAN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MS...None.
LA...None.
AR...None.

&&

EC/SAS20/KP

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 20, 12:10 PM CDT, 4 hours 6 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Jackson MS
1210 PM CDT Tue May 20 2025

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

0214 AM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     7 ENE Minter City       33.78N 90.18W
05/17/2025                   Leflore            MS   Local Official

            Trees down N of Philipp.

&&

CE

Local storm report, May 20, 1:29 PM CDT, 2 hours 47 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Jackson MS
129 PM CDT Tue May 20 2025

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

0433 PM     Hail             2 E Forest              32.79N 91.37W
05/17/2025  M1.00 Inch       West Carroll       LA   Public

            Penny size with a few up to quarters.

&&

CE

Local storm report, May 20, 1:38 PM CDT, 2 hours 38 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Jackson MS
138 PM CDT Tue May 20 2025

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

0548 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     1 N Transylvania        32.70N 91.18W
05/17/2025                   East Carroll       LA   Public

            Some trees damaged in the area with a few
            down on power lines.

&&

CE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Jackson, MS issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 20, 4:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Washington	71 min
May 20, 4:38 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	JAN	Bolivar	37 min
May 20, 4:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Bolivar, Sunflower	63 min
May 20, 5:03 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	JAN	Washington	57 min
May 20, 5:37 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	JAN	Humphreys, Sharkey, Washington	53 min
May 20, 5:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Carroll, Grenada, Leflore, Sunflower	54 min
May 20, 6:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threat	JAN	Holmes, Humphreys, Sharkey, Yazoo	79 min
May 20, 6:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Carroll, Grenada, Montgomery	51 min
May 20, 4:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threat	JAN	Morehouse, Richland, West Carroll	34 min
May 20, 6:57 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	JAN	Catahoula	48 min
May 20, 3:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	JAN	Ashley	56 min
May 20, 4:10 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	JAN	Ashley, Chicot	19 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arkansas, 2025 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2025

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.