Tornado in Arkansas, February 24, 2001

Name: Tornado in Arkansas, February 24, 2001
Start: 2001-02-24T16:46
End: 2001-02-24T16:55
Location: Arkansas

February 24, 2001 · NWS LZK · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 3
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Little Rock, AR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 24, 2:30 PM CST, 2 hours 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 24, 2:30 PM CST, 2 hours 16 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
230 PM CST SAT FEB 24 2001

MODELS CONTINUE PUSHING THE COLD FRONT ACROSS ARKANSAS VERY QUICKLY
TONIGHT. THIS WILL TRANSLATE TO LOW POPS ON THE WEST AND CHANCE POPS
CENTRAL AND EAST SECTIONS EARLY TONIGHT. CLOUDS WILL BE CLEARING
FROM WEST TO EAST. BREEZE CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL TONIGHT AND
SUNDAY. MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES FOR SUNDAY...BUT BREEZY WINDS WILL MAKE
IT FEEL COOLER THAN THE ACTUAL TEMPERATURES. HIGHS SUNDAY EXPECTED
TO RANGE FROM THE MID 50S NORTH TO THE UPPER 60S SOUTH. PARTLY
CLOUDY AND BACK IN THE 30S FOR SUNDAY NIGHT. INCREASING CLOUDS
MONDAY. THE EARLY PART OF THE EXTENDED STILL A GOOD BET FOR BEING
WET. 32

.LIT...NONE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Feb 24, 11:12 AM CST, 5 hours 34 minutes before

ARZ003-004-012-013-021-022-030-242300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
1112 AM CST SAT FEB 24 2001

...TORNADO WATCHES NO. 30 AND 31 ARE IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF WESTERN
AND NORTH CENTRAL ARKANSAS UNTIL 5 THIS AFTERNOON...

A STRONG FRONT AND LOW PRESSURE CENTER IS MOVING INTO CENTRAL
OKLAHOMA THIS MORNING...AND IT WILL MOVE INTO ARKANSAS LATER THIS
AFTERNOON. WARMER AND UNSTABLE AIR HAS MOVED INTO ARKANSAS AHEAD OF
THIS SYSTEM...SETTING THE STAGE FOR SEVERE WEATHER...ESPECIALLY
THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH THIS SEVERE WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BE WIND
DAMAGE AND LARGE HAIL. HOWEVER...SOME TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE.
STRAIGHT LINE WINDS COULD EXCEED 80 MPH IN SOME CASES.

KEEP ADVISED ON LATEST WEATHER FORECASTS TODAY AND CHECK YOUR
SEVERE WEATHER PREPARATIONS.

STORM SPOTTERS...AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS AND EMERGENCY MANAGERS WILL
LIKELY BE ACTIVATED LATER TODAYH.

32

Special weather statement, Feb 24, 11:22 AM CST, 5 hours 24 minutes before

ARZ003-004-012-013-021-022-030-037-038-040-041-052-242300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
1122 AM CST SAT FEB 24 2001

...TORNADO WATCHES NO. 30 AND 31 ARE IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF WESTERN
AND NORTH CENTRAL ARKANSAS UNTIL 5 THIS AFTERNOON...

A STRONG FRONT AND LOW PRESSURE CENTER IS MOVING INTO CENTRAL
OKLAHOMA THIS MORNING...AND IT WILL MOVE INTO ARKANSAS LATER THIS
AFTERNOON. WARMER AND UNSTABLE AIR HAS MOVED INTO ARKANSAS AHEAD OF
THIS SYSTEM...SETTING THE STAGE FOR SEVERE WEATHER...ESPECIALLY
THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH THIS SEVERE WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BE WIND
DAMAGE AND LARGE HAIL. HOWEVER...SOME TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE.
STRAIGHT LINE WINDS COULD EXCEED 80 MPH IN SOME CASES.

KEEP ADVISED ON LATEST WEATHER FORECASTS TODAY AND CHECK YOUR
SEVERE WEATHER PREPARATIONS.

STORM SPOTTERS...AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS AND EMERGENCY MANAGERS WI-LL
LIKELY BE ACTIVATED LATER TODAY.

32

Special weather statement, Feb 24, 1:25 PM CST, 3 hours 21 minutes before

ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-250000-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECT ENDING FOR NWR
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
125 PM CST SAT FEB 24 2001

...MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

A STRONG FRONT AND LOW PRESSURE CENTER MOVED INTO CENTRAL
OKLAHOMA THIS MORNING...AND WILL MOVE INTO ARKANSAS LATER THIS
AFTERNOON. WARMER AND UNSTABLE AIR HAS MOVED INTO ARKANSAS AHEAD
OF THIS SYSTEM...SETTING THE STAGE FOR SEVERE WEATHER...ESPECIALLY
THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. TORNADO WATCHES NO. 30 AND 31 ARE IN
EFFECT FOR PARTS OF WESTERN AND NORTH-CENTRAL ARKANSAS UNTIL 5 PM.
MORE WATCHES ARE LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AS THE SYSTEM MOVES
EASTWARD.

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER FOR MOST OF ARKANSAS
FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING.

THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH THIS SEVERE WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BE WIND
DAMAGE AND LARGE HAIL. HOWEVER...SOME TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE.
STRAIGHT LINE WINDS COULD EXCEED 80 MPH IN SOME CASES.

KEEP ADVISED ON LATEST WEATHER FORECASTS THIS AFTERNOON AND CHECK
YOUR SEVERE WEATHER PREPARATIONS.

&&

38

Special weather statement, Feb 24, 4:18 PM CST, 28 minutes before

ARZ037-038-040-041-050>052-059-070-250000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
418 PM CST SAT FEB 24 2001

...TORNADO WATCH FOR WESTERN ARKANSAS CANCELLED...

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 31 THAT WAS ISSUED EARLIER TODAY FOR PARTS OF
WESTERN ARKANSAS HAS BEEN CANCELLED AND IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

ALL SEVERE WEATHER HAS MOVED EASTWARD INTO CENTRAL AND NORTHERN
ARKANSAS. SCATTERED THUNDERSHOWERS WILL CONTINUE OVE5R WESTERN
ARKANSAS FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS.

AGAIN...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 31 FOR WESTERN ARKANSAS HAS BEEN
CANCELLED AND IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

22

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 161 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:47 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Fulton

When: February 24, 4:46 PM CST to 4:55 PM CST
Where: Fulton County, 3 mi W of Union
Rating: F2
Path length: 8 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 36.267, -91.967

A strong tornado was spawned in southern Fulton County about 3 miles west of Union. The tornado moved quickly northeast, and caused considerable damage. Roofs were damaged at several homes, with a dairly barn heavily damaged. Three mobile homes were destroyed. In one of the mobile homes about 5.5 miles southwest of Salem, four people were injured. An 18 month old boy died from his injuries the next day after being transported to a hospital in Little Rock. There was extensive tree damage, with many cedar trees twisted or downed. The tornado travelled about 8 miles before dissipating 3.8 miles southwest of Salem.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Fulton	2001-02-24	2	Male	Mobile/Trailer Home	Direct

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arkansas in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Arkansas, 2001 Warnings in Arkansas, February 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5233457.