Hail in Arkansas, May 1, 2003

Name: Hail in Arkansas, May 1, 2003
Start: 2003-05-01T17:30
End: 2003-05-01T21:00
Location: Arkansas

May 1, 2003 · NWS TSA · 8 events in 4 counties and zones

8 hail, 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: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

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 Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 1, 4:40 PM CST, 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 1, 4:40 PM CST, 50 minutes before

MESOSCALE FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA
540 PM CDT THU MAY 1 2003

SUPERCELLS CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS EAST-CENTRAL OKLAHOMA THIS
AFTERNOON. BOUNDARY THAT EXTENDS FROM JAY TO OKMULGEE WILL MERGE
WITH THE BOUNDARY THAT IS QUASI-STATIONARY FROM STILWELL TO WAGONER
WHERE THERE IS AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE. AIRMASS CONTINUES TO BE
EXTREMELY UNSTABLE IN THE VICINITY OF THESE BOUNDARIES WITH SURFACE
BASED CAPE IN EXCESS OF 4000 J/KG. THE SOUTHERN STORMS WILL BE MORE
LIKELY TO BECOME TORNADIC WHERE THE STORM RELATIVE HELICITY AND
INFLOW WILL BE MORE FAVORABLE.

FLASH FLOODING WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE ACROSS EAST-CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
AS STORMS CONTINUE TO TRAIN ACROSS THAT AREA.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ACROSS SOUTHEAST
OKLAHOMA ALONG DRYLINE/COLD FRONT THAT EXTENDS FROM EASTERN
PITTSBURG COUNTY TO NEAR HUGO. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO HAVE
THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME SUPERCELLS AS THEY MOVE INTO WEST-CENTRAL
ARKANSAS.

THE THUNDERSTORMS ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET
WITH THE LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING.

10

.TSA...
AR...NONE.
OK...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, May 1, 12:00 PM CST, 5 hours 30 minutes before

ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-021100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
100 PM CDT THU MAY 1 2003

THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS AS WELL AS
MUCH OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK

...CHANCE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...
AT MID DAY A COLD FRONT WAS LOCATED NORTH TO SOUTH ACROSS CENTRAL
OKLAHOMA.  TO THE EAST OF THIS FRONT THE ATMOSPHERE WAS QUITE MOIST.
THIS MOISTURE WILL TRANSLATE INTO INSTABILITY THIS AFTERNOON AS
TEMPERATURES WARM TO THE UPPER 70S TO MID 80S.  AS TEMPERATURES WARM
THE LID ON THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPMENT IMPOSED BY A WARM LAYER OF AIR
OFF THE SURFACE MAY BE BROKEN AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS MAY FORM.  IN
ADDITION...THE COLD FRONT COULD AID IN THIS PROCESS AS IT MOVES
SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.  IF A
THUNDERSTORM DOES FORM THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE IT WOULD BECOME
SEVERE.  THE MOST LIKELY AREA FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE
SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS WHERE HEATING IS
EXPECTED TO BE MAXIMIZED.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND TORNADO WARNING PROBABILITIES CAN BE FOUND IN
THE OUTLOOK SECTION AT: WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA. GIVEN PROBABILITIES
REPRESENT THE POTENTIAL FOR A WARNING TO BE ISSUED AT YOUR LOCATION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY
THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL BEGIN MOVING SLOWLY NORTH LATE FRIDAY
AND LIKELY SPAWN MORE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY NIGHT AND OVER
THE WEEKEND.

.SPOTTER / EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT...SPOTTER
ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED FOR SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST
ARKANSAS TODAY.

ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT...
WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 1, 3:00 PM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes before

ARZ001>002-010>011-019>020-029-OKZ049-053-060>063-066>076-020200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
400 PM CDT THU MAY 1 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED TORNADO WATCH
#202 UNTIL 900 PM CDT THURSDAY EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS:

IN ARKANSAS THIS WATCH INCLUDES 7 COUNTIES...
IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS:

BENTON                CARROLL               CRAWFORD
MADISON               WASHINGTON

IN WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS:

FRANKLIN              SEBASTIAN

IN OKLAHOMA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 17 COUNTIES...
IN EAST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA:

CHEROKEE              MUSKOGEE              SEQUOYAH

IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA:

ADAIR                 DELAWARE              MAYES
OKMULGEE              ROGERS                TULSA
WAGONER

IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA:

CHOCTAW               HASKELL               LATIMER
LE FLORE              MCINTOSH              PITTSBURG
PUSHMATAHA

THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF ANTLERS...BENTONVILLE...BERRYVILLE...
BROKEN ARROW...CEDARVILLE...CLAREMORE...CLAYTON...EUFAULA...EUREKA
SPRINGS...FAYETTEVILLE...FORT SMITH...HUGO...HUNTSVILLE...JAY...
MCALESTER...MOUNTAINBURG...MUSKOGEE...NATURAL DAM...OKMULGEE...
OZARK...POTEAU...PRYOR...ROGERS...SALLISAW...SAND SPRINGS...SILOAM
SPRINGS...SPRINGDALE...STIGLER...STILWELL...TAHLEQUAH...TULSA...VAN
BUREN...WAGONER AND WILBURTON.

Local storm report, May 1, 3:46 PM CST, 1 hour 44 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
0446 PM CDT THU MAY 01 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0442 PM    4 W TAHLEQUAH             OK   0.88 IN HAIL
05/01/03   CHEROKEE                       REPORTED BY EMERGENCY
                                          MANAGER

0437 PM    5 W TAHLEQUAH             OK   1.75 IN HAIL
05/01/03   CHEROKEE                       REPORTED BY SPOTTER

0430 PM    1 NE HULBERT              OK   1.25 IN HAIL
05/01/03   CHEROKEE                       REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
                                          OPERATOR

0430 PM    4 W TAHLEQUAH             OK   1.00 IN HAIL
05/01/03   CHEROKEE                       REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
                                          OPERATOR

BAS

Local storm report, May 1, 4:00 PM CST, 1 hour 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
0500 PM CDT THU MAY 01 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0448 PM    10 S CHLOETA              OK   1.75 IN HAIL
05/01/03   DELAWARE                       REPRTED BY TV STATION

BAS

Local storm report, May 1, 5:07 PM CST, 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
0607 PM CDT THU MAY 01 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0555 PM    OKAY                      OK   FX TORNADO
05/01/03   WAGONER                        MOBILE HOME DESTROYED,
                                          OUTBUILDING DESTROYED,
                                          POWERLINES DOWN. REPORTED
                                          BY SPOTTER

0542 PM    4 W TAHLEQUAH             OK   1.75 IN HAIL
05/01/03   CHEROKEE                       REPORTED BY SPOTTER

0521 PM    HULBERT                   OK   2.75 IN HAIL
05/01/03   CHEROKEE                       REPORTED BY EMERGENCY
                                          MANAGER

0519 PM    3 N WAGONER               OK   1.00 IN HAIL
05/01/03   WAGONER                        REPORTED BY SPOTTER

BAS

Local storm report, May 1, 5:19 PM CST, 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
0619 PM CDT THU MAY 01 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0611 PM    3 W PANAMA                OK   0.75 IN HAIL
05/01/03   LE FLORE                       REPORTED BY SEBASTIAN
                                          COUNTY E.O.C.

0610 PM    MUSKOGEE                  OK   FX TORNADO
05/01/03   MUSKOGEE                       NORTH OF HIHWAY 62.
                                          REPORTED BY EMERGENCY
                                          MANAGER

0605 PM    3 N FORT GIBSON           OK   1.75 IN HAIL
05/01/03   CHEROKEE                       REPORTED BY PUBLIC

0559 PM    3 N JAY                   OK   1.75 IN HAIL
05/01/03   DELAWARE                       REPORTED BY SPOTTER

BAS

The radar

The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 5 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:29 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Sebastian

When: May 1, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Sebastian County, 7 mi S of Ft Smith
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.283, -94.417

Hail, Sebastian

When: May 1, 5:34 PM CST
Where: Sebastian County, Ft Smith
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.383, -94.417

Hail, Sebastian

When: May 1, 5:44 PM CST
Where: Sebastian County, Ft Smith
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.383, -94.417

Hail, Crawford

When: May 1, 6:01 PM CST
Where: Crawford County, Alma
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.483, -94.233

Hail, Crawford

When: May 1, 6:16 PM CST
Where: Crawford County, 5 mi NE of Alma
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 35.533, -94.167

Hail, Franklin

When: May 1, 6:24 PM CST
Where: Franklin County, 4 mi S of Fern
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.567, -94.033

Hail, Sebastian

When: May 1, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Sebastian County, 4 mi SW of Hartford
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 34.983, -94.433

Hail, Benton

When: May 1, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Benton County, 5 mi E of Rogers
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 36.333, -94.033

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arkansas in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Arkansas, May 2003

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: 5358241, 5358240, 5358242, 5358243, 5358244, 5358246, 5358245, 5358247.