Tornado and Damaging Wind in Arkansas, October 31, 2013

Name: Tornado and Damaging Wind in Arkansas, October 31, 2013
Start: 2013-10-31T18:37
End: 2013-10-31T18:47
Location: Arkansas

October 31, 2013 · NWS MEG · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A cold front approached the Mid-South during the day on October 31st, 2013. Widespread rain occurred through much of the day.

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: $560,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 happened

The episode as NWS MEG wrote it up.

A cold front approached the Mid-South during the day on October 31st, 2013. Widespread rain occurred through much of the day. However...rain tapered off by late afternoon. There was enough of a window for the atmosphere to recover before the actual cold front moved into the area during the evening. Thus a couple of severe thunderstorms developed ahead of the front during the evening hours across Northeast Arkansas. One tornado occurred along with damaging winds.

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 Memphis, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 31, 5:32 PM CST, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 31, 5:32 PM CST, 1 hour 5 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
632 PM CDT THU OCT 31 2013

.UPDATE...
UPDATED TO ADD 00Z AVIATION DISCUSSION.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 231 PM CDT THU OCT 31 2013/

DISCUSSION...

A COLD FRONT CURRENTLY STRETCHES FROM NEAR QUINCY ILLINOIS TO
TULSA OKLAHOMA. MAIN AREA OF RAIN CONTINUES TO SLOWLY PUSH EAST
BUT STILL REMAINS OVER MOST LOCATIONS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI
RIVER. THIS AREA OF RAIN WILL CONTINUE ITS EASTWARD PROGRESSION
THIS EVENING. RAIN SHOULD BE COMING TO AN END SHORTLY ACROSS THE
MEMPHIS METRO AREA. MEANWHILE ACROSS SOUTHWEST MISSOURI WHERE THE
SHORTWAVE IS LOCATED...SHOWERS ARE BEGINNING TO POP. THUS FAR ONLY ONE OR
TWO THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED. THERE IS A FEW BREAKS OCCURRING
IN THE CLOUDS ACROSS SOUTHERN MISSOURI/NORTHERN ARKANSAS. THE QUESTION
REMAINS WILL THERE BE ENOUGH TIME FOR THE ATMOSPHERE TO BECOME
UNSTABLE ENOUGH FOR THE ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TO BECOME SEVERE.
CLOUD COVER REMAINS ACROSS NORTHEAST ARKANSAS AND EXPECT ANY
BREAKS THAT WOULD OCCUR WOULD HAPPEN OVER THE NEXT 1-3 HOURS. AT
THIS TIME DO NOT THINK THERE WILL BE ENOUGH TIME FOR THE
ATMOSPHERE TO BECOME UNSTABLE ENOUGH FOR ANY THUNDERSTORMS TO
BECOME SEVERE ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH. ALTHOUGH CANNOT RULE OUT A FEW
SHOWERS OR JUST GENERAL THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING ACROSS NORTHEAST
ARKANSAS...THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...AND NORTHWEST TENNESSEE AS THE
SHORTWAVE MOVES THROUGH THE AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS
EVENING. LOWS WILL BE IN THE LOWER TO MID 50S.

DO NOT EXPECT MUCH CHANGE IN TEMPERATURES ON FRIDAY BEHIND THE
FRONT AS WINDS QUICKLY TURN AROUND TO THE SOUTHWEST. EXPECT MOSTLY
SUNNY SKIES WITH HIGHS IN THE LOWER 70S.

A REINFORCING COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE MIDSOUTH FRIDAY
NIGHT. THE FRONT WILL COME THROUGH THE AREA DRY. MUCH COOLER AIR
WILL FILTER INTO THE AREA BEHIND THIS FRONT.

HIGH PRESSURE WILL SLOWLY BUILD INTO THE MIDSOUTH OVER THE
WEEKEND. GENERALLY EXPECT MOSTLY CLEAR CONDITIONS DURING THIS TIME
FRAME...ALTHOUGH CAN/T RULE OUT SOME STRATO-CU DEVELOPING ACROSS
PORTIONS OF WEST TENNESSEE ON SATURDAY WHICH MAY KEEP TEMPERATURES
COOLER THAN WHAT GUIDANCE IS SUGGESTING. WILL GO WITH HIGHS
RANGING FROM THE UPPER 50S TO THE LOWER 60S ON SATURDAY. DO NOT
EXPECT TEMPERATURES TO BE MUCH DIFFERENT ON SUNDAY DUE TO A COLD
START. LOWS WILL DROP DOWN INTO THE 30S SATURDAY NIGHT.

A WARMING TREND WILL OCCUR ON MONDAY AS THE HIGH SHIFTS EAST.
WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE SOME WARM AIR ADVECTION SHOWERS
OCCURRING LATE MONDAY NIGHT AHEAD OF THE NEXT SYSTEM.

A COLD FRONT WILL LIKELY MOVE INTO THE AREA LATE TUESDAY NIGHT
INTO WEDNESDAY. THERE REMAINS SOME TIMING DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE
MODELS. CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR AHEAD OF
THE FRONT. HIGH PRESSURE WILL THEN SETTLE INTO THE AREA BEHIND THE FRONT.

KRM

&&

.AVIATION...
00Z TAF CYCLE

MAIN PRE-FRONTAL AREA OF RAIN WILL BE EXITING WEST TENNESSEE AND
NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. HOWEVER...A
BROKEN LINE OF SHOWERS AND PERHAPS AN EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORM AT
BEST ALIGNED ALONG THE COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THROUGH TAF
SITES THIS EVENING...ESPECIALLY AT JBR. MVFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED
TO IMPROVE TO VFR CONDITIONS AT ALL SITES TONIGHT WITH THE ONLY
EXCEPTIONS AT JBR DUE TO TEMPORARY MVFR CEILINGS LATER THIS
EVENING ASSOCIATED WITH WRAP AROUND LOW LEVEL MOISTURE BEHIND THE
COLD FRONT AND THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME PATCHY FOG AT TUP BETWEEN
01/09-12Z. GUSTY SOUTH/SOUTHWEST WINDS AVERAGING BETWEEN 12-15 KTS
WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 KTS WILL VEER WEST/NORTHWEST AFTER
FRONTAL PASSAGE AND DIMINISH TO BETWEEN 4-6 KTS LATER TONIGHT AND
INCREASE TO 8-10 KTS AFTER 01/16Z.

CJC

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
MEM  50  72  49  63 /  10   0   0   0
MKL  51  71  44  57 /  30   0   0   0
JBR  49  70  44  60 /  20   0   0   0
TUP  54  73  47  62 /  20   0   0   0

&&

.MEG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AR...NONE.
MO...NONE.
MS...NONE.
TN...NONE.
&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 31, 5:38 PM CST, 59 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
638 PM CDT THU OCT 31 2013

ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115-
MSZ001>017-020>024-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>055-088>092-020145-
ALCORN-BENTON MS-CALHOUN-CARROLL-CHESTER-CHICKASAW-CLAY-COAHOMA-
CRAIGHEAD-CRITTENDEN-CROCKETT-CROSS-DESOTO-DECATUR-DUNKLIN-DYER-
FAYETTE-GIBSON-GREENE-HARDEMAN-HARDIN-HAYWOOD-HENDERSON-HENRY-
ITAWAMBA-LAFAYETTE-LAKE-LAUDERDALE-LAWRENCE-LEE AR-LEE MS-MADISON-
MARSHALL-MCNAIRY-MISSISSIPPI-MONROE-OBION-PANOLA-PEMISCOT-
PHILLIPS-POINSETT-PONTOTOC-PRENTISS-QUITMAN-RANDOLPH-SHELBY-
ST. FRANCIS-TALLAHATCHIE-TATE-TIPPAH-TIPTON-TISHOMINGO-TUNICA-
UNION-WEAKLEY-YALOBUSHA-
638 PM CDT THU OCT 31 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST ARKANSAS...
THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL...NORTH MISSISSIPPI...AND WEST TENNESSEE.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER NORTHEAST
ARKANSAS...THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL AND FAR NORTHERN WEST TENNESSEE
THROUGH MIDEVENING. STRONG WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.

PWB

The radar

The Memphis radar (KNQA), 64 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:39 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Craighead

When: October 31, 6:37 PM CST to 6:42 PM CST
Where: Craighead County, 0.39 mi WSW of Degelow to 0.91 mi NNE of Caraway
Rating: EF1
Path length: 3.69 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Property damage: $500,000
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey
Coordinates: 35.748, -90.376

A tornado touched down just southwest of the business district in Caraway and moved northeast. The tornado lifted near the far northeastern edge of town. Significant structural damage occurred as a result of the tornado. Damage occurred to many roofs of homes, businesses, churches and a convenience store. Several dozens of trees were uprooted as well.

Thunderstorm Wind, Mississippi

When: October 31, 6:43 PM CST to 6:47 PM CST
Where: Mississippi County, 0.8 mi SE of Milligan Ridge to 1.1 mi E of Milligan Ridge
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $60,000
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 35.773, -90.258

Straight line winds produced some minor damage to a farm shop building and a few grain bins in Milligan Ridge. Power lines were knocked down as well.

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.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Arkansas in 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Arkansas, 2013 Warnings in Arkansas, October 2013

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 480246, 480248.