Tornadoes · United States · Arkansas · 2003

F0 tornado, Mountain Pine, Arkansas, May 16, 2003

Name: F0 tornado, Mountain Pine, Arkansas, May 16, 2003
Start: 2003-05-16T23:40:00.000Z
Location: Mountain Pine, Arkansas

This F0 tornado ran 3.5 miles across Garland County on May 16, 2003, touching down at 6:40 PM CDT and reaching 30 yards wide. It killed nobody.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

F040 to 72 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3158 to 206 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5261 to 318 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating: F0
Date: May 16, 2003
Touchdown: 6:40 PM CDT (23:40 UTC)
Path length: 3.5 miles (5.6 km)
Path width: 30 yards (27 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
County: Garland County
Touchdown point: 34.600, -93.120
Lift-off point: 34.630, -93.070
Record number: 339

What the Weather Service recorded

A weak tornado touched down briefly over northern Garland County. Some large trees were blown down along the damage path.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Moderate Risk, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:52 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, 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 tornado touched down at May 16, 2:57 PM CDT, 3 hours 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 2:57 PM CDT, 3 hours 43 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
257 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 2003

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA. MOST
ACTIVITY IS LOCATED IN THE NORTHWEST HALF OF THE CWFA.

WITH 3 TO 4 INCH RAIN AMOUNTS IN SOME AREAS...SATURATED GROUND...AND
MORE RAIN TO COME TONIGHT...THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH TONIGHT.

A WARM FRONT WAS ACROSS NORTH ARKANSAS AND NOT MOVING MUCH. THE
FRONT SHOULD SLOWLY MOVE NORTH TONIGHT HOWEVER AS THE SURFACE AND
UPPER LEVEL LOWS APPROACH FROM THE WEST. AFTERNOON LIFTED INDICES
RANGED FROM -1 TO -8 WITH DEW POINTS MAINLY IN THE UPPER 60S AND
LOWER 70S. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA
UNTIL THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT IN OKLAHOMA PASSES BY. THE COLD
FRONT SHOULD EXIT EAST ARKANSAS BY SUNDAY MORNING. SUNDAY AND MONDAY
SHOULD BE QUIETER DAYS WITH THE LOW MOVING OFF TO THE GULF OF
MEXICO.

ANOTHER COLD FRONT MOVES INTO THE STATE TUESDAY AND MOVES THROUGH
QUICKLY. HIGH PRESSURE MOVES IN FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY.

.LZK...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH TONIGHT FOR ZONES
ARZ003>007...ARZ012>016...ARZ021>025...ARZ030>034...ARZ037>047...
ARZ052>057...ARZ062>069.

51

Hazardous weather outlook, May 16, 6:35 PM CDT, 5 minutes before

ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-171000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
635 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR A LARGE PART OF ARKANSAS.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

A SLOW MOVING STORM SYSTEM TO THE WEST OF ARKANSAS WILL RESULT IN
CONTINUED WET WEATHER ACROSS THE NATURAL STATE. WIDESPREAD SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT MUCH OF ARKANSAS
TONIGHT...WITH SEVERE WEATHER STILL A POSSIBILITY. IN ADDITION TO
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS...TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE.

ALONG WITH SEVERE WEATHER...HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE
TONIGHT. RAINFALL AMOUNTS FROM 1 TO 3 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE IN
MANY AREAS...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS. WITH THE GROUND ALREADY
SATURATED...FLASH FLOODING WILL CONTINUE TO BE A CONCERN. A FLASH
FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE AREA TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL DRIFT ACROSS THE STATE SATURDAY...
BECOMING WEAKER AS IT DOES. RAIN IS FORECAST TO CONTINUE MOST OF THE
MORNING BUT IT SHOULD BEGIN TO TAPER OFF LATE IN THE DAY WITH JUST
SCATTERED SHOWERS SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. THE THREAT OF SEVERE
WEATHER WILL BE LOW BUT THERE WILL BE A SLIGHT CHANCE OVER THE
SOUTHEAST HALF OF THE STATE EARLY IN THE DAY.

ANOTHER COLD FRONT WILL DROP DOWN FROM THE NORTHWEST LATE MONDAY AND
SHOULD PASS THROUGH THE STATE MONDAY NIGHT AND EARLY TUESDAY FOR
ANOTHER CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL CONTINUE TO BE REQUIRED TONIGHT.

44

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 16, 2:26 PM CDT, 4 hours 14 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
226 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 2003

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

0216 PM    SEARCY                    AR   75 MPH TSTM WIND GUST
05/16/03   WHITE                          REPORTED BY STORM SPOTTER

28

Local storm report, May 16, 3:00 PM CDT, 3 hours 40 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
300 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 2003

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

0254 PM    BRADFORD                  AR   .75 INCH HAIL
05/16/03   WHITE                          REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT

28

Local storm report, May 16, 3:47 PM CDT, 2 hours 53 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
347 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 2003

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

0245 PM    BRADFORD                  AR   WIND DAMAGE
05/16/03   WHITE                          TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWN. REPORTED BY EMERGENCY
                                          MANAGEMENT

0245 PM    BRADFORD                  AR   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/16/03   WHITE                          REPORTED BY PUBLIC

0305 PM    4 SW INGLESIDE            AR   TORNADO
05/16/03   JACKSON                        PUBLIC REPORTED TORNADO
                                          SOUTH OF THE WHITE RIVER
                                          BRIDGE OFF U.S. 67. THIS IS
                                          UNCONFIRMED

0305 PM    SIMS                      AR   FLASH FLOODS
05/16/03   MONTGOMERY                     TWO CREEKS FLOODING A
                                          ROAD. 4 INCHES OF RAIN IN
                                          LAST 1 TO 2 HOURS. ALSO
                                          4.29 INCHES OF RAIN IN LAST
                                          1 TO 2 HOURS AT HOG JAW.
                                          REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
                                          OPERATOR AND SPOTTER

0310 PM    CASA                      AR   WIND DAMAGE
05/16/03   PERRY                          TREES DOWN AND BUTANE TANK
                                          OVERTURNED. REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT

0312 PM    ODEN                      AR   FLASH FLOODS
05/16/03   MONTGOMERY                     4.29 INCHES OF RAIN IN
                                          LAST 1 TO 2 HOURS. REPORTED
                                          BY STORM SPOTTER

0318 PM    SIMS                      AR   FLASH FLOODS
05/16/03   MONTGOMERY                     HIGHWAY 88 FLOODED JUST
                                          EAST OF SIMS. REPORTED BY
                                          EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

0337 PM    MORRILTON                 AR   FLASH FLOODS
05/16/03   CONWAY                         SEVERAL INCHES OF WATER
                                          OVER HIGHWAY 95 A COUPLE OF
                                          PLACES NEAR MORRILTON.
                                          REPORTED BY STORM SPOTTER

28

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), 12:00Z

11.7 hours before the tornado, 245 km from the path. May 16, 2003.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.

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. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 299 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -621 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 1325 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1397 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 40 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 223 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 439 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 3.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Shreveport, LA (KSHV), 00:00Z

0.3 hours after it, 245 km from the path. May 17, 2003.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.

Hodograph

Mixed-layer CAPE: 1901 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -14 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 3173 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1440 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 44 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 218 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 247 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.4
Supercell composite: 15.5
0-3 km lapse rate: 7.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Hot Springs (HOT), 15 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Temp (°F)	Dew point (°F)	Wind	Gust (kt)	Pressure (mb)	Weather
00:00 UTC

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2003 tornado in Arkansas Every tornado in Arkansas since 1950 Warnings in force in Arkansas now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 16, 2003

41 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 16	3:53 AM CDT	F1	Lincoln, OK	2.3	20		$10,000
May 16	5:41 AM CDT	F1	Delaware, OK	3.2	200	2	$1.0 million
May 16	1:05 PM CDT	F1	Lincoln, OK	4.9	40		$20,000
May 16	1:08 PM CDT	F0	Kingfisher, OK	0.3	30
May 16	1:15 PM CDT	F0	Lincoln, OK	0.3	20
May 16	1:20 PM CDT	F0	Lincoln, OK	0.3	20
May 16	1:30 PM CDT	F0	Kingfisher, OK	0.3	20
May 16	1:40 PM CDT	F1	Okmulgee, OK	3.0	100		$100,000
May 16	2:08 PM CDT	F0	Okmulgee, OK	1.0	25		$20,000
May 16	2:10 PM CDT	F0	Lincoln, OK	0.3	20
May 16	2:15 PM CDT	F0	McIntosh, OK	0.5	25
May 16	2:20 PM CDT	F0	Payne, OK	0.4	25
May 16	2:46 PM CDT	F0	Yell, AR	3.0	30
May 16	2:47 PM CDT	F1	Jackson, AR	5.0	100
May 16	3:08 PM CDT	F1	Jackson, AR	17.0	100
May 16	3:22 PM CDT	F0	Haskell, OK	2.0	40	1	$30,000
May 16	3:43 PM CDT	F1	Haskell, OK	3.0	70		$150,000
May 16	4:06 PM CDT	F1	Faulkner, AR	7.0	100
May 16	4:17 PM CDT	F1	Faulkner, AR	5.0	75
May 16	4:20 PM CDT	F1	Perry, AR	2.4	75
May 16	4:23 PM CDT	F0	Perry, AR	2.3	30
May 16	4:25 PM CDT	F1	Faulkner, AR	6.0	100
May 16	4:31 PM CDT	F0	Perry, AR	1.3	25
May 16	4:35 PM CDT	F1	White, AR	4.5	100
May 16	4:43 PM CDT	F2	White, AR	5.0	150
May 16	4:45 PM CDT	F0	Sebastian, AR	0.2	25
May 16	4:47 PM CDT	F1	Cleburne, AR	10.0	50
May 16	5:01 PM CDT	F0	Logan, AR	3.8	25
May 16	5:06 PM CDT	F1	White, AR	5.5	80
May 16	5:20 PM CDT	F1	White, AR	4.5	100
May 16	5:29 PM CDT	F2	White, AR	5.0	150
May 16	5:58 PM CDT	F1	Jackson, AR	16.0	100
May 16	6:14 PM CDT	F1	Yell, AR	3.4	60
May 16	6:27 PM CDT	F0	Yell, AR	2.2	30
May 16	6:39 PM CDT	F2	Saline, AR	4.7	150
May 16	6:40 PM CDT	F1	Poinsett, AR	5.0	100		$50,000
May 16	7:10 PM CDT	F1	Dallas, AR	16.0	100
May 16	7:24 PM CDT	F0	Pulaski, AR	4.7	25
May 16	7:35 PM CDT	F0	Pulaski, AR	8.2	50
May 16	8:32 PM CDT	F2	Dallas, AR	25.8	500
May 16	9:47 PM CDT	F0	Madison, TX	0.5	20		$10,000

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.