F2 tornado, Judsonia to Newport, Arkansas, May 16, 2003

1. F040 to 72 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. F173 to 112 mph

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. F2113 to 157 mphthis tornado

   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.

4. 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.

5. F4207 to 260 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. 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.

7. 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.

Rating

F2

Date

May 16, 2003

Touchdown

5:29 PM CDT (22:29 UTC)

Path length

5.0 miles (8.0 km)

Path width

150 yards (137 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Counties

White and Jackson counties

Touchdown point

35.420, -91.480

Lift-off point

35.480, -91.420

Record number

349

A weak tornado touched down in central White County about one half mile north of Judsonia. The tornado remained on the ground for about 5.5 miles before lifting about one half mile southeast of Bald Knob. Damage consisted of a number of large trees blown down. The roofs of several houses were damaged, mainly from falling trees, and shingles were removed from additional roofs.

A weak tornado touched down over northern White County about 1 mile north of Velvet Ridge near Highway 167. Several homes suffered roof damage, mostly due to shingles being blown off or pieces of metal roofing being removed. A number of large trees were also blown down. The tornado continued to track to the northeast into Jackson County.

A weak tornado moved from White County into Jackson County about 3 miles south-southeast of Denmark. The tornado downed a number of large trees and power poles. Several homes and businesses suffered roof damage, mainly from falling trees. The tornado dissipated about 5 miles southeast of Denmark.

A strong tornado was spawned near Bradford and moved to the northeast. The tornado downed a number of trees which fell on residences in and near town. Some of the trees were quite old, and were likely at least 100 years old. The tornado tracked to about 1 mile north-northwest of town before heading into Jackson County.

A strong tornado moved out of White County just north of Bradford into Jackson County about 8 miles southwest of Ingleside. The tornado caused mostly tree damage, with trees either downed, snapped or twisted. The roofs of a few residences were also damaged. The tornado dissipated around 5.5 miles west of Ingleside near the Possum Grape community.

A weak tornado touched down over the central part of Jackson County, about 3 miles southwest of Newport. The tornado moved eastward and downed a number of trees and large tree limbs. Several residences sustained roof damage. The tornado dissipated about 2 miles north of Midway.

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

47 minutes of warning. NWS LZK issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:42 UTC, 47 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:40 UTC.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

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.

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.

Batesville (Awos) (BVX), 36 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The live radar over the trackEvery 2003 tornado in ArkansasEvery tornado in Arkansas since 1950Warnings in force in Arkansas nowThe forecast where you are

41 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

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