Tornadoes · United States · Arkansas · 2015

EF0 tornado, Bull Shoals Lake Wes, Arkansas, March 24, 2015

This EF0 tornado ran 0.6 miles across Marion County on March 24, 2015, touching down at 7:11 PM CDT and reaching 30 yards wide. It killed nobody.

The rating scale

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

  1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

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

  3. EF2111 to 135 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.

  4. EF3136 to 165 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

  6. EF5over 200 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.

The record

Rating
EF0
Date
March 24, 2015
Touchdown
7:11 PM CDT (00:11 UTC)
Lifted
7:12 PM CDT (00:12 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.6 miles (1.0 km)
Path width
30 yards (27 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Marion County
Touchdown point
36.459, -92.852
Lift-off point
36.456, -92.841
Record number
1503241811-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A frontal boundary stalled over southern Missouri and northern Arkansas on the 24th, and thunderstorms developed during the evening hours as a storm system tracked along this front. This frontal boundary remained nearly stationary into the 25th as well, with additional thunderstorms developing on the evening hours of the 25th. Several reports of large hail and wind damage were observed, as well as a brief water spout on Bull Shoals Lake.

A water spout was observed by the Emergency Manager of Marion County over Bull Shoals Lake.

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

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 Mar 24, 6:30 PM CDT, 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 24, 6:30 PM CDT, 41 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
630 PM CDT TUE MAR 24 2015

.AVIATION...
TSRA MOVING INTO NORTHERN ARKANSAS...AND HAVE A COUPLE OF HOURS
THIS EVENING BEFORE STORMS WILL DIMINISH. DID INCLUDE VCSH FOR
WESTERN SITES THIS EVENING...BUT NOT CONFIDENT IN TSRA TO HOLD
TOGETHER. DID INCLUDE MVFR ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTH AFTER
25/09Z...LIFTING AFTER SUNRISE. BREEZY SOUTH WINDS DURING THE
DAY...AHEAD OF THE NEXT COLD FRONT ARRIVING SHORTLY AFTER THIS TAF
CYCLE.
&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 243 PM CDT TUE MAR 24 2015/

SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT

DESPITE SOME LIGHT SHOWERS AND EVEN AN OCCASIONAL THUNDERSTORM
ACROSS THE NORTH TODAY...TEMPERATURES WARMED NICELY AROUND THE
NATURAL STATE. WE HAVE SEEN DEWPOINTS BEGIN TO RISE A BIT AROUND THE
STATE...WITH READINGS IN THE MID TO UPPER 50S ACROSS WESTERN AND
SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS. SURFACE LOW...CURRENTLY IS LOCATED JUST TO THE
NE OF TULSA...WITH UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE LOCATED A BIT TO THE NW.

HIRES MODELS GENERALLY AGREE THAT THUNDERSTORMS WILL NOT MAKE IT
INTO THE CWA UNTIL AFTER 00Z...WITH THUNDERSTORMS WEAKENING BY 06Z.
THE 00Z WRF MODEL...DID SHOW A STRONG LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING
QUICKLY THROUGH THE STATE DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...BUT DO NOT
EXPECT THIS MODEL SOLUTION TO COME TO FRUITION.

EXPECT THE BIGGEST IMPACTS FROM THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER TO
BE NW OF A LINE FROM POLK COUNTY TO FULTON COUNTY...WITH GENERALLY
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS BEING THE MAIN THREAT. WITH DIURNAL
FACTORS SOMEWHAT AGAINST THE CWA SEEING WIDESPREAD SEVERE
WEATHER...THE INCREASED DEWPOINTS AND INSTABILITY WILL LIKELY HELP
TO PROLONG STRONG STORMS ACROSS WEST AND SW ARKANSAS.

ROUND TWO OF SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL WILL EXIST ON WEDNESDAY. THE
12Z MODELS HAVE CONTINUED TO SLOW DOWN THE TIMING OF THIS
SYSTEM...WITH PRECIP NOT MOVING INTO THE STATE UNTIL AFTER 00Z. IT
CONTINUES TO LOOK THAT THE BULK OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE POST
FRONTAL AND SOMEWHAT LIMIT THE SEVERE POTENTIAL. HOWEVER...DO EXPECT
A FEW STORMS PRODUCING HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE AS
THIS STRONG COLD FRONT FINALLY PUSHES THROUGH THE STATE. 12Z MODELS
HAVE COME BACK A BIT WETTER WITH HEAVY RAIN A BIT FURTHER TO THE
NORTH. THIS WILL CONTINUE TO BE WATCHED IN FUTURE FORECASTS TO SEE
IF ANY KIND OF FLOOD WATCH WILL BE NEEDED ACROSS NORTHERN ARKANSAS.

BEHIND THIS FRONT A MUCH MORE HIGHLY AMPLIFIED PATTERN WILL BE IN
PLACE ACROSS THE COUNTRY. MORNING LOW TEMPERATURES ON FRIDAY AND
SATURDAY MORNING WILL BE WELL BELOW NORMAL. DID RAISE MORNING LOW
TEMPS A FEW DEGREES WITH THIS FORECAST...WITH MORE CLOUD COVER THAN
INITIALLY FORECAST...BUT STILL WENT BELOW GUIDANCE. THE HIGHLY AMPLIFIED
PATTERN WILL SEE A LARGE TROUGH ACROSS ARKANSAS DURING THIS SAME
TIME PERIOD...WITH A FEW PIECES OF ENERGY RIDING AROUND THE LOW.
THIS WILL BRING A RETURN OF POPS TO THE FORECAST. WITH THESE LOW
TEMPERATURES IN PLACE...WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE SOME
SNOW...AND THUS ADDED LIGHT SNOW INTO THE FORECAST WITH NO
ACCUMULATIONS EXPECTED. HOWEVER...WITH THESE COLD TEMPERATURES A
FROST AND FREEZE MAY BE POSSIBLE TO ANY TENDER VEGETATION THAT MAY
HAVE ALREADY BEEN PLANTED.

LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

ARKANSAS WILL BE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF NW FLOW ALOFT TO START THE
LONG TERM PERIOD. DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED FOR THE WEEKEND WITH
SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE SETTLING INTO THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY THEN THE
SOUTHEAST US.

TEMPS INITIALLY WILL BE COOL BUT WILL MODERATE TO AROUND OR ABOVE
NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR AS THE WEEKEND PROGRESSES. RAIN CHANCES
WILL RETURN TO THE FORECAST BY THE EARLY PART OF NEXT WEEK AS HIGH
PRESSURE MOVES EAST AWAY FROM THE AREA. THIS IN COMBINATION WITH AN
UPPER LOW APPROACHING ARKANSAS FROM THE WEST WILL PROVIDE RAIN
CHANCES FOR THE START OF NEXT WEEK.
&&

.LZK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
LAKE WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR BAXTER-BOONE-
CLEBURNE-CONWAY-FAULKNER-FULTON-GARLAND-INDEPENDENCE-IZARD-
JACKSON-JOHNSON-LOGAN-LONOKE-MARION-MONROE-MONTGOMERY-NEWTON-
PERRY-POLK-POPE-PRAIRIE-PULASKI-SALINE-SCOTT-SEARCY-SHARP-STONE-
VAN BUREN-WHITE-WOODRUFF-YELL.

&&

AVIATION...58
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 24, 5:00 AM CDT, 14 hours 11 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
500 AM CDT TUE MAR 24 2015

ARZ003>007-012>016-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-251000-
ARKANSAS-BAXTER-BOONE-BRADLEY-CALHOUN-CLARK-CLEBURNE-CLEVELAND-
CONWAY-DALLAS-DESHA-DREW-FAULKNER-FULTON-GARLAND-GRANT-HOT SPRING-
INDEPENDENCE-IZARD-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-LINCOLN-LOGAN-LONOKE-
MARION-MONROE-MONTGOMERY-NEWTON-OUACHITA-PERRY-PIKE-POLK-POPE-
PRAIRIE-PULASKI-SALINE-SCOTT-SEARCY-SHARP-STONE-VAN BUREN-WHITE-
WOODRUFF-YELL-
500 AM CDT TUE MAR 24 2015

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A WEATHER SYSTEM AND COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION TODAY
AND TONIGHT...AND BRING SCATTERED CONVECTION TO MAINLY NORTHERN
ARKANSAS. ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS MAY DEVELOP MAINLY THIS
AFTERNOON TO EVENING. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND
POSSIBLY LARGE HAIL.

ALSO WINDS WILL BE ELEVATED TODAY FROM THE SOUTH OVER MUCH OF
ARKANSAS...ESPECIALLY PARTS OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ARKANSAS.
SOUTH WINDS FROM 10 TO 25 MPH WITH SOME GUSTS TO NEAR 30 MPH WILL
BE POSSIBLE AND A LAKE WIND ADVISORY WILL BE IN EFFECT FOR
NORTHERN AND PARTS OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

A STRONGER STORM SYSTEM AND COLD FRONT WILL PUSH INTO ARKANSAS
LATE WEDNESDAY AND ON THURSDAY...AND BRING SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS TO MUCH OF THE STATE. ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE
STORMS MAY BE SEEN OVER NORTHERN ARKANSAS. ONCE AGAIN...DAMAGING
WINDS AND HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM ANY SEVERE STORM.
THIS FRONT WILL PUSH OUT OF THE STATE LATER ON THURSDAY.

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...DRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED...BUT COLDER
TEMPERATURES WILL FILTER INTO THE REGION. FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
MORNINGS...SOME TEMPERATURES WILL LOWER TO AROUND FREEZING ACROSS
NORTHERN ARKANSAS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME DUE TO THE
ISOLATED NATURE OF ANY SEVERE STORMS. THIS MAY CHANGE IF
CONDITIONS WARRANT.

&&

VISIT NWS LITTLE ROCK ON THE WEB. GO TO HTTP://WEATHER.GOV AND
CLICK ON CENTRAL ARKANSAS.

59

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 24, 6:33 PM CDT, 38 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LITTLE ROCK AR
633 PM CDT TUE MAR 24 2015

ARZ003-004-250000-
BOONE AR-MARION AR-
633 PM CDT TUE MAR 24 2015

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHERN BOONE AND NORTHWESTERN
MARION COUNTIES UNTIL 700 PM CDT...

AT 630 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR ROBERSON HOLLOW...OR 11 MILES NORTHEAST OF
GREEN FOREST...MOVING EAST AT 65 MPH.

WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  WININGTON...          WILLIS...             SELF...
  ROBERSON HOLLOW...    OMAHA...              MYRTLE...
  LEAD HILL...          LAKEWAY...            DODD CITY...
  DIAMOND CITY...       SOUTH LEAD HILL...    PEEL...
  MONARCH...            BURLINGTON...

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...TAKE SHELTER IN A
STURDY BUILDING.

LAT...LON 3632 9276 3635 9330 3650 9330 3650 9329
      3651 9275
TIME...MOT...LOC 2332Z 273DEG 56KT 3646 9326

64
Local storm report, Mar 24, 7:08 PM CDT, 3 minutes before
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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.

Springfield, MO (KSGF), 00:00Z

0.2 hours before the tornado, 98 km from the path. March 25, 2015.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2015-03-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1351 joules per kilogram, CIN -28, lifted condensation level 1035 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
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.
HodographHodograph, Springfield, MO at 00:00Z on 2015-03-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 122 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 60 knots.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
1351 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-28 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1746 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1035 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
122 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
223 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.8
Supercell composite
6.3
0-3 km lapse rate
6.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Springfield, MO (KSGF), 12:00Z

11.8 hours after it, 98 km from the path. March 25, 2015.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2015-03-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -92864, lifted condensation level 2127 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
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.
HodographHodograph, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 2015-03-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -38 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 56 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-92864 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2127 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
9 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-38 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
22 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
2.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Flippin (Awos) (FLP), 29 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

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

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 100 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:11 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2015 tornado in ArkansasEvery tornado in Arkansas since 1950Warnings in force in Arkansas nowThe forecast where you are

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.