Tornadoes · United States · Arkansas · 2019

EF0 tornado, Four Mile Corner to Enarc, Arkansas, May 2, 2019

From Four Mile Corner to Enarc, this EF0 tornado ran 4.5 miles across Prairie County on May 2, 2019, touching down at 2:20 PM CDT and reaching 100 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
May 2, 2019
Touchdown
2:20 PM CDT (19:20 UTC)
Lifted
2:34 PM CDT (19:34 UTC)
On the ground
14 minutes
Path length
4.5 miles (7.2 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Prairie County
Touchdown point
34.957, -91.568
Lift-off point
35.019, -91.546
Record number
1905021320-01

The damage survey

3 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LZK, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 70 mph.

  • Beginning point estimated from radar data and video.
  • Video and radar evidence suggest the tornado crossed Hwy 38 near Fourmile Corner.
  • An additional video shows a continuation of the tornado north-northwest of Des Arc. Based on this evidence and radar data, it appears the tornado dissipated around this area. TIme and placement are estimated.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

What the Weather Service recorded

Areas of heavy rainfall were observed as a complex of showers and a few thunderstorms moved across central sections of Arkansas. Several inches of rain fell rather quickly, causing flash flooding. As this area of thunderstorms moved into the Little Rock Metro area, these thunderstorms strengthened, causing several weak tornadoes to touch down across central portions of the state. In addition to damage caused by tornadoes, some downburst winds were also observed.

This tornado was confirmed by video evidence, forming just southwest of the intersection of Arkansas Hwy 11 and 38 west of Des Arc. This tornado continued northeast over rural areas northwest of Des Arc, lifting southwest of the intersection of Arkansas Hwy 11 and North Colwell Road. Damage was minimal due to this tornado remaining over mainly open fields.

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 May 2, 12:47 PM CDT, 1 hour 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 2, 12:47 PM CDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED
National Weather Service Little Rock AR
1247 PM CDT Thu May 2 2019

.AVIATION...

For the 18Z TAFs, moderate to heavy rainfall should continue
through central portions of the state through early to mid
afternoon. This rainfall, in addition to low broken to overcast
skies, will result in MVFR and IFR conditions across the forecast
area. Expect conditions to improve slightly this evening, however
restrictions should return late tonight and early Friday due to
low clouds and fog development.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION...(ISSUED 659 AM CDT Thu May 2 2019)
UPDATE...

Updated to include the 12z aviation discussion.

AVIATION...

SHRA/TSRA were ongoing across western and northern terminals this
morning. VFR conditions were seen at KBPK, KPBF and KLLQ,
elsewhere MVFR conditions were observed. Ceilings will gradually
lower through the day becoming MVFR as SHRA expand in coverage and
spread northeastward. Precipitation will come to an end from
southwest to northeast this afternoon into the evening. MVFR
ceilings will prevail overnight with areas of fog developing by
early Friday morning 08/10z. Winds will generally be southerly at
less than 15 knots.

PREV DISCUSSION...(ISSUED 416 AM CDT Thu May 2 2019)
SHORT TERM...Today Through Friday Night

It was another unsettled evening across much of AR. Radar
indicated two main areas of convection in progress as of 04Z this
morning. The northern end of an MCS was affecting the southwest
half of AR, while another area of convection was ongoing across
northeast AR. Between these systems, a remnant cold pool was
propagating across central AR resulting in elevated scattered
showers and isolated thunderstorms. All storms across the state
are below severe limits at this time. Across western portions of
AR, radar indicated substantial precipitation fell across this
area overnight, with general 1 to 2 inches over the higher
elevations of the Ouachitas. Additional heavy rain will be
possible today as the system slowly moves east across the state.
Limited instability, from time of day, will help keep storms below
severe limits. Flash flooding will be the main concern given
antecedent conditions. High temperatures to day will range from
the upper 60s to around 80 degrees. Precipitation should come to
an end this afternoon and evening before another complex of
showers and thunderstorms move into the region Friday.

On Friday into Friday night another mesoscale convective system
is expected to develop over Texas before moving into AR. Strong to
severe thunderstorms will be possible with damaging winds
becoming the main concern. Marginally severe hail will be possible
as well. One major factor to consider with this severe potential
would be the development of stratiform precipitation out ahead of
the main convection to help stabilize the atmosphere. Friday and
Friday evening will be monitored closely for any changes to this
severe potential. Confidence remains low in this portion of the
forecast with so many model discrepancies as to timing and
placement of features.

This active weather pattern is a result of persistent troughing
over the western CONUS and strong persistent ridging over the
Western Atlantic. Between these features, southwest upper level
winds continues to bring embedded impulses through the flow which
in part is interacting with a nearly stationary boundary
northwest of AR and partly a result of rich Gulf of Mexico
moisture streaming northward pooling in proximity to the boundary.
These ingredients will come together to produce a long-duration
heavy rain event across the state. As much as one to three inches
of additional rainfall will be possible along the I30/Hwy 67/167
corridor through the short term. Flash flooding still posses the
greatest risk during the short term.

LONG TERM...Saturday Through Wednesday

Convection wl be ending from the Sat night as a storm system shifts
further to the E of the FA. Models still show a lull in the
unsettled wx pattern for Sun and much of Mon as sfc high pres passes
acrs the region. Weak ridging in the upper lvls wl also help to keep
dry conds in place.

However, moisture/rain chances wl once again return heading into Tue
and Wed as the upper flow again returns fm the SW. Several upper
impulses wl traverse the Mid-South, also aided by a slow movg CDFNT
fm the NW, to bring additional rounds of SHRA/TSRA to much of AR.
Once again, wl closely monitor heavy rain/severe wx potential
heading into the next work week.

&&

.LZK Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
Flash Flood Watch until 7 PM CDT this evening FOR Baxter-Boone-
Conway-Fulton-Izard-Johnson-Logan-Marion-Montgomery-Newton-Pike-
Polk-Pope-Scott-Searcy-Stone-Van Buren-Yell.

&&

Aviation...CROSS
Hazardous weather outlook, May 2, 4:49 AM CDT, 9 hours 31 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED
National Weather Service Little Rock AR
449 AM CDT Thu May 2 2019

ARZ003>008-012>017-021>025-030>034-037>047-052>057-062>069-031000-
Boone-Marion-Baxter-Fulton-Sharp-Randolph-Newton-Searcy-Stone-
Izard-Independence-Lawrence-Johnson-Pope-Van Buren-Cleburne-
Jackson-Logan-Conway-Faulkner-White-Woodruff-Scott-Yell-Perry-
Polk-Montgomery-Garland-Saline-Pulaski-Lonoke-Prairie-Monroe-Pike-
Clark-Hot Spring-Grant-Jefferson-Arkansas-Dallas-Cleveland-
Lincoln-Desha-Ouachita-Calhoun-Bradley-Drew-
449 AM CDT Thu May 2 2019

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for a Large Part of Arkansas.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

A complex of showers and thunderstorms will continue to move
through the state this morning into the early afternoon hours.
The potential exists for heavy rainfall leading to isolated flash
flooding. One to two inches of rain is expected today. Organized
severe weather is not expected.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday

Unsettled weather will continue Friday and Saturday, as a front
meanders over Arkansas. Good chances for showers and thunderstorms
will remain in the forecast. Localized flash flooding will be a
concern, but organized severe weather is not expected.

The front will move out of the area later in the weekend. A return
to an unsettled weather pattern will occur by the middle of next
week.

.Spotter Information Statement...

Spotter activation will not be needed.

&&

Visit NWS Little Rock on the web. Go to https://weather.gov/lzk.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 2, 1:40 PM CDT, 40 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, May 2, 1:45 PM CDT, 35 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, May 2, 1:48 PM CDT, 32 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, May 2, 1:55 PM CDT, 25 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, May 2, 2:17 PM CDT, 3 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, May 2, 2:19 PM CDT, 1 minute before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

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.

Little Rock, AR (KBYH), 12:00Z

7.3 hours before the tornado, 148 km from the path. May 2, 2019.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2019-05-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 18 joules per kilogram, CIN -199, lifted condensation level 888 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, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2019-05-02The 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 24 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 40 knots.193958Sfc1 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
18 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-199 J/kg
Surface CAPE
17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
888 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
10 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Little Rock, AR (KBYH), 00:00Z

4.7 hours after it, 148 km from the path. May 3, 2019.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 2019-05-03Temperature 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 -57186, lifted condensation level 914 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, Little Rock, AR at 00:00Z on 2019-05-03The 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 10 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 21 knots.1939Sfc1 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
-57186 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1377 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
914 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
10 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
14 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.1
0-3 km lapse rate
5.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Searcy Municipal Airport (M07) (SRC), 30 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 Little Rock radar (KLZK), 66 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 19:20 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 2019 tornado in ArkansasEvery tornado in Arkansas since 1950Warnings in force in Arkansas nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 2, 2019

15 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 26:30 AM CDTEF1Shelby, TX0.6118$10,000
May 26:40 AM CDTEF1De Soto Parish, LA1.0240$10,000
May 27:08 AM CDTEF1De Soto Parish, LA0.2330$150,000
May 212:37 PM CDTEF1Pulaski, AR1.5200$100,000
May 21:14 PM CDTEF0Pulaski, AR5.1500$100,000
May 21:26 PM CDTEF0Pulaski, AR3.780
May 21:33 PM CDTEF0Pulaski, AR1.050$30,000
May 21:35 PM CDTEF0Faulkner, AR0.750$1,000
May 22:40 PM CDTEF0Jackson, AR0.250
May 24:29 PM CDTEF0Greene, AR0.250$30,000
May 26:02 PM CDTEF0Mississippi, AR0.250$1,000
May 26:11 PM CDTEF0Pemiscot, MO2.8150$5,000
May 26:20 PM CDTEF0Obion, TN0.2100$5,000
May 26:43 PM CDTEF0Obion, TN0.1100$5,000
May 29:20 PM CDTUnratedVal Verde, TX0.410

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.