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| Storm Reports |
| Are you interested in what happened during a recent event? Check out the
report below. |
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Severe Weather (March 1, 2007) |
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Severe storms developed from eastern Kansas into Missouri
initially, and stayed there for several hours during the wee hours of the
1st. However, toward 4 am CST...the storms built toward the south into
Arkansas. |
| In the picture:
The satellite showed thunderstorms building into Arkansas from the north
as a storm system ("L") dragged a cold front into the state from the
Plains early on 03/01/2007. |
| Winds aloft changed direction with height, with rotation in
some of the
storms. As a result, Tornado Warnings were issued in northern sections
of the state (in areas close to the Missouri border). |
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| In the picture:
The WSR-88D (Doppler Weather Radar) showed strong rotation in Fulton
County (northern Arkansas) around 637 am CST on 03/01/2007. |
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Fortunately, there were no reports of damage. However, large hail was
noted. Tennis ball size hail occurred at Norfork (Baxter County), with
golfball size hail at Mount Judea (Newton County) and 8 miles southeast
of Marshall (Searcy County). |
| In the picture:
The sky was turbulent over northern Arkansas during the morning of
03/01/2007, with mammatus (pouch-like) clouds viewed near
Franklin (Izard County). The photo is courtesy of Heidi Farrar. Click
to enlarge. |
| Overall, the event was tamed a bit by marginal
instability. In Arkansas, big severe weather outbreaks usually occur in
the afternoon and evening...when daytime heating is at a maximum. In this
case, while temperatures were above normal...warmer readings and a little
more moisture could have made it much worse. |
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| In the picture:
CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy...or a measure of instability)
values were held in check (below 1000 J/kg) during the early morning of
03/01/2007. At the same time, high helicity (representing the potential
for rotating winds) values exited to the north and east of Arkansas. The
graphic was constructed using data from the Storm Prediction Center in
Norman, OK. |
| Plus, shear decreased rapidly toward sunrise...and was
displaced into areas north and east of the state. Given this, the
potential for rotating storms dropped.
Where instability and shear overlapped later in the day, numerous
tornadoes were spawned from Alabama into Georgia. Nine people were
killed around Enterprise in southeast Alabama, with eight deaths at a
local school. Six more fatalities occurred near Newton in southwest
Georgia.
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In Arkansas, the event closed with cooler readings arriving behind a cold front.
Temperatures dropped from the 60s into the 40s and 50s. It was also
windy, with west to northwest winds at 15 to 25 mph and gusts over 30
mph. |
| In the picture:
Temperatures at 7 am CST on 03/01/2007. |
| Large hail occurred across northern Arkansas during the
morning of March 1, 2007. For
a look at some severe weather reports, click
here. |
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| In the picture:
Preliminary reports of severe weather in the Little
Rock County Warning Area on March 1, 2007 (in red). |
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www.weather.gov
