Early Spring Heat Wave in the Southwest U.S.; Critical Fire Weather in the Central Rockies and Plains

An unusual early Spring heat wave will continue much above-normal temperatures over the Southwest U.S. through early next week. Many locations are likely to set records for the highest-ever March temperature. Periods of critical fire weather will persist from the central Rockies to the central Plains through Saturday as gusty winds and low relative humidity continue. Read More >

Overview

TOTAL TORNADO COUNT = 1

EF1 = 1

Summary & Map

Tornado #1: South of Hope, AR

*CLICK TO VIEW ON MAP*
START POINT	1 mile NW of Spring Hill, Hempstead County, AR
END POINT	3 miles E of Hope, Hempstead County, LA
RATING / PEAK WIND	EF1 / 107 mph
DATE	December 1, 2018
START TIME	1:25am CST
END TIME	1:34am CST
LENGTH/ WIDTH	8.53 miles/ 75 yards
FATALITIES/ INJURIES	None
Summary: A long-lived bow echo, which originated in Northeast Texas, moved across Hempstead County. This bow echo developed a book-end vortex which generated the rotation that produced the tornado. Damage was intermittent along the path. Tornado damage was first observed along County Road 1041 about a mile NW of Spring Hill. Tree limbs were downed and a tree trunk was snapped. The most well-defined tornado damage was found as the storm crossed Route 174. At this location, a barn's tin metal roof was completely removed, windows were blown out on two homes, shingles were removed from roofs, a shed was shifted off its foundation, and a carport was destroyed. In addition, approximately 15 trees were either uprooted or snapped at their trunk with damage in a convergent pattern. As the storm continued near Route 29, it ripped the tin metal roof of a heavy machinery shelter and led to the column anchorage failure of the structure. The metal roof was thrown and twisted into a tree behind it. The storm continued to uproot and snap trees as it crossed Country club drive, East 28th Street, and Route 32 before the last damage was found along U.S. Highway 278. A special thanks goes out to the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management and Hempstead County's Office of Emergency Management for their assistance during the damage survey.

Click here to download the survey KMZ file.

This survey data is preliminary and subject to change as more information becomes available. Road accessibility and inconsistencies between mapping and GPS software may limit the accuracy of the tracks plotted on this map. Line widths are not representative of actual tornado widths. The information plotted on this map is intended for general reference use only.

For official post-storm information, use Storm Data from the National Centers for Environmental Information.

SHV RSS Feed

Early Spring Heat Wave in the Southwest U.S.; Critical Fire Weather in the Central Rockies and Plains

December 1, 2018: Tornado South of Hope, AR