Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Springfield, MO

December 17, 2002Lawrence County, Missouri

NWS Springfield, MO issued this tornado warning at Dec 17, 2002, 10:59 PM CST for Lawrence County, Missouri. It was in force for 21 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Dec 17, 2002, 10:59 PM CST (04:59 UTC)
Expired: Dec 17, 2002, 11:20 PM CST
In force: 21 min
Issued by: NWS Springfield, MO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Lawrence County, MO

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 35 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:59 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Dec 17, 11:05 PM CST	Tornado F2	Mt Vernon, MO

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Dec 17, 7:35 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr
Dec 17, 10:40 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 5.0 hours before the alert went out and 21 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 39 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -55 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1087 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 267 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 432 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

135 
WFUS53 KSGF 180459
TORSGF
MOC109-180520-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
1057 PM CST TUE DEC 17 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SPRINGFIELD HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN AND CENTRAL LAWRENCE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST MISSOURI

* UNTIL 1120 PM CST

* AT 1054 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO FOUR MILES      
  SOUTH OF MOUNT VERNON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.  

* THE TORNADO WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF...
  LAWRENCE COUNTY.

THE TOWNS OF CHESAPEAKE AND HALLTOWN ARE ALSO IN THE PATH OF THIS
TORNADIC STORM.

IN ADDITION TO THE TORNADO...THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
NICKEL SIZE HAIL AND DESTRUCTIVE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 3708 9383 3698 9379 3706 9362 3720 9362

$$

CRAMER

The office that day

Everything else NWS Springfield, MO issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Dec 17, 8:43 PM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Newton	32 min
Dec 17, 8:47 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Lawrence	28 min
Dec 17, 9:14 PM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Lawrence	46 min
Dec 17, 9:29 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Greene	46 min
Dec 17, 9:44 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Polk	46 min
Dec 17, 9:44 PM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Greene	61 min
Dec 17, 9:47 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Dallas	43 min
Dec 17, 10:01 PM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	McDonald	19 min
Dec 17, 10:13 PM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Newton	32 min
Dec 17, 10:14 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Laclede	31 min
Dec 17, 10:25 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Camden, Miller	65 min
Dec 17, 10:33 PM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Barry, Lawrence	27 min
Dec 17, 10:44 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Webster	46 min
Dec 17, 10:46 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Laclede	14 min
Dec 17, 11:04 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Pulaski	26 min
Dec 17, 11:06 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Vernon	24 min
Dec 17, 11:08 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Laclede	52 min
Dec 17, 11:16 PM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Greene	44 min
Dec 17, 11:20 PM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Greene	40 min
Dec 17, 11:32 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Vernon	58 min
Dec 17, 11:48 PM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Polk	27 min
Dec 17, 11:53 PM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Dallas	52 min
Dec 18, 12:15 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Benton, St. Clair	60 min
Dec 18, 12:26 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Vernon	34 min
Dec 18, 12:34 AM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Laclede	26 min
Dec 18, 1:12 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Benton, Morgan	48 min
Dec 18, 1:18 AM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Jasper	42 min
Dec 18, 1:35 AM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Barton	40 min
Dec 18, 2:06 AM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Dade	39 min
Dec 18, 2:13 AM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Cedar	32 min
Dec 18, 2:41 AM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Hickory, Polk	49 min
Dec 18, 2:50 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Christian	25 min
Dec 18, 3:06 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Greene, Webster	24 min
Dec 18, 3:13 AM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Webster	47 min
Dec 18, 3:22 AM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Camden	23 min
Dec 18, 3:30 AM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Wright	45 min
Dec 18, 3:41 AM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Morgan	49 min
Dec 18, 4:15 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Vernon	30 min
Dec 18, 4:25 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	St. Clair	50 min
Dec 18, 5:01 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Benton	44 min
Dec 18, 5:09 AM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Benton	36 min
Dec 18, 6:29 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Christian, Stone, Taney	46 min
Dec 18, 6:45 AM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Christian, Douglas, Taney	30 min
Dec 18, 7:10 AM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Douglas, Webster, Wright	35 min
Dec 18, 9:04 AM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Webster, Wright	41 min
Dec 18, 2:24 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Ozark	36 min
Dec 18, 2:36 PM CST	Tornado Warning	SGF	Ozark	24 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Missouri, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes in 2002

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.