Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Amarillo, TX

May 15, 2003Cimarron County, Texas County, Oklahoma

NWS Amarillo, TX issued this tornado warning at May 15, 2003, 4:54 PM CDT for Cimarron County, Texas County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 51 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 15, 2003, 4:54 PM CDT (21:54 UTC)
Expired: May 15, 2003, 5:45 PM CDT
In force: 51 min
Issued by: NWS Amarillo, TX
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Cimarron County, OK, Texas County, OK

The radar

The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 186 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:57 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.

The watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 15, 1:55 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 187 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: 95 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -275 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1781 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 88 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 122 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

896 
WFUS54 KAMA 152154
TORAMA
OKC025-139-152245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
449 PM CDT THU MAY 15 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AMARILLO HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CIMARRON COUNTY IN THE PANHANDLE OF OKLAHOMA
  WESTERN TEXAS COUNTY IN THE PANHANDLE OF OKLAHOMA

* UNTIL 545 PM CDT

* AT 453 PM CDT...A TORNADO WAS REPORTED NEAR GRIGGS OR ABOUT 25 MILES
  SOUTHEAST OF BOISE CITY...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.  ALSO...RADAR
  INDICATED A CLUSTER OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS BETWEEN FELT AND KENTON.
  CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THESE STORMS TO PRODUCE TORNADOES.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED BY THE STORM INCLUDE...
  BOISE CITY...WHEELESS...KEYES...KENTON...GRIGGS...EVA AND BLACK
  MESA PARK

A TORNADO HAS BEEN CONFIRMED TAKE COVER IN A STURDY BUILDING NOW.
MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES ARE NOT SAFE.

LAT...LON 3699 10171 3655 10199 3661 10300 3700 10303
          3699 10185

$$

The office that day

Everything else NWS Amarillo, TX issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 15, 3:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	AMA	Cimarron	54 min
May 15, 4:19 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Cimarron	41 min
May 15, 5:45 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Cimarron	60 min
May 15, 6:11 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Texas	64 min
May 15, 6:55 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	AMA	Cimarron	65 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 2003 Every tornado warning in 2003 Tornadoes in 2003

Sources

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