Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 39, NWS Kansas City, MO

May 8, 2003Henry County, Missouri

NWS Kansas City, MO issued this tornado warning at May 8, 2003, 9:02 PM CDT for Henry County, Missouri. It was in force for 58 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 8, 2003, 9:02 PM CDT (02:02 UTC)
Expired: May 8, 2003, 10:00 PM CDT
In force: 58 min
Issued by: NWS Kansas City, MO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Henry County, MO

The radar

The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 49 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:05 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 8, 4:40 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 164 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: 1679 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 807 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 62 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 247 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 271 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 2.1
Supercell composite: 9.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

209 
WFUS53 KEAX 090202
TOREAX
MOC083-090300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
902 PM CDT THU MAY 8 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PLEASANT HILL HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN HENRY COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI

* UNTIL 1000 PM CDT

* AT 900 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS DANGEROUS
  STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR DAYTON...OR 15 MILES NORTHEAST OF BUTLER...
  MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. LARGE HAIL AND DESTRUCTIVE THUNDERSTORM   
  WINDS ARE ALSO LIKELY WITH THIS STORM.  A TORNADO WAS REPORTED 2 
  MILES WEST OF ADRIAN AT 855 PM.

* THIS TORNADIC STORM IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   URICH BY 915 PM CDT.
   BLAIRSTOWN BY 920 PM CDT.
   SHAWNEE MOUND....LEWIS BY 940 PM CDT.
   CALHOUN BY 950 PM CDT.

THE TOWN OF HARTWELL IS ALSO IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO.

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 3856 9407 3840 9407 3842 9354 3855 9355

$$

HUDSON

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 8, 7:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Sullivan	34 min
May 8, 8:27 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	EAX	Bates	63 min
May 8, 8:38 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Cass	67 min
May 8, 8:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Nodaway	36 min
May 8, 8:54 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	EAX	Cass	36 min
May 8, 9:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Johnson	57 min
May 8, 9:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Pettis	47 min
May 8, 9:18 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	EAX	Johnson	42 min
May 8, 9:51 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	EAX	Pettis	54 min
May 8, 10:00 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	EAX	Johnson	30 min
May 8, 10:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Saline	38 min
May 8, 10:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Cooper	58 min
May 8, 10:36 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Howard	39 min
May 9, 5:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Johnson, Lafayette	52 min
May 9, 6:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Saline	62 min
May 9, 6:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Cass	64 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Missouri, 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.