Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 39, NWS Hastings, NE

July 20, 2003Merrick County, Nance County, Polk County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at Jul 20, 2003, 6:34 PM CDT for Merrick County, Nance County, Polk County, Nebraska. It was in force for 56 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
Jul 20, 2003, 6:34 PM CDT (23:34 UTC)
Expired
Jul 20, 2003, 7:30 PM CDT
In force
56 min
Issued by
NWS Hastings, NE
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Merrick County, NE, Nance County, NE, Polk County, NE

The radar

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 118 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:37 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 20, 4:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 12:00Z, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 117 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2003-07-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1371 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2003-07-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 67 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
1371 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-314 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1243 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
67 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
88 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

580 
WFUS53 KGID 202334
TORGID
NEC121-125-143-210030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
634 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  MERRICK COUNTY IN CENTRAL NEBRASKA
  NANCE COUNTY IN CENTRAL NEBRASKA
  POLK COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 730 PM CDT

* AT 628 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 6 MILES EAST OF
  GENOA...OR ABOUT 13 MILES WEST OF COLUMBUS...MOVING SOUTH AT 25
  MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  SILVER CREEK AT 645 PM CDT...
  OSCEOLA... AND 7 MILES WEST OF SHELBY AT 710 PM CDT...
  STROMSBURG AT 720 PM CDT...

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.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM CDT SUNDAY
EVENING FOR NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.

LAT...LON 4135 9770 4137 9747 4104 9738 4107 9770
          4123 9774 4089 9828 4146 9827 4152 9771

$$
T/CF

The office that day

Everything else NWS Hastings, NE issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 20, 4:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDFurnas66 min
Jul 20, 6:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDNance25 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Nebraska, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes 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.