Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Hastings, NE

April 18, 2003Valley County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at Apr 18, 2003, 5:44 PM CDT for Valley County, Nebraska. It was in force for 46 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
Apr 18, 2003, 5:44 PM CDT (22:44 UTC)
Expired
Apr 18, 2003, 6:30 PM CDT
In force
46 min
Issued by
NWS Hastings, NE
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Valley County, NE

The radar

The North Platte radar (KLNX), 139 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:47 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 nearest sounding before it

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 141 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 12:00Z on 2003-04-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 12:00Z on 2003-04-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 329 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
491 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
329 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
414 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.

741 
WFUS53 KGID 182244
TORGID
NEC175-182330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
542 PM CDT FRI APR 18 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  VALLEY COUNTY IN CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 630 PM CDT

* AT 539 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO 14 MILES EAST OF ARCADIA...OR ABOUT 40 MILES
  EAST OF BROKEN BOW...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  ORD AT 610 PM CDT
  ELYRIA AT 615 PM CDT
  FORT HARTSUFF STATE PARK AT 625 PM CDT

ALSO...ANOTHER SEVERE STORM THAT HAS PRODUCED A TORNADO IN THE PAST 
OVER CUSTER COUNTY IS MOVING INTO SOUTHWESTERN VALLEY COUNTY. THIS 
STORM MAY PRODUCE HAIL UP TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER. PEOPLE IN VALLEY 
COUNTY SHOULD TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IN A BASEMENT OR SMALL 
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY BUILDING. AS A
LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD
WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 4141 9914 4142 9878 4172 9878 4174 9914
$$
10

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 18, 4:08 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDDawson37 min
Apr 18, 5:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDSherman45 min
Apr 18, 5:28 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDSherman32 min
Apr 18, 5:29 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDSherman31 min
Apr 18, 5:56 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDGreeley49 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.