Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 41, NWS Hastings, NE

July 20, 2003Hamilton County, York County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at Jul 20, 2003, 7:11 PM CDT for Hamilton County, York County, Nebraska. It was in force for 64 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, 7:11 PM CDT (00:11 UTC)
Expired: Jul 20, 2003, 8:15 PM CDT
In force: 64 min
Issued by: NWS Hastings, NE
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Hamilton County, NE, York County, NE

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 86 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:13 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
Jul 20, 4:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 127 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: 4827 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -30 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1616 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 92 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 162 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.4
Supercell composite: 28.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

955 
WFUS53 KGID 210011
TORGID
NEC081-185-210115-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  YORK COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL NEBRASKA
  HAMILTON COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 815 PM CDT

* AT 708 PM CDT...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED MULTIPLE FUNNEL  
  CLOUDS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 14 MILES NORTH OF BENEDICT TO   
  10 MILES NORTHEAST OF HORDVILLE TO 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF           
  MARQUETTE...OR ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 19 MILES SOUTHWEST OF   
  COLUMBUS TO 22 MILES NORTH OF YORK TO 21 MILES NORTHEAST OF GRAND  
  ISLAND...MOVING SOUTH AT 25 MPH.

* TORNADO PRODUCING STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  HORDVILLE AT 730 PM CDT...
  BENEDICT AT 740 PM CDT...
  GRESHAM... AND MARQUETTE AT 745 PM CDT...
  YORK......AURORA......WACO... AND HAMPTON AT 805 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.

LAT...LON 4075 9781 4080 9798 4099 9813 4111 9792
          4104 9782 4103 9736 4074 9737

$$

FAY/T

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 20, 7:08 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Howard	37 min
Jul 20, 7:32 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Merrick, Polk	28 min
Jul 20, 7:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Hall	51 min
Jul 20, 8:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Merrick	29 min
Jul 20, 8:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Hamilton, York	61 min
Jul 20, 8:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Adams, Hall	64 min
Jul 20, 8:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Clay, Fillmore	73 min
Jul 20, 9:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Adams, Webster	65 min
Jul 20, 10:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Webster	60 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Nebraska, 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.