Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Wichita, KS

April 15, 2003Ellsworth County, Rice County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this tornado warning at Apr 15, 2003, 11:27 PM CDT for Ellsworth County, Rice County, Kansas. It was in force for 33 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 15, 2003, 11:27 PM CDT (04:27 UTC)
Expired
Apr 16, 2003, 12:00 AM CDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Wichita, KS
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Ellsworth County, KS, Rice County, KS

The radar

The Wichita radar (KICT), 118 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:29 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

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 00:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 162 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, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 2003-04-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 78 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, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 2003-04-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 95 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
78 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
925 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
95 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
78 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.

000 
WFUS53 KICT 160427
TORICT
KSC053-159-160500-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
1125 PM CDT TUE APR 15 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WICHITA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  ELLSWORTH COUNTY IN CENTRAL KANSAS
  RICE COUNTY IN CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT

* AT 1125 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION 8 MILES WEST OF LYONS...OR
  OVER CHASE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH. THIS STORM COULD PRODUCE A
  TORNADO AT ANY TIME.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE
  7 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BUSHTON AROUND 1130 PM CDT...
  10 MILES SOUTHEAST OF HOLYROOD AROUND 1135 PM CDT...
  NEAR GENESEO AROUND 1140 PM CDT...
  6 MILES NORTHWEST OF KANAPOLIS STATE PARK AROUND 1150 PM CDT...
  NEAR ELLSWORTH AROUND 1155 PM CDT...

THIS REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FOR 
RICE COUNTY.

IF NO UNDERGROUND SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...MOVE INTO AN INTERIOR ROOM
ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY STRUCTURE.

REPEATING...A TORNADO WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR ELLSWORTH AND RICE
COUNTIES UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT.

LAT...LON 3831 9846 3828 9813 3872 9794 3880 9844

$$

/EKSTER

The office that day

Everything else NWS Wichita, KS issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 15, 10:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTReno, Rice50 min
Apr 16, 12:18 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTLincoln27 min
Apr 16, 12:55 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTMontgomery35 min
Apr 16, 1:24 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTLabette, Neosho36 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 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.