Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Northern Indiana

May 9, 2003Kosciusko County, Whitley County, Indiana

NWS Northern Indiana issued this tornado warning at May 9, 2003, 9:03 PM EST for Kosciusko County, Whitley County, Indiana. It was in force for 42 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 9, 2003, 9:03 PM EST (02:03 UTC)
Expired
May 9, 2003, 9:45 PM EST
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS Northern Indiana
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Kosciusko County, IN, Whitley County, IN

The radar

The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 29 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:07 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
May 9, 6:05 PM ESTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 00:00Z, 2.1 hours before the alert went out and 240 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2003-05-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3057 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2003-05-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 68 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
3057 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-17 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
739 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
68 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
134 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.3
Supercell composite
6.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

617 
WFUS53 KIWX 100203
TORIWX
INC085-183-100245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
902 PM EST FRI MAY 9 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTHERN INDIANA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  KOSCIUSKO COUNTY IN INDIANA
  WHITLEY COUNTY IN INDIANA

* UNTIL 945 PM EST

* AT 902 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION OVER SIDNEY...MOVING EAST
  AT 35 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM ARE...
  SIDNEY
  PIERCETON
  COLUMBIA CITY
  TRI-LAKES
  SOUTH WHITLEY

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...TAKE COVER IN A BASEMENT OR
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. VEHICLES AND MOBILE HOMES SHOULD
BE ABANDONED FOR A SAFER SHELTER.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. IF NO
BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN NORTHERN INDIANA.

LAT...LON 4123 8532 4102 8536 4102 8568 4105 8584
          4119 8586

The office that day

Everything else NWS Northern Indiana issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 9, 8:27 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXFulton, Kosciusko48 min
May 9, 8:58 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXNoble, Whitley47 min
May 9, 9:39 PM ESTTornado WarningIWXWhitley36 min
May 9, 9:41 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXLaGrange, Steuben49 min
May 9, 9:43 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXMarshall, Starke62 min
May 9, 9:50 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXKosciusko55 min
May 9, 9:51 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXDeKalb54 min
May 9, 9:53 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXLaPorte67 min
May 9, 9:57 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXAllen63 min
May 9, 10:08 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXNoble52 min
May 9, 10:23 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXSaint Joseph67 min
May 9, 10:30 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXElkhart60 min
May 9, 10:39 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXDeKalb51 min
May 9, 11:00 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXLaPorte60 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Indiana, 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.