Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 69, NWS North Platte, NE

July 21, 2003Arthur County, McPherson County, Nebraska

NWS North Platte, NE issued this tornado warning at Jul 21, 2003, 5:53 PM MDT for Arthur County, McPherson County, Nebraska. It was in force for 37 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 21, 2003, 5:53 PM MDT (23:53 UTC)
Expired
Jul 21, 2003, 6:30 PM MDT
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS North Platte, NE
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Arthur County, NE, McPherson County, NE

The radar

The North Platte radar (KLNX), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:52 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 21, 3:50 PM MDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 246 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, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 2003-07-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 6 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, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 2003-07-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -21 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
6 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-349 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2566 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-21 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
17 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.

205 
WFUS53 KLBF 212353
TORLBF
NEC005-117-220030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
652 PM CDT MON JUL 21 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTH PLATTE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN ARTHUR COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL NEBRASKA
  WESTERN MCPHERSON COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 730 PM CDT(630 PM MDT)

* AT 547 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG
  ROTATION OVER EXTREME NORTHEASTERN ARTHUR COUNTY...OR ABOUT 17
  MILES NORTHEAST OF ARTHUR...MOVING SOUTH AT 30 MPH. THIS STORM IS
  CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO AT ANY TIME.

* THE DEVELOPING TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  FARM AND RANGELANDS OF FAR EASTERN ARTHUR COUNTY AND WESTERN 
MCPHERSON COUNTY.

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.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM CDT MONDAY
EVENING(900 PM MDT MONDAY EVENING) FOR WESTERN NEBRASKA.

LAT...LON 4172 10168 4143 10169 4143 10103 4173 10102

$$

BUTTLER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 21, 4:16 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFArthur, Keith44 min
Jul 21, 4:47 PM MDTTornado WarningLBFKeith43 min
Jul 21, 5:21 PM MDTTornado WarningLBFGrant, Hooker39 min
Jul 21, 5:27 PM MDTTornado WarningLBFKeith, Perkins63 min
Jul 21, 5:38 PM MDTTornado WarningLBFCherry37 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.