Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 15, NWS St. Louis, MO

May 6, 2003Franklin County, Jefferson County, Missouri

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this tornado warning at May 6, 2003, 7:16 PM CDT for Franklin County, Jefferson County, Missouri. It was in force for 59 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 6, 2003, 7:16 PM CDT (00:16 UTC)
Expired: May 6, 2003, 8:15 PM CDT
In force: 59 min
Issued by: NWS St. Louis, MO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Franklin County, MO, Jefferson County, MO

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 49 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:19 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
May 6, 5:40 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 276 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: 208 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -120 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1589 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 85 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 187 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

975 
WFUS53 KLSX 070016
TORLSX
MOC071-099-070115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
715 PM CDT TUE MAY 6 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN FRANKLIN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI
  JEFFERSON COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI

* UNTIL 815 PM CDT

* AT 713 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION NEAR LONEDELL. THIS STORM
  WAS MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.  A SECOND TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM WAS
  LOCATED 3 MILES SOUTH OF RICHWOODS...MOVING EAST 40 MPH.  THESE
  STORMS HAVE A HISTORY OF PRODUCING TORNADOES AND MAY PRODUCE
  ADDITIONAL TORNADOES AT ANY TIME

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  OERMANN
  MORSE MILL
  HILLSBORO
  MAPAVILLE
  HERCULANEUM
  FESTUS
  PEVELY
  CRYSTAL CITY
  DESOTO

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND LIFE-THREATENING SITUATION. MOVE 
IMMEDIATELY TO A BASEMENT OR BELOW GROUND SHELTER. IF UNDERGROUND 
SHELTER IS NOT AVAILABLE...TAKE COVER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY
BUILDING OR HOME IN A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM...SUCH AS A CLOSET OR 
HALLWAY. HIDE UNDER A MATRESS OR USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER 
YOUR BODY.

DO NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER A HIGHWAY OVERPASS. BE AWARE THAT HIGHWAY
BRIDGES DO NOT PROVIDE ADEQUATE PROTECTION AND CAN ENHANCE THE STRONG
WINDS OF A TORNADO.

THE TORNADO WITH THIS STORM WILL LIKELY BE WRAPPED IN RAIN. DO NOT BE
LULLED INTO THINKING THE THREAT IS OVER DUE TO THE RAINFALL. STAY IN
SHELTER UNTIL THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION INDICATES THE THREAT HAS
PASSED.

THIS STORM WILL ALSO PRODUCE LARGE DESTRUCTIVE HAIL AND DAMAGING
WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH.

LAT...LON 3841 9089 3822 9092 3820 9075 3804 9058
          3812 9032 3839 9037

$$

MB/ST

The office that day

Everything else NWS St. Louis, MO issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 6, 7:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Crawford	44 min
May 6, 7:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Sainte Genevieve, Saint Francois	50 min
May 6, 7:37 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	LSX	Franklin	3 hr
May 6, 7:38 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LSX	Sainte Genevieve, Saint Francois	52 min
May 6, 7:55 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	LSX	Jefferson	4 hr
May 6, 8:00 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LSX	Sainte Genevieve	45 min
May 6, 8:07 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LSX	Iron, Madison, Saint Francois	38 min
May 6, 8:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Iron, Madison, Reynolds	59 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Missouri, 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.