Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 33, NWS St. Louis, MO

May 9, 2003Greene County, Macoupin County, Illinois

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this tornado warning at May 9, 2003, 6:56 PM CDT for Greene County, Macoupin County, Illinois. It was in force for 49 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, 6:56 PM CDT (23:56 UTC)
Expired: May 9, 2003, 7:45 PM CDT
In force: 49 min
Issued by: NWS St. Louis, MO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Greene County, IL, Macoupin County, IL

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:56 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 9, 4:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 150 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: 2615 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -51 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 727 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 348 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 389 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 5.6
Supercell composite: 21.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

584 
WFUS53 KLSX 092356
TORLSX
ILC061-117-100045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
656 PM CDT FRI MAY 9 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN GREENE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS
  NORTHERN MACOUPIN COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS

* UNTIL 745 PM CDT

* AT 656 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION NEAR WRIGHTS. THE STORM
  WAS MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH...AND MAY PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  GREENFIELD
  ATHENSVILLE
  SCOTTVILLE
  HETTICK
  PALMYRA
  MODESTO
  GIRARD 
  VIRDEN

THIS TORNADO WARNING IS AN UPGRADE TO THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FOR THE WARNED AREA.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...SEEK SHELTER NOW MOVE TO A
BASEMENT...UNDERGROUND STORM SHELTER...OR AN INTERIOR ROOM OR HALLWAY
ON THE LOWEST LEVEL OF A STURDY BUILDING.

IF YOU LIVE IN A MOBILE HOME OR TRAILER...ABANDON IT IMMEDIATELY AND
SEEK SHELTER IN A MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER.

LAT...LON 3949 9032 3931 9033 3928 8972 3953 8972

$$
JPK/MB

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 8, 8:21 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Adams	39 min
May 8, 8:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Adams, Brown, Pike	26 min
May 8, 10:21 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Calhoun, Greene, Jersey	39 min
May 9, 5:08 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Randolph	22 min
May 9, 5:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Randolph	32 min
May 9, 5:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Greene	49 min
May 9, 6:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Washington	44 min
May 9, 6:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Marion	18 min
May 9, 6:42 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LSX	Calhoun, Pike	48 min
May 9, 6:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Greene	30 min
May 9, 6:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Macoupin	38 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 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.