Alert archive / Mississippi / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 120, NWS Memphis, TN

May 3, 2003DeSoto County, Mississippi; Shelby County, Tennessee; Crittenden County, Arkansas

NWS Memphis, TN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 3, 2003, 2:51 AM CDT for DeSoto County, Mississippi; Shelby County, Tennessee; Crittenden County, Arkansas. It was in force for 24 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: May 3, 2003, 2:51 AM CDT (07:51 UTC)
Expired: May 3, 2003, 3:15 AM CDT
In force: 24 min
Issued by: NWS Memphis, TN
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Crittenden County, AR, DeSoto County, MS, Shelby County, TN

The nearest sounding before it

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), launched 00:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 31 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: 1060 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -113 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 968 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 59 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 148 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.3
Supercell composite: 4.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Memphis, TN wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 2, 9:50 PM CDT, 5 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 2, 9:50 PM CDT, 5 hours 1 minute before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
950 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 2003

A SFC BOUNDARY ALONG THE SRN BORDER OF THE CWA WILL REMAIN
STATIONARY THROUGH TNT. EXPECT A SLIGHTLY DRIER NRLY BREEZE N OF THE
BOUNDARY. STILL CANNOT RULE OUT A TSTM NEAR THE BOUNDARY IN THE SRN
PART OF THE CWA...SO WILL KEEP SLIGHT POPS IN THAT AREA.
ELSEWHERE...EXPECT DRY CONDITIONS TNT.

PLAN ON UPDATING THE FCSTS TO REMOVE POPS IN NRN 2/3RDS AND MAKE
MINOR ADJUSTMENTS ON TEMPS...DEWPOINTS AND WINDS.

.MEG...NONE.

SWC

Hazardous weather outlook, May 2, 6:40 PM CDT, 8 hours 11 minutes before

ARZ008-009-017-018-026>028-035-036-048-049-058-MOZ113-115-MSZ001>017-
020>024-TNZ001>004-019>021-048>055-088>092-031000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
640 PM CDT FRI MAY 2 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST ARKANSAS...NORTH
MISSISSIPPI...WEST TENNESSEE AND THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL.

.DAY ONE...

THE PROBABILITY OF WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

SEVERAL ROUNDS OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED FROM SATURDAY NIGHT
THROUGH WEDNESDAY. A FEW STORMS MAY BE SEVERE.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED ANYTIME FROM SATURDAY NIGHT
THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER
DETAILS OR UPDATES. FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION...CHECK OUR
WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MEG.

SWC

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 3, 1:27 AM CDT, 1 hour 24 minutes before

ARZ048-030730-

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
127 AM CDT SAT MAY 3 2003

THIS SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY IS FOR...ST. FRANCIS COUNTY.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 23 MILES WEST OF PALESTINE AT 127
AM CDT...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

PEOPLE IN ST. FRANCIS COUNTY...INCLUDING THE CITIES OF FORREST
CITY...HUGHES...MADISON AND PALESTINE...SHOULD MONITOR THIS STORM
CLOSELY.

Special weather statement, May 3, 2:26 AM CDT, 25 minutes before

ARZ036-030800-

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
226 AM CDT SAT MAY 3 2003

THIS SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY IS FOR...CRITTENDEN COUNTY.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 19 MILES WEST OF EDMONDSON AT 226
AM CDT...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

PEOPLE IN CRITTENDEN COUNTY...INCLUDING THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS...
SHOULD MONITOR THIS STORM CLOSELY.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Memphis, TN issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 3, 2:28 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Coahoma	47 min
May 3, 2:46 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Tunica	29 min
May 3, 6:18 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Coahoma, Tunica	27 min
May 3, 3:13 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Shelby	32 min
May 3, 1:38 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	St. Francis	52 min
May 3, 2:34 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Crittenden, St. Francis	26 min
May 3, 3:06 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Cross, St. Francis	39 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Mississippi, 2003 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Tennessee, 2003 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Arkansas, 2003 Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.