Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Norman, OK

March 17, 2003Canadian County, Oklahoma

NWS Norman, OK issued this tornado warning at Mar 17, 2003, 5:07 PM CST for Canadian County, Oklahoma. It was in force for 23 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
Mar 17, 2003, 5:07 PM CST (23:07 UTC)
Expired
Mar 17, 2003, 5:30 PM CST
In force
23 min
Issued by
NWS Norman, OK
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Canadian County, OK

The radar

The Norman radar (KTLX), 89 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:08 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
Mar 17, 12:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 81 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, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2003-03-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 264 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, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2003-03-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 119 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
264 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-285 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
965 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
119 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
97 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.

697 
WFUS54 KOUN 172307
TOROKC
OKC017-172330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
505 PM CST MON MAR 17 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORMAN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CANADIAN COUNTY IN CENTRAL OKLAHOMA

* UNTIL 530 PM CST

* AT 505 PM CST...DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM   
CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO STARTING TO MOVE INTO SOUTHWEST 
CANADIAN COUNTY. THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF THE STORM WAS LOCATED 5 
MILES SOUTHWEST OF NILES... OR NEAR BINGER...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 
MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE NILES

TAKE COVER NOW. LEAVE MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES. IF POSSIBLE...MOVE
TO A BASEMENT OR STORM SHELTER. OTHERWISE MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM OR
HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS AND OUTSIDE
WALLS.

LAT...LON 3546 9835 3533 9828 3543 9806 3556 9820

$$
CJS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Norman, OK issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 17, 1:43 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGarvin47 min
Mar 17, 1:55 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNKiowa65 min
Mar 17, 2:08 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNMcClain, Pottawatomie52 min
Mar 17, 2:41 PM CSTTornado WarningOUNKiowa34 min
Mar 17, 2:48 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGarvin, Stephens42 min
Mar 17, 2:52 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCotton53 min
Mar 17, 2:59 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNWashita61 min
Mar 17, 3:04 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCaddo56 min
Mar 17, 3:13 PM CSTTornado WarningOUNKiowa32 min
Mar 17, 3:22 PM CSTTornado WarningOUNCaddo23 min
Mar 17, 3:33 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNLincoln, Payne42 min
Mar 17, 3:43 PM CSTTornado WarningOUNWashita47 min
Mar 17, 3:46 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCotton44 min
Mar 17, 4:11 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCaddo49 min
Mar 17, 4:32 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCanadian58 min
Mar 17, 4:34 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCotton56 min
Mar 17, 4:36 PM CSTTornado WarningOUNCaddo24 min
Mar 17, 4:40 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNStephens65 min
Mar 17, 4:54 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGarfield36 min
Mar 17, 5:00 PM CSTTornado WarningOUNCaddo30 min
Mar 17, 5:13 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNComanche47 min
Mar 17, 5:15 PM CSTTornado WarningOUNStephens45 min
Mar 17, 5:29 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCanadian61 min
Mar 17, 5:32 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBlaine43 min
Mar 17, 5:32 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNKingfisher58 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Oklahoma, 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.