Alert archive / Oregon / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 13, NWS Pendleton, OR

August 4, 2003Wasco County, Oregon

NWS Pendleton, OR issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 4, 2003, 4:25 PM PDT for Wasco County, Oregon. It was in force for 65 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
Aug 4, 2003, 4:25 PM PDT (23:25 UTC)
Expired
Aug 4, 2003, 5:30 PM PDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS Pendleton, OR
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Wasco County, OR

The radar

The Portland,OR radar (KRTX), 136 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:26 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Salem/Mcnary, OR (KSLE), launched 12:00Z, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 126 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, Salem/Mcnary, OR at 12:00Z on 2003-08-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Salem/Mcnary, OR at 12:00Z on 2003-08-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 100 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
945 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
100 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
137 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.

705 
WUUS56 KPDT 042325
SVRPDT
ORC065-050030-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
423 PM PDT MON AUG 4 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PENDLETON HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  WEST CENTRAL WASCO COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL OREGON

* UNTIL 530 PM PDT

* AT 423 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 30 MILES SOUTHWEST OF TYGH...OR ABOUT 31 MILES
  SOUTHWEST OF MAUPIN...MOVING NORTH AT 15 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  RURAL SOUTHERN WASCO COUNTY AT 440 PM PDT
  RURAL CENTRAL WASCO COUNTY AT 450 PM PDT

HAIL TO THE SIZE OF GOLFBALLS AND WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH ARE LIKELY.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO A STURDY SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM PASSES.
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR WEST CENTRAL WASCO 
COUNTY UNTIL 615 PDT.

LAT...LON 4513 12167 4487 12165 4487 12117 4540 12098
          4543 12140

$$

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 Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 4, 2:30 PM PDT, 1 hour 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 4, 2:30 PM PDT, 1 hour 55 minutes before
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
230 PM PDT MON AUG 4 2003

A PERSISTENT UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OFF THE CALIFORNIA
COAST IS MOVING NORTHEAST AND APPROACHING THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
COAST THIS AFTERNOON. THIS WILL SET THE STAGE FOR DIFLUENT FLOW AND
LARGE SCALE ASCENT ALOFT OVER CENTRAL OREGON THIS AFTERNOON. THE LOW
WILL ALSO TRANSPORT A MID LEVEL MOISTURE PLUME INTO CENTRAL OREGON
WHERE STRONG SURFACE HEATING TODAY WILL DESTABILIZE THE ATMOSPHERE.
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALREADY DEVELOPING IN CENTRAL OREGON
THIS AFTERNOON. THIS AREA HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME THUNDERSTORMS
TO BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN
POSSIBLE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING.

THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO SOUTHWEST OREGON TONIGHT AND
TUESDAY. THE LOW WILL TAP INTO INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE TONIGHT FOR
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVERNIGHT...WITH STORMS MORE NUMEROUS IN
CENTRAL OREGON...OVERNIGHT IN CENTRAL AND NORTH CENTRAL OREGON. A
MOIST SOUTHERLY FLOW...INSTABILITY AND DYNAMIC LIFT WILL SPREAD
ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON AS WELL AS SOUTHEAST
WASHINGTON BY TUESDAY. THIS WILL CREATE CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS EAST OF THE CASCADES ON TUESDAY. SOME
THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH
LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE.  POLAN

IN THE EXTENDED...UPPER TROUGH TO STRENGTHEN OVER THE EASTERN
PACIFIC THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WITH AN UPPER LOW CENTER SETTING UP
ALONG 130W OFF THE OREGON AND WASHINGTON COASTS. THIS WILL KEEP A
SOUTH-SOUTHWEST FLOW OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST INTERIOR WITH ENOUGH
LINGERING MOISTURE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FEW SHOWERS OR
THUNDERSTORMS. THIS ACTIVITY MAY INCREASE SOME THURSDAY NIGHT IF A
WAVE ROTATES AROUND THE UPPER LOW OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST.
AT THIS TIME THERE IS SOME SUPPORT FOR THIS UPPER LOW TO SLOWLY
DRIFT SOUTHEAST THIS WEEKEND AND THEN INLAND EARLY NEXT WEEK. THIS
WOULD INITIALLY CAUSE AN INCREASE IN THE ONSHORE FLOW WHICH WOULD
RESULT IN A STABILIZATION OF THE AIR MASS WITH NO SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED. IF THE UPPER LOW DOES DRIFT INLAND THIS
COULD LEAD TO A RETURN TO A LOW CHANCE OF SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS
MONDAY...BUT FOR NOW WILL ONLY PUT A FEW SHOWERS ALONG THE CASCADE
CREST.  GKH

PDT 2340  ALW 2340  PSC 1220  YKM 1220

.KPDT...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 4, 10:52 AM PDT, 5 hours 33 minutes before
ORZ041>050-WAZ024>030-051200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
1005 AM PDT MON AUG 4 2003

.DAY ONE...TODAY

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING
ACROSS CENTRAL OREGON...MAINLY IN DESCHUTES AND SOUTHERN CROOK
COUNTIES.  THE AIR MASS IS MOIST AND UNSTABLE...AND A LOW PRESSURE
SYSTEM MOVING INTO SOUTHWEST OREGON WILL TRIGGER SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS IN THIS AREA BY LATE AFTERNOON.  SOME THUNDERSTORMS
MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL...HEAVY RAIN...AND DAMAGING WINDS
POSSIBLE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY

THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS OREGON AND SOUTHEAST
WASHINGTON TONIGHT AND TUESDAY.  SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE
EXECTED OVER MOST OF EASTERN OREGON TONIGHT...AND ACROSS EASTERN
OREGON AND SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON ON TUESDAY. SOME
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE STRONG WITH HAIL...HEAVY RAIN...AND GUSTY
WINDS POSSIBLE.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

SMITH

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 4, 10:50 AM PDT, 5 hours 35 minutes before
ORZ041>050-WAZ024>030-051200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
1050 AM PDT MON AUG 4 2003

...SLIGHT CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN CENTRAL OREGON LATE THIS
AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING...
...SLIGHT CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST
OREGON AND SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON TUESDAY AFTERNOON
AND EVENING...

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING
ACROSS CENTRAL OREGON...MAINLY IN DESCHUTES AND CROOK COUNTIES. THE
AIR MASS IN THIS AREA WILL BE MOIST AND UNSTABLE WITH AN UPPER LEVEL
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM APPROACHING THE SOUTHERN OREGON COAST. THE LOW
WILL TRIGGER SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS IS THIS AREA BY LATE THIS
AFTERNOON. SOME THUNDERSTORMS LATER TODAY MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH
LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE.

THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO SOUTHWEST OREGON TONIGHT AND
TUESDAY. THE LOW WILL TAP INTO INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE TONIGHT FOR
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT IN CENTRAL AND NORTH
CENTRAL OREGON. A MOIST SOUTHERLY FLOW AND INSTABILITY WILL SPREAD
ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON AS WELL AS SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON.
THIS WILL CREATE CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS
EAST OF THE CASCADES ON TUESDAY. SOME THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME
SEVERE TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING
WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Pendleton, OR issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 4, 3:23 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPDTJefferson52 min
Aug 4, 3:38 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPDTWheeler67 min
Aug 4, 4:08 PM PDTFlash Flood WarningPDTWasco2 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Oregon, 2003Every 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.