Alert archive / Washington / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 33, NWS Pendleton, OR

August 7, 2003Benton County, Washington

NWS Pendleton, OR issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 7, 2003, 2:07 AM PDT for Benton County, Washington. It was in force for 53 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 7, 2003, 2:07 AM PDT (09:07 UTC)
Expired
Aug 7, 2003, 3:00 AM PDT
In force
53 min
Issued by
NWS Pendleton, OR
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Benton County, WA

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

Spokane, WA (KOTX), launched 00:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 264 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, Spokane, WA at 00:00Z on 2003-08-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 68 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Spokane, WA at 00:00Z on 2003-08-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -28 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
68 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-112 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2172 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-28 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
37 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.

000 
WUUS56 KPDT 070907 CCA
SVRPDT
WAC005-071000-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
206 AM PDT THU AUG 7 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PENDLETON HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTH CENTRAL BENTON COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON

* UNTIL 300 AM PDT

* AT 156 AM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BENTON CITY...OR ABOUT 8
  MILES SOUTHWEST OF RICHLAND...MOVING NORTH AT 45 MPH.

HAIL TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS AND WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH ARE LIKELY. FOR
YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO A STURDY SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM PASSES.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  RURAL NORTHERN BENTON COUNTY AT 210 AM PDT

LAT...LON 4674 11950 4670 11945 4623 11925 4623 11950
          4670 11955

$$

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 6, 8:30 PM PDT, 5 hours 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 6, 8:30 PM PDT, 5 hours 37 minutes before
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
830 PM PDT WED AUG 6 2003

A WEAK SHORT WAVE MOVED THROUGH WALLOWA COUNTY NEAR 00Z AND
CONTAINED ENOUGH FORCING TO INITIATE DECENT SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS BEFORE EXITING INTO IDAHO. IN ADDITION SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS ARE FIRING OFF AHEAD OF A PRETTY DECENT SHORTWAVE
MOVING INTO SOUTHWEST OREGON. THIS IS A GOOD INDICATOR OF HOW
UNSTABLE THE ATMOSPHERE OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST IS THIS PM.
EXPECT THE SHORT WAVE TO BE THE FOCUSING POINT FOR CONTINUED
THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY THROUGH THE NIGHT. AT THIS TIME THE TRACK OF
THE SHORTWAVE APPEARS TO BE NORTHERLY ALONG THE CASCADES AND EAST
SLOPES. CURRENT FORECASTS ARE IN LINE FOR THE TIME BEING. A FEW WEAK
RETURNS SHOWING UP GRANT COUNTY AS WELL...BUT SPOTTERS ARE
INDICATING ONLY MID LEVEL CLOUDINESS. AS SUCH ANY UP DATES WOULD BE
FOR THE CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL ACROSS THE EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE
CWFA. I WILL GIVE A LITTLE TIME TO LET THINGS SHAKE OUT BEFORE
REMOVING ANY THUNDERSTORM WORDING. IN THE MEAN TIME THE UPPER LOW
WILL CONTINUE TO SPIN AND WOBBLE AROUND OFF THE COAST OF WASHINGTON
AND B.C.. THIS KEEPS THE REGION IN A WARM AND SOMEWHAT UNSTABLE S-SW
FLOW...THEREFORE ANY EJECTED SHORTWAVES WILL BRING THE POTENTIAL FOR
CONVECTION THROUGH THE SHORT TERM. TOBIN

PDT 321-  ALW 321-  PSC 221-  YKM 111-

.KPDT...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 6, 5:00 AM PDT, 21 hours 7 minutes before
ORZ041>050-WAZ024>030-071200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
500 AM PDT WED AUG 6 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON
AS WELL AS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON.

.DAY ONE...

SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS HAVE FORMED OVER GRANT COUNTY AND
ARE MOVING NORTH THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHEAST OREGON. A
DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE NORTH ALONG THE CASCADES THIS AFTERNOON.
INCREASED INSTABILITY AND DAYTIME HEATING WILL COMBINE TO TRIGGER
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...MAINLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHEAST
OREGON AND ALONG THE CASCADES. STRONG WINDS...RAIN...HAIL...AND
LIGHTNING WILL ACCOMPANY THESE STORMS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

A MOIST SOUTHWEST FLOW PATTERN ALOFT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE
PERIOD. HOWEVER THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE MORE STABLE WITH LESS SHOWER
AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY EXPECTED.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.

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

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 7, 2:01 AM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPDTBenton59 min
Aug 7, 2:16 AM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPDTBenton, Franklin59 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Washington, 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.