Alert archive / New Jersey / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 118, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly

August 17, 2003Mercer County, New Jersey

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 17, 2003, 4:40 PM EDT for Mercer County, New Jersey. It was in force for 50 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
Aug 17, 2003, 4:40 PM EDT (20:40 UTC)
Expired
Aug 17, 2003, 5:30 PM EDT
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
Area
Whole counties

County Mercer County, NJ

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 45 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:41 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 nearest sounding before it

Wallops Is Stn, VA (KWAL), launched 12:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 268 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, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 12:00Z on 2003-08-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1663 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, Wallops Is Stn, VA at 12:00Z on 2003-08-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 99 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
1663 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
509 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
99 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
149 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.9
Supercell composite
5.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

839 
WUUS51 KPHI 172040
SVRPHI
NJC021-172130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
437 PM EDT SUN AUG 17 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY NJ HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  MERCER COUNTY IN CENTRAL NEW JERSEY.

* UNTIL 530 PM EDT.

* AT 431 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM... 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF HOPEWELL...MOVING SOUTH
  AT 25 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  HOPEWELL AT 445 PM.
  PENNINGTON...PRINCETON AT 450 PM.
  LAWRENCEVILLE AT 455 PM.
  MERCERVILLE-HAMILTON SQUARE AT 505 PM.

HAIL THE SIZE OF GOLFBALLS OR LARGER...AND WINDS AROUND 65
MILES AN HOUR...ARE EXPECTED FROM THIS STORM. THIS STORM HAS
BEEN SHOWING SIGNS OF CIRCULATION AT MID LEVELS WHICH IS A 
SIGN OF A VERY STRONG SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. THIS STORM HAS HAD
A HISTORY OF DOWNING TREES AND DROPPING GOLF BALL SIZE
HAIL IN WARREN AND HUNTERDON COUNTIES. 


SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE UNTIL THE STORM HAS PASSED.

FOR THE LATEST STORM INFORMATION...PLEASE TUNE TO NOAA WEATHER
RADIO...YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TELEVISION STATION...OR YOUR CABLE
TELEVISION OUTLET.

$$

LAT...LON 4038 7470 4034 7462 4021 7458 4020 7476
          4033 7483 4038 7487 4039 7481 4043 7476

TFG

The office that day

Everything else NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 17, 2:23 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningPHI97 min
Aug 17, 2:35 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningPHI85 min
Aug 17, 3:29 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIHunterdon, Morris, Warren46 min
Aug 17, 3:46 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningPHI89 min
Aug 17, 4:12 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIHunterdon, Somerset63 min
Aug 17, 5:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIBurlington, Monmouth43 min
Aug 17, 5:43 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIOcean62 min
Aug 17, 6:14 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIBurlington61 min
Aug 17, 6:37 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPHIMonmouth53 min
Aug 17, 7:15 PM EDTSpecial Marine WarningPHI2 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in New Jersey, 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.