Alert archive / Nevada / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 19, NWS Reno, NV

August 4, 2003Washoe County, Nevada

NWS Reno, NV issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 4, 2003, 4:44 PM PDT for Washoe County, Nevada. It was in force for 46 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 4, 2003, 4:44 PM PDT (23:44 UTC)
Expired
Aug 4, 2003, 5:30 PM PDT
In force
46 min
Issued by
NWS Reno, NV
Area
Whole counties

County Washoe County, NV

The nearest sounding before it

Reno, NV (KREV), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 174 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, Reno, NV at 12:00Z on 2003-08-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 266 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, Reno, NV at 12:00Z on 2003-08-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 61 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
266 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-76 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1316 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
61 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
239 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

351 
WUUS55 KREV 042344
SVRREV
NVC031-050030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
445 PM PDT MON AUG 4 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL WASHOE COUNTY IN WESTERN NEVADA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF PYRAMID LAKE AND NIXON

* UNTIL 530 PM PDT

* AT 431 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS 14 MILES SOUTHWEST OF NIXON MOVING NORTH      
  AT 20 MPH.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE...
  OVER NIXON AT 500 PM PDT
  3 MILES EAST OF SUTCLIFFE AT 510 PM PDT
  OVER PYRAMID LAKE AT 530 PM PDT

1 INCH HAIL...WIND GUSTS TO 65 MPH...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN ARE 
POSSIBLE WITH THESE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. 

HEAVY RAINS MAY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS SUCH AS DITCHES...STREAMS AND 
DRY WASHES. AVOID THESE AREAS AND DO NOT CROSS FLOODED ROADS AS THEY 
MAY BE WASHED OUT. SEEK HIGHER GROUND IF THREATENED BY FLOOD WATERS.

REPORT DAMAGING WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE.

$$

LAT...LON 3973 11971 3960 11934 3995 11925 4008 11964

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 Reno, NV wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 4, 3:00 PM PDT, 1 hour 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 4, 3:00 PM PDT, 1 hour 44 minutes before
WESTERN NEVADA AND EASTERN CALIFORNIA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
300 PM PDT MON AUG 4 2003

SOUTHERLY FLOW HAS INCREASED AT THE MID AND UPPER LEVELS TODAY WITH
STRONG DRYING INDICATED ABOVE 15K FEET IN THE RENO SOUNDING THIS
MORNING.  THE AIRMASS REMAINS UNSTABLE ACROSS NE CA AND NRN NV THIS
AFTERNOON HOWEVER THE DYNAMICS ARE NOT IMPRESSIVE.  TEMPERATURES ARE
MARGINAL FOR RELEASING ENERGY IN ORGANIZED THUNDERSTORMS THERE.  A
FEW STRONG STORMS UNDER UPPER SHEAR ARE STILL POSSIBLE FROM LASSEN
TO NRN WASHOE COUNTY YET THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING.  THE AREA
OF MAXIMUM INSTABILITY THEN SHIFTS NORTH INTO OREGON AND IDAHO LATER
THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT WITH STRONGER UPPER DIVERGENCE.  SOME
MOISTURE LINGERS NE CA AND NW NV BUT THE AIRMASS IS OTHERWISE DRYING
AND STABLE TUESDAY.  STRONGER SW WINDS ARE EXPECTED TUESDAY WITH A
MODERATE THERMAL GRADIENT FROM NRN CA TO WRN NV.  TEMPERATURES FALL
SLIGHT TUESDAY WITH LOWER THICKNESS.  THERE IS LITTLE CHANGE IN THIS
PATTERN THROUGH THURSDAY WITH MODERATELY STRONG SW FLOW BETWEEN AN
UPPER RIDGE OVER THE ROCKIES AND A TROUGH OFF THE WEST COAST.
OSTERMAN.

IN THE EXTENDED...FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY... MODELS IN AGREEMENT WITH
TROF OFF THE PACIFIC NW COAST AND STRONG UPPER HIGH CENTERED OVER
THE ERN ROCKIES ON FRIDAY. LATEST UKMET RUN AGREES WITH 00Z GFS WITH
HIGH MOVING WEST ACROSS THE 4 CORNERS AREA BY SUNDAY. TROF WILL
REMAIN OFFSHORE THRU MONDAY MORNING... GFS BEGINS MOVING TROF
ONSHORE MONDAY EVENING. NOT OVERLY CONFIDENT IN MOVEMENT OF TROF OUT
IN DAY 7. IN THE MEANTIME... DRY AND STABLE SOUTHWEST FLOW WILL
PERSIST THROUGH THE EXTENDED. STRONGER 500 AND 700MB GRADIENT
COUPLED WITH WEAK SHORT WAVES ROTATING AROUND PACIFIC TROF WILL
ALLOW FOR BREEZY CONDITIONS DURING THE AFTERNOONS AND EVENINGS.
TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN JUST BELOW NORMAL THROUGH SATURDAY... THEN
INCREASE A DEGREE OR SO TO NEAR NORMAL SUNDAY AND MONDAY AS HIGH
BEGINS TO BUILD BACK WEST. BENINATO

.REV...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 4, 6:55 AM PDT, 9 hours 49 minutes before
CAZ070>073-NVZ001>005-051400-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
655 AM PDT MON AUG 04 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NEVADA...THE EASTERN
SIERRA AND NORTHEASTERN CALIFORNIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SEEN TODAY ACROSS THE NORTH AND EAST.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUEDAY THROUGH MONDAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ASKED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS TO THEIR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Reno, NV issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 4, 4:13 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningREVWashoe32 min
Aug 4, 4:57 PM PDTFlash Flood WarningREVWashoe63 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Nevada, 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.