Alert archive / California / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Reno, NV

July 31, 2003Sierra County, California

NWS Reno, NV issued this tornado warning at Jul 31, 2003, 3:39 PM PDT for Sierra County, California. It was in force for 21 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: Jul 31, 2003, 3:39 PM PDT (22:39 UTC)
Expired: Jul 31, 2003, 4:00 PM PDT
In force: 21 min
Issued by: NWS Reno, NV
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Sierra County, CA

The radar

The Reno radar (KRGX), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:42 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

Reno, NV (KREV), launched 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 173 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 3 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -379 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2514 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 153 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 
WFUS55 KREV 312239
TORREV
CAC091-312300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RENO NV
337 PM PDT THU JUL 31 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN SIERRA COUNTY IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF SIERRAVILLE

* UNTIL 400 PM PDT

* AT 332 PM PDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 9 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SIERRAVILLE...OR ABOUT 6 MILES   
NORTHWEST OF STAMPEDE RESEVOIR...MOVING NORTH AT 20 MPH. THE STORM 
WAS MOVING JUST EAST OF HIGHWAY 89 TOWARD THE NORTH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  5 MILES NORTHEAST OF SIERRAVILLE AT 355 PM PDT

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. IF NO 
BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE 
BUILDING IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE 
BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM 
WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 3972 12016 3954 12008 3948 12011 3943 12029
          3971 12049

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 31, 1:53 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	El Dorado, Placer	22 min
Jul 31, 2:59 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Nevada, Placer, Sierra	16 min
Jul 31, 3:12 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Nevada, Sierra	18 min
Jul 31, 3:27 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Nevada, Sierra	33 min
Jul 31, 3:28 PM PDT	Flash Flood Warning	REV	Nevada, Sierra	92 min
Jul 31, 4:00 PM PDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	REV	Plumas, Sierra	25 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in California, 2003 Every tornado warning in 2003 Tornadoes 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.