Alert archive / Indiana / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 1920

July 20, 20034 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Jul 20, 2003, 6:23 PM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 97 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 20, 2003, 6:23 PM CDT (23:23 UTC)
Expired
Jul 20, 2003, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
97 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 38 counties

Boone County, IL, Cook County, IL, DeKalb County, IL, DuPage County, IL, Grundy County, IL, Kane County, IL, Kankakee County, IL, Kendall County, IL, Lake County, IL, LaSalle County, IL, Livingston County, IL, McHenry County, IL, Will County, IL, Winnebago County, IL, Elkhart County, IN, Fulton County, IN, Jasper County, IN, Kosciusko County, IN, LaGrange County, IN, Lake County, IN, LaPorte County, IN, Marshall County, IN, Newton County, IN, Noble County, IN, Porter County, IN, Pulaski County, IN, Saint Joseph County, IN, Starke County, IN, Steuben County, IN, Whitley County, IN, Berrien County, MI, Cass County, MI, Saint Joseph County, MI, Van Buren County, MI, Kenosha County, WI, Racine County, WI, Rock County, WI, Walworth County, WI

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 31 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:23 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 watches that followed

Watches SPC issued over any of the same counties within four hours of this discussion.

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 183 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2003-07-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 649 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2003-07-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 74 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
649 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-220 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
888 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
74 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
115 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

958 
ACUS11 KWNS 202324
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 202323 
OHZ000-INZ000-MIZ000-ILZ000-WIZ000-210100-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 1920
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0623 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2003

AREAS AFFECTED...SERN WI...NERN IL AND NRN IND...SWRN LOWER MI

CONCERNING...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 774...

VALID 202323Z - 210100Z

STRONGEST STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO PERSIST IN SRN PORTION OF WW 774
MAINLY ACROSS NRN IL AND EVENTUALLY EWD INTO NRN IND. A WW MAY BE
NEEDED FOR PORTIONS OF NRN IND AND SWRN LOWER MI WITHIN THE NEXT
HOUR.

STORMS CONTINUE DEVELOPING ALONG INSTABILITY GRADIENT ON AN E-W
BOUNDARY ACROSS NRN IL. THIS ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE
DEVELOPING EWD INTO NRN IND AND SRN LOWER MI WHERE THE ATMOSPHERE
REMAINS MODERATELY UNSTABLE. UNIDIRECTIONAL WIND PROFILES WITH DEEP
SHEAR FROM 35 TO 40 KT WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT UPDRAFT ROTATION.
THROUGH LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE IS NOT PARTICULARLY STRONG...CAP IS
WEAK AND WARM ADVECTION IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN THIS REGION AS
SWLY LOW LEVEL JET DEVELOPS THIS EVENING.

..DIAL.. 07/20/2003

...PLEASE SEE WWW.SPC.NOAA.GOV FOR GRAPHIC PRODUCT...

ATTN...WFO...IWX...GRR...LOT...MKX...

40798876 41868924 42778909 42878758 41588469 40898588

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 20, 4:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBoone, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane and 8 more5 hr
Jul 20, 12:41 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCSteuben64 min
Jul 20, 1:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCDeKalb, Steuben6 hr
Jul 20, 3:37 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCSteuben113 min
Jul 20, 6:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCDeKalb, Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaGrange, LaPorte, Marshall and 5 more5 hr
Jul 20, 1:16 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlger, Baraga, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron and 3 more119 min
Jul 20, 1:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAlger, Baraga, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton and 4 more7 hr
Jul 20, 3:27 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlger, Baraga, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton and 4 more63 min
Jul 20, 6:47 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaraga, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron and 3 more88 min
Jul 20, 4:14 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCPierce3 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Indiana, 2003Mesoscale Discussions in Illinois, 2003Mesoscale Discussions in Michigan, 2003Every mesoscale discussion 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.