Alert archive / Kansas / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 4

January 1, 2003Cheyenne County, Kit Carson County, Yuma County, Colorado; 12 counties in Kansas; 9 counties in Nebraska

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Jan 1, 2003, 5:37 AM MST for Cheyenne County, Kit Carson County, Yuma County, Colorado; 12 counties in Kansas; 9 counties in Nebraska. It was in force for 4 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jan 1, 2003, 5:37 AM MST (12:37 UTC)
Expired
Jan 1, 2003, 10:00 AM MST
In force
4 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 24 counties

Cheyenne County, CO, Kit Carson County, CO, Yuma County, CO, Cheyenne County, KS, Decatur County, KS, Gove County, KS, Greeley County, KS, Logan County, KS, Rawlins County, KS, Scott County, KS, Sheridan County, KS, Sherman County, KS, Thomas County, KS, Wallace County, KS, Wichita County, KS, Chase County, NE, Dundy County, NE, Frontier County, NE, Gosper County, NE, Hayes County, NE, Hitchcock County, NE, Lincoln County, NE, Perkins County, NE, Red Willow County, NE

The radar

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 45 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:40 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

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 162 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, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 2003-01-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 2003-01-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -94 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
880 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-94 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-63 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.

323 
ACUS11 KWNS 011238
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 011237 
COZ000-NEZ000-KSZ000-011700-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0004
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0637 AM CST WED JAN 01 2003

AREAS AFFECTED...FAR ERN CO...FAR SWRN NEB...AND NWRN KS

CONCERNING...HEAVY SNOW

VALID 011237Z - 011700Z

LOCALLY HEAVY SNOW...WITH SNOWFALL RATES OF 1/HR...ARE EXPECTED
ACROSS FAR ERN CO...NWRN KS...AND FAR SWRN NEB THROUGH 01/18Z.


STRONG 850-500MB DEFORMATION ZONE AND FRONTOGENETIC FORCING WILL
PERSIST ACROSS THE DISCUSSION AREA THROUGH 18Z...GENERALLY NORTH
OF VORTICITY MAX/DEEPENING UPPER LOW EVIDENT IN WV IMAGERY OVER
FAR SERN CO AND SWRN KS AT 12Z. MODERATE SNOW WAS OBSERVED AT
SEVERAL STATIONS ALONG THE I-70 CORRIDOR BETWEEN LIC AND GLD AT
01/12Z. HEAVY SNOW WILL TAKE AN HOUR OR TWO TO DEVELOP ACROSS
SWRN NEB WHERE SURFACE DEWPOINT DEPRESSIONS AT IML...MCK...AND
LBF ARE PRESENTLY IN EXCESS OF 10F. PRESENT RADAR TRENDS SUGGEST
HEAVIEST SNOW FROM I-70 NWD TO THE TRI-BORDER AREA OF CO/KS/NEB
THROUGH 18Z...BEFORE STRONGEST FORCING MOVES EAST OF THE REGION
AND SNOWFALL RATES DIMINISH.

..BANACOS.. 01/01/2003

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

38290266 38190137 38370094 38930044 39290027 39610017
40129994 40529979 40980009 41220070 41090128 40790192
40380241 39870265 39430289 38980284

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 31, 8:59 PM MSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCheyenne, Elbert, Kiowa, Kit Carson, Lincoln, Logan and 5 more6 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Kansas, 2003Mesoscale Discussions in Nebraska, 2003Mesoscale Discussions in Colorado, 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.