Alert archive / Iowa / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 42

February 3, 20034 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Feb 3, 2003, 9:38 AM CST for 4 states. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Feb 3, 2003, 9:38 AM CST (15:38 UTC)
Expired
Feb 3, 2003, 2:15 PM CST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 74 counties

Adair County, IA, Adams County, IA, Audubon County, IA, Boone County, IA, Calhoun County, IA, Carroll County, IA, Cass County, IA, Clarke County, IA, Crawford County, IA, Dallas County, IA, Fremont County, IA, Greene County, IA, Guthrie County, IA, Hamilton County, IA, Harrison County, IA, Humboldt County, IA, Madison County, IA, Mills County, IA, Monona County, IA, Montgomery County, IA, Page County, IA, Polk County, IA, Pottawattamie County, IA, Ringgold County, IA, Sac County, IA, Shelby County, IA, Story County, IA, Taylor County, IA, Union County, IA, Warren County, IA, Webster County, IA, Wright County, IA, Atchison County, KS, Brown County, KS, Clay County, KS, Cloud County, KS, Doniphan County, KS, Jackson County, KS, Jewell County, KS, Marshall County, KS, Mitchell County, KS, Nemaha County, KS, Pottawatomie County, KS, Republic County, KS, Riley County, KS, Washington County, KS, Andrew County, MO, Atchison County, MO, Holt County, MO, Nodaway County, MO, Worth County, MO, Burt County, NE, Butler County, NE, Cass County, NE, Clay County, NE, Dodge County, NE, Douglas County, NE, Fillmore County, NE, Gage County, NE, Jefferson County, NE, Johnson County, NE, Lancaster County, NE, Nemaha County, NE, Nuckolls County, NE, Otoe County, NE, Pawnee County, NE, Richardson County, NE, Saline County, NE, Sarpy County, NE, Saunders County, NE, Seward County, NE, Thayer County, NE, Washington County, NE, York County, NE

The radar

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 93 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 15:40 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

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 12:00Z, 3.6 hours before the alert went out and 93 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, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2003-02-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2003-02-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -47 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
561 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
286 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.

598 
ACUS11 KWNS 031538
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 031538 
KSZ000-NEZ000-IAZ000-MOZ000-032015-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0042
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0938 AM CST MON FEB 03 2003

AREAS AFFECTED...NERN KS...SERN NEBRASKA...SW IA...EXTREME NWRN
MO

CONCERNING...HEAVY SNOW 

VALID 031538Z - 032015Z

PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW WITH NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE
ALONG THE KS/NE BORDER INTO SERN NEBRASKA...AND WILL DEVELOP OVER
THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS OVER PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SWRN IA.



AN AREA OF FRONTOGENETICALLY FORCED HEAVY SNOW CONTINUES TO MOVE
EWD OVER NRN KS AND SRN/SERN NEBRASKA.	VISIBILITIES HAVE BEEN
REDUCED TO 1/4 MILE OR LESS WITH WINDS GUSTING OVER 40 MPH OVER
SRN NEBRASKA.  THIS AREA OF PRECIPITATION WILL MAINTAIN ITS
CURRENT INTENSITY OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS...WITH A GRADUAL
WEAKENING OVER SRN PORTIONS OF THE DISCUSSION AREA.  ANOTHER AREA
OF OCCASIONALLY HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP DURING THE DAY
OVER IA...AS UPPER SYSTEM DEEPENS AND ENERGY SHIFTS NEWD.

..JEWELL.. 02/03/2003

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

39749479 39019637 39259863 40519838 41959647 43029367
41629330

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 3, 1:37 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee, Chickasaw, Clayton, Fayette, Howard, Mitchell and 1 more6 hr
Feb 2, 6:41 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCheyenne7 hr
Feb 3, 3:34 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCEllis, Graham, Jewell, Mitchell, Norton, Osborne and 6 more5 hr
Feb 3, 12:28 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBollinger, Butler, Carter, Crawford, Dent, Douglas and 14 more3 hr
Feb 3, 2:21 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDunklin, Pemiscot3 hr
Feb 3, 2:59 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Mississippi, Perry, Sainte Genevieve and 4 more3 hr

Nearby

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