Alert archive / Oklahoma / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 461

April 15, 20035 counties in Kansas; 6 counties in Oklahoma

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Apr 15, 2003, 3:32 PM CDT for 5 counties in Kansas; 6 counties in Oklahoma. It was in force for 118 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Apr 15, 2003, 3:32 PM CDT (20:32 UTC)
Expired: Apr 15, 2003, 5:30 PM CDT
In force: 118 min
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Clark County, KS, Comanche County, KS, Edwards County, KS, Ford County, KS, Kiowa County, KS, Custer County, OK, Dewey County, OK, Harper County, OK, Washita County, OK, Woods County, OK, Woodward County, OK

The radar

The Vance AFB radar (KVNX), 119 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:35 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.

Tornado Watch 123Apr 15, 6:30 PM CDT

The nearest sounding before it

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 12:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 118 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: 10 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -518 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2463 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -102 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -32 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.

659 
ACUS11 KWNS 152033
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 152032 
OKZ000-KSZ000-152230-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0461
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0332 PM CDT TUE APR 15 2003

AREAS AFFECTED...TX OK KS

CONCERNING...TORNADO WATCH 118...

VALID 152032Z - 152230Z

EXIT REGION OF INTENSE MID/UPPER JET STREAK CONTINUES TO SHIFT
EASTWARD ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HIGH PLAINS.  ASSOCIATED SURFACE
COLD FRONT HAS PROGRESSED THROUGH THE DALHART TX/CLOVIS NM AREAS
WITHIN THE PAST HOUR.  AS FRONT ADVANCES INTO DRY LINE...NOW
EXTENDING FROM THE GARDEN CITY/DODGE CITY KS AREA INTO THE TEXAS
PANHANDLE WEST OF CHILDRESS...ENHANCED LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE WILL
SUPPORT ADDITIONAL RAPID INTENSE CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT.

EXIT REGION OF WEST SOUTHWESTERLY 90+ KT 500 MB JET STREAK IS
PROGGED INTO AREAS NEAR/EAST OF DODGE CITY...GAGE AND ALTUS BY
16/00Z...AND WILL ENHANCE VERTICAL SHEAR PROFILES ALONG DRY LINE
WEST OF 40 TO 50 KT SOUTHERLY LOW-LEVEL JET AXIS.  WITH SURFACE
DEW POINTS CLIMBING THROUGH THE LOWER/MID 60S...LOW-LEVEL
THERMODYNAMIC AND KINEMATIC ENVIRONMENT IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY
SUPPORTIVE OF TORNADIC SUPERCELLS.

..KERR.. 04/15/2003

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

ATTN...WFO...OUN...DDC...

37910007 38149970 37839902 36989883 35849867 35159884
35029955 35889971 36619968 37129996

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 15, 12:41 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Clark, Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray, Haskell and 7 more	3 hr
Apr 15, 2:10 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Finney, Ford, Grant and 14 more	5 hr
Apr 15, 3:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Decatur, Ellis, Gove, Graham, Logan, Norton and 10 more	5 hr
Apr 15, 5:55 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Barber, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ford, Gray and 6 more	65 min
Apr 15, 6:30 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Barber, Barton, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ford and 16 more	5 hr
Apr 15, 6:57 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Decatur, Graham, Norton, Osborne, Phillips, Rooks and 3 more	93 min
Apr 15, 4:36 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Harmon, Jackson, Tillman	84 min
Apr 15, 5:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Comanche, Greer, Harmon, Jackson, Kiowa, Tillman	6 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Oklahoma, 2003 Mesoscale Discussions in Kansas, 2003 Every 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.