Alert archive / Oklahoma / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 539

April 23, 200319 counties in Kansas; 23 counties in Oklahoma

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Apr 23, 2003, 9:55 AM CDT for 19 counties in Kansas; 23 counties in Oklahoma. It was in force for 65 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 23, 2003, 9:55 AM CDT (14:55 UTC)
Expired
Apr 23, 2003, 11:00 AM CDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 42 counties

Barber County, KS, Barton County, KS, Butler County, KS, Cowley County, KS, Edwards County, KS, Ellsworth County, KS, Harper County, KS, Harvey County, KS, Kingman County, KS, Marion County, KS, McPherson County, KS, Pawnee County, KS, Pratt County, KS, Reno County, KS, Rice County, KS, Rush County, KS, Sedgwick County, KS, Stafford County, KS, Sumner County, KS, Alfalfa County, OK, Blaine County, OK, Caddo County, OK, Canadian County, OK, Cleveland County, OK, Creek County, OK, Garfield County, OK, Grady County, OK, Grant County, OK, Kay County, OK, Kingfisher County, OK, Lincoln County, OK, Logan County, OK, Major County, OK, McClain County, OK, Noble County, OK, Okfuskee County, OK, Oklahoma County, OK, Osage County, OK, Pawnee County, OK, Payne County, OK, Pottawatomie County, OK, Woods County, OK

The radar

The Vance AFB radar (KVNX), 16 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:54 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

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 12:00Z, 2.9 hours before the alert went out and 175 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, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2003-04-23Temperature 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 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2003-04-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 233 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1075 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
233 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
242 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

638 
ACUS11 KWNS 231456
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 231455 
OKZ000-KSZ000-231600-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0539
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0956 AM CDT WED APR 23 2003

AREAS AFFECTED...PORTIONS OF CENTRAL OK AND CENTRAL KS

CONCERNING...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL 

VALID 231455Z - 231600Z

ELEVATED THUNDERSTORMS OVER WRN OK INTO CENTRAL KS WILL CONTINUE TO
MOVE NNEWD THIS MORNING...WITH ISOLATED LARGE HAIL POSSIBLE WITH THE
STRONGEST STORMS.  WW MAY BE REQUIRED LATER THIS MORNING FOR
PORTIONS OF CENTRAL OK INTO CENTRAL KS.

14Z SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS A WARM FRONT EXTENDING FROM JUST SOUTH OF
CDS EWD THROUGH NRN TX.  STRONG VEERING WIND PROFILES WITH HEIGHT
OVER THE SRN/CENTRAL PLAINS ARE AIDING IN LOW-MID LEVEL WAA FOR
ELEVATED STORMS WELL NORTH OF THE SURFACE WARM FRONT.  12Z RUC
INDICATES THIS WAA REGIME WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY OVER OK INTO
KS...WITH SUFFICIENT DEEP LAYER SHEAR SUPPORTING ORGANIZED STORMS
ALONG WITH ELEVATED ROTATING UPDRAFTS.	GIVEN STEEP LAPSE RATES AND
LOW WET-BULB ZERO HEIGHTS...LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE GREATEST THREAT
WITH THE STRONGEST ACTIVITY AS IT LIFTS NNEWD INTO CENTRAL OK/KS.


..PETERS.. 04/23/2003

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

ATTN...WFO...TSA...TOP...ICT...OUN...DDC...

37149916 38589954 38819724 36659624 35459630 34979744
35089847

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 23, 12:10 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCheyenne, Greeley, Logan, Rawlins, Sherman, Thomas and 2 more3 hr
Apr 23, 2:58 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHarmon2 hr
Apr 23, 10:30 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBeckham, Custer, Dewey, Ellis, Greer, Harmon and 4 more90 min
Apr 23, 11:50 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCComanche, Cotton, Harmon, Jackson, Tillman6 hr
Apr 23, 1:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAlfalfa, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Custer and 15 more6 hr
Apr 23, 1:26 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCComanche, Cotton, Harmon, Jackson, Tillman94 min
Apr 23, 2:44 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlfalfa, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Custer and 15 more91 min
Apr 23, 3:08 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarter, Comanche, Cotton, Garvin, Jackson, Jefferson and 5 more97 min
Apr 23, 4:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAtoka, Bryan, Carter, Jefferson, Johnston, Love and 3 more6 hr
Apr 23, 5:36 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCotton, Tillman54 min
Apr 23, 5:47 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlfalfa, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Comanche and 16 more88 min
Apr 23, 6:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCComanche, Cotton, Stephens, Tillman4 hr

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Oklahoma, 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.