Alert archive / Kansas / Mesoscale Discussions in 2003

Mesoscale Discussion 541

April 23, 20035 counties in Colorado; 8 counties in Kansas; Dundy County, Nebraska

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Apr 23, 2003, 11:10 AM MDT for 5 counties in Colorado; 8 counties in Kansas; Dundy County, Nebraska. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 23, 2003, 11:10 AM MDT (17:10 UTC)
Expired
Apr 23, 2003, 2:15 PM MDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Adams County, CO, Kit Carson County, CO, Morgan County, CO, Washington County, CO, Yuma County, CO, Cheyenne County, KS, Greeley County, KS, Logan County, KS, Rawlins County, KS, Sherman County, KS, Thomas County, KS, Wallace County, KS, Wichita County, KS, Dundy County, NE

The radar

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 49 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:12 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, 5.2 hours before the alert went out and 106 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 2003-04-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 333 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 2003-04-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -102 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
333 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-92 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
791 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-102 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-35 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.1
Supercell composite
-0.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

027 
ACUS11 KWNS 231710
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 231710 
KSZ000-NEZ000-COZ000-232015-

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0541
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1210 PM CDT WED APR 23 2003

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

CONCERNING...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL 

VALID 231710Z - 232015Z

POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR LOW-TOPPED SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
AND WEAK TORNADOES THIS AFTERNOON. REGION WILL BE MONITORED FOR
POSSIBLE WW DURING THE NEXT 1-3 HOURS. 

AT 23/17Z...A DRY SURFACE TROUGH EXTENDS FROM A 992MB SURFACE LOW
NEAR DEN SEWD ACROSS E-CENTRAL AND FAR SERN CO. A MOIST SELY
LOW-LEVEL FLOW TO THE NORTH OF THIS BOUNDARY WILL ADVECT DEWPOINTS
TO NEAR 50 ACROSS THE DISCUSSION AREA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. ALOFT...
A DRY SLOT EVIDENT ON SATELLITE IMAGERY ACROSS NERN NM/SERN CO WILL
SPREAD NEWD IN ADVANCE OF THE UPPER LOW CENTER...BRINGING STEEPENING
MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES AND THE POTENTIAL FOR INCREASED INSOLATION TO
NERN CO...NWRN KS...AND FAR SWRN NEB DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS. WITH
500MB TEMPERATURES COOLING TO -18C TO -20C...POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR
MUCAPE VALUES OF 500-1500 J/KG BY 23/21Z ACROSS NERN CO/NWRN KS/SWRN
NEB.  

EXISTING STORMS ACROSS E-CENTRAL CO WILL LIKELY PIVOT
COUNTERCLOCKWISE AND INCREASE IN INTENSITY THIS AFTERNOON WITH
POTENTIAL FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT ON THE SERN FLANK. STRONG LOW-LEVEL
SHEAR SHOULD CONTINUE IN VICINITY OF THIS ACTIVITY...AND NORTH OF
THE SURFACE TROUGH AS IT PIVOTS NEWD. POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR
LOW-TOPPED SUPERCELLS WITH HAIL /WBZ HEIGHTS 4-5 KFT/ AND POSSIBLE
TORNADOES AS DESTABLIZATION TAKES PLACE THIS AFTERNOON.   

..BANACOS.. 04/23/2003

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

ATTN...WFO...LBF...DDC...GLD...PUB...BOU...

37890111 39400072 40380133 40750373 39900453 39340335
38700221

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 23, 8:55 AM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarber, Barton, Butler, Cowley, Edwards, Ellsworth and 13 more65 min

Nearby

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