Alert archive / New York / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 862

August 16, 20034 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Aug 16, 2003, 1:25 PM EDT for 4 states. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 16, 2003, 1:25 PM EDT (17:25 UTC)
Expired
Aug 16, 2003, 7:00 PM EDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 62 counties

Berkshire County, MA, Hampshire County, MA, Albany County, NY, Allegany County, NY, Broome County, NY, Cattaraugus County, NY, Chautauqua County, NY, Chemung County, NY, Chenango County, NY, Columbia County, NY, Cortland County, NY, Delaware County, NY, Fulton County, NY, Greene County, NY, Madison County, NY, Montgomery County, NY, Onondaga County, NY, Otsego County, NY, Rensselaer County, NY, Saratoga County, NY, Schenectady County, NY, Schoharie County, NY, Schuyler County, NY, Seneca County, NY, Steuben County, NY, Sullivan County, NY, Tioga County, NY, Tompkins County, NY, Ulster County, NY, Warren County, NY, Washington County, NY, Yates County, NY, Allegheny County, PA, Armstrong County, PA, Beaver County, PA, Bradford County, PA, Butler County, PA, Cameron County, PA, Clarion County, PA, Clearfield County, PA, Clinton County, PA, Crawford County, PA, Elk County, PA, Erie County, PA, Forest County, PA, Indiana County, PA, Jefferson County, PA, Lawrence County, PA, Lycoming County, PA, McKean County, PA, Mercer County, PA, Potter County, PA, Sullivan County, PA, Susquehanna County, PA, Tioga County, PA, Venango County, PA, Warren County, PA, Wayne County, PA, Wyoming County, PA, Bennington County, VT, Rutland County, VT, Windham County, VT

The radar

The Binghamton radar (KBGM), 114 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:26 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.

Warnings issued inside it

11 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 16, 2:16 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFAllegany29 min
Aug 16, 2:18 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBUFChautauqua57 min
Aug 16, 2:22 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCLEErie38 min
Aug 16, 2:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBGMBradford, Susquehanna58 min
Aug 16, 2:49 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPWarren71 min
Aug 16, 3:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningBOXHampden, Hampshire26 min
Aug 16, 3:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningALYColumbia, Dutchess65 min
Aug 16, 3:48 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCTPSullivan72 min
Aug 16, 4:50 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZBeaver, Butler55 min
Aug 16, 5:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCLEErie50 min
Aug 16, 6:31 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZVenango3 hr

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 12:00Z, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 145 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, Buffalo Intl Airport, NY at 12:00Z on 2003-08-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1388 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Buffalo Intl Airport, NY at 12:00Z on 2003-08-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 23 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
1388 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-20 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
794 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
23 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
78 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
1.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 161722
SEL2  
SPC WW 161725
CTZ000-MAZ000-NYZ000-PAZ000-VTZ000-LEZ000-162300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 862 
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 
125 PM EDT SAT AUG 16 2003

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       NORTHWEST CONNECTICUT
       FAR WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
       UPSTATE NEW YORK
       WESTERN AND NORTHERN PENNSYLVANIA
       SOUTHERN VERMONT
       LAKE ERIE

EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 125 PM UNTIL
700 PM EDT.

HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES
NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF RUTLAND
VERMONT TO 35 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF FRANKLIN PENNSYLVANIA.

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE
TORNADOES.


OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 861...


DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG COLD FRONT AND
PREFRONTAL TROUGH CROSSING THE LWR LKS REGION EXPECTED TO POSE A
THREAT FOR LOCALLY DAMAGING WIND AND POSSIBLY HAIL AS SURFACE
HEATING CONTINUES ACROSS REGION.  DEEP SHEAR SHOULD SLOWLY INCREASE
WITH TIME...SUPPORTING A FEW ORGANIZED BANDS/CLUSTERS...ESPECIALLY
IN SW NY/NW PA...AND IN E CNTRL NY.

AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.
A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. MEAN STORM MOTION
VECTOR 29030.


...CORFIDI

420,0723 401,0802 420,0802 435,0723

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 16, 12:51 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBerkshire114 min
Aug 16, 6:26 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBerkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire64 min
Aug 16, 2:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAllegheny, Beaver, Crawford, Greene, Lawrence, Mercer and 1 more6 hr
Aug 16, 6:53 PM EDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGreene, Washington97 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in New York, 2003Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Pennsylvania, 2003Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Vermont, 2003Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.