Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2003

Tornado Watch 103

April 6, 200339 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 6, 2003, 12:40 PM CDT for 39 counties in Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 6, 2003, 12:40 PM CDT (17:40 UTC)
Expired
Apr 6, 2003, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 39 counties

Anderson County, TX, Brazos County, TX, Burleson County, TX, Cherokee County, TX, Collin County, TX, Cooke County, TX, Dallas County, TX, Delta County, TX, Denton County, TX, Ellis County, TX, Fannin County, TX, Franklin County, TX, Freestone County, TX, Grayson County, TX, Grimes County, TX, Henderson County, TX, Hopkins County, TX, Houston County, TX, Hunt County, TX, Kaufman County, TX, Lamar County, TX, Leon County, TX, Liberty County, TX, Limestone County, TX, Madison County, TX, Montgomery County, TX, Navarro County, TX, Polk County, TX, Rains County, TX, Robertson County, TX, Rockwall County, TX, San Jacinto County, TX, Smith County, TX, Trinity County, TX, Van Zandt County, TX, Walker County, TX, Waller County, TX, Washington County, TX, Wood County, TX

The radar

The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 139 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:39 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 6, 1:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDCollin64 min
Apr 6, 1:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDGrayson47 min
Apr 6, 2:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningHGXHouston37 min
Apr 6, 3:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDLamar39 min
Apr 6, 4:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHopkins, Rains57 min

Discussions around it

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

The nearest sounding before it

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 12:00Z, 5.7 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, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 2003-04-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1494 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, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 2003-04-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 210 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
1494 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-51 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
662 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
210 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
292 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.0
Supercell composite
8.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 061738
SEL3
SPC WW 061740
TXZ000-062300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 103
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1240 PM CDT SUN APR 6 2003

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   EAST TEXAS                              

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 1240 PM UNTIL 600
PM CDT.

 ...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...
 
DAMAGING TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...
THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE
POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 55 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF PARIS TEXAS TO 60 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF COLLEGE STATION TEXAS.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND 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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 99...WW 100...WW 101...WW
102...

DISCUSSION...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE INCREASING OVER SOUTHEAST
TX NEAR CLL...WHILE OTHER CELLS INTENSIFY NEAR DFW.  LOW LEVEL
VERTICAL SHEAR PROFILES THROUGHOUT THIS REGION ARE QUITE
STRONG...WITH 3KM SR HELICITY VALUES OF 200-300 M2/S2 AND SBCAPE
VALUES OVER 2500 J/KG.  SUPERCELLS ARE EXPECTED...WITH THE THREAT
OF TORNADOES AND VERY LARGE HAIL.  POTENTIAL ALSO EXISTS FOR STRONG
TORNADOES...ESPECIALLY OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE WW AREA.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.


...HART

335,0951 295,0943 295,0963 335,0972

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 5, 6:11 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaylor, Briscoe, Cottle, Crosby, Dickens, Floyd and 9 more64 min
Apr 5, 6:35 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArcher, Clay, Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Delta and 23 more115 min
Apr 5, 6:40 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCBriscoe, Childress, Cottle, Crosby, Dickens, Fisher and 16 more5 hr
Apr 5, 8:04 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArcher, Baylor, Clay, Collin, Cooke, Dallas and 25 more116 min
Apr 5, 9:20 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArcher, Camp, Clay, Collin, Cooke, Dallas and 31 more55 min
Apr 5, 9:35 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCArcher, Bowie, Camp, Cass, Clay, Collin and 38 more5 hr
Apr 5, 10:26 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBaylor, Childress, Cottle, Dickens, Fisher, Foard and 11 more64 min
Apr 5, 11:43 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArcher, Camp, Clay, Collin, Cooke, Dallas and 31 more92 min
Apr 6, 3:13 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArcher, Baylor, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Clay and 39 more107 min
Apr 6, 3:39 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArcher, Baylor, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Clay and 39 more66 min
Apr 6, 4:50 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArcher, Baylor, Brown, Callahan, Coke, Coleman and 27 more115 min
Apr 6, 5:35 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCWichita4 hr
Apr 6, 9:12 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Bosque, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Collin and 41 more2 hr
Apr 6, 10:20 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBowie, Cass, Harrison, Marion, Morris, Panola55 min
Apr 6, 10:30 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCBowie, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Franklin, Gregg and 14 more6 hr
Apr 6, 12:03 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGregg, Harrison, Marion, Panola, Rusk117 min
Apr 6, 2:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBowie, Delta, Lamar, Red River5 hr
Apr 6, 3:00 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Brazos, Cherokee, Delta, Freestone, Grimes and 21 more90 min
Apr 6, 3:26 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAngelina, Nacogdoches, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby2 hr
Apr 6, 3:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAngelina, Gregg, Hardin, Harrison, Jasper, Liberty and 9 more5 hr
Apr 6, 5:35 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAngelina, Gregg, Hardin, Harrison, Jasper, Liberty and 10 more115 min
Apr 6, 6:23 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCNewton, Sabine97 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 2003Every tornado 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.