Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2003

Tornado Watch 150

April 23, 20034 counties in Oklahoma; 21 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 23, 2003, 6:00 PM CDT for 4 counties in Oklahoma; 21 counties in Texas. It was in force for 4 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 23, 2003, 6:00 PM CDT (23:00 UTC)
Expired
Apr 23, 2003, 10:00 PM CDT
In force
4 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 25 counties

Comanche County, OK, Cotton County, OK, Stephens County, OK, Tillman County, OK, Archer County, TX, Baylor County, TX, Brown County, TX, Callahan County, TX, Clay County, TX, Coleman County, TX, Concho County, TX, Eastland County, TX, Haskell County, TX, Jones County, TX, Knox County, TX, McCulloch County, TX, Runnels County, TX, Shackelford County, TX, Stephens County, TX, Taylor County, TX, Throckmorton County, TX, Tom Green County, TX, Wichita County, TX, Wilbarger County, TX, Young County, TX

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 23, 6:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDEastland57 min
Apr 23, 6:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSJTBrown79 min
Apr 23, 7:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNStephens24 min
Apr 23, 7:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNArcher, Clay, Wichita47 min
Apr 23, 7:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCotton, Jefferson48 min
Apr 23, 8:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNStephens44 min
Apr 23, 8:27 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNJefferson, Stephens33 min
Apr 23, 8:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNClay, Wichita28 min
Apr 23, 8:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNStephens46 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, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 209 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 2003-04-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 245 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 2003-04-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 71 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
245 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-295 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
486 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
71 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
105 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 232300
SEL0  
SPC WW 232300
OKZ000-TXZ000-240300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 150 
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 
600 PM CDT WED APR 23 2003

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

       SOUTHWEST OKLAHOMA
       SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL TEXAS

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY EVENING FROM 600 PM UNTIL 
1000 PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 45 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF SAN ANGELO TEXAS TO 10
MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF FORT SILL OKLAHOMA.

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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO
WATCH NUMBER 146. CONTINUE...WW 147...WW 148...WW 149...


DISCUSSION...SEVERE STORMS HAVE DEVELOPED BEHIND THE INITIAL LINE OF
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS JUST AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING DRY LINE. 
SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS INCREASE IN CONVECTIVE CLOUD DEVELOPMENT TO
THE NORTH OF ABI DURING THE LAST HOUR...SUGGESTING INCREASING UPWARD
MOTION IS OCCURRING NEAR THE DRY LINE.	ADDITIONAL STORMS MAY
DEVELOP ALONG THE DRY LINE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS...WITH THREAT
FOR LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES.

AVIATION...TORDADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.


...WEISS

310,1003 344,0992 344,0974 310,0990

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 23, 2:58 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCHarmon2 hr
Apr 23, 9:55 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlfalfa, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Cleveland, Creek and 17 more65 min
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 22, 7:32 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGaines, Martin88 min
Apr 23, 12:04 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAndrews, Armstrong, Bailey, Borden, Briscoe, Carson and 27 more116 min
Apr 23, 1:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBailey, Castro, Cochran, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Hartley and 10 more6 hr
Apr 23, 3:59 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBailey, Castro, Cochran, Deaf Smith, Hale, Hartley and 13 more2 hr
Apr 23, 2:12 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBandera, Crockett, Edwards, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney and 7 more93 min
Apr 23, 2:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCCrockett, Edwards, Kimble, Kinney, Mason, Menard and 4 more5 hr
Apr 23, 4:02 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCrockett, Edwards, Kimble, Kinney, Mason, Menard and 5 more88 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Texas, 2003Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 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.