Alert archive / Louisiana / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 157
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 24, 2003, 2:05 PM CDT for Ashley County, Chicot County, Arkansas; 20 parishes in Louisiana; 16 counties in Mississippi. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 24, 2003, 2:05 PM CDT (19:05 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 24, 2003, 8:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 38 counties
Ashley County, AR, Chicot County, AR, Bienville Parish, LA, Caldwell Parish, LA, Catahoula Parish, LA, Concordia Parish, LA, East Carroll Parish, LA, Franklin Parish, LA, Grant Parish, LA, Jackson Parish, LA, LaSalle Parish, LA, Lincoln Parish, LA, Madison Parish, LA, Morehouse Parish, LA, Natchitoches Parish, LA, Ouachita Parish, LA, Rapides Parish, LA, Richland Parish, LA, Tensas Parish, LA, Union Parish, LA, West Carroll Parish, LA, Winn Parish, LA, Carroll County, MS, Claiborne County, MS, Hinds County, MS, Holmes County, MS, Humphreys County, MS, Issaquena County, MS, Jefferson County, MS, Leflore County, MS, Madison County, MS, Rankin County, MS, Sharkey County, MS, Sunflower County, MS, Tallahatchie County, MS, Warren County, MS, Washington County, MS, Yazoo County, MS
Warnings issued inside it
20 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 24, 2:24 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Ashley | 46 min |
| Apr 24, 2:28 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Richland | 47 min |
| Apr 24, 2:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Chicot | 44 min |
| Apr 24, 2:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Washington | 45 min |
| Apr 24, 3:00 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | JAN | Leake, Madison | 3 hr |
| Apr 24, 3:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Ouachita | 37 min |
| Apr 24, 3:32 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Morehouse, Richland | 43 min |
| Apr 24, 3:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Leake, Madison | 42 min |
| Apr 24, 4:02 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | West Carroll | 43 min |
| Apr 24, 4:25 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | East Carroll | 45 min |
| Apr 24, 4:59 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Issaquena, Sharkey | 41 min |
| Apr 24, 5:36 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Humphreys, Sharkey | 44 min |
| Apr 24, 5:54 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | JAN | Hinds, Madison | 41 min |
| Apr 24, 6:30 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | JAN | Hinds, Kemper, Lauderdale, Leake, Madison, Neshoba and 5 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 24, 6:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Concordia | 44 min |
| Apr 24, 6:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Madison, Rankin | 44 min |
| Apr 24, 7:04 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Jefferson | 46 min |
| Apr 24, 7:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Holmes | 41 min |
| Apr 24, 7:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Claiborne | 39 min |
| Apr 24, 8:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAN | Hinds | 30 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
Jackson, MS (KJAN), launched 12:00Z, 7.1 hours before the alert went out and 168 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 458 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -128 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 741 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 297 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 439 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 9.3
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 241905
SEL7
SPC WW 241905
LAZ000-MSZ000-250100-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 157
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
205 PM CDT THU APR 24 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHEAST LOUISIANA
WEST CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI
EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 205 PM UNTIL
800 PM CDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 65 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF GREENWOOD
MISSISSIPPI TO 55 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF ALEXANDRIA LOUISIANA.
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 156...
DISCUSSION...A CLUSTER OF STRONG/SEVERE STORMS SHOULD EXPAND EWD
FROM NE LA TO WRN MS THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS...WITH AN ATTENDANT
THREAT OF LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. TEMPERATURES OF 75-80 AND
DEW POINTS NEAR 70 ARE RESULTING IN MLCAPE VALUES OF 2000-3000 J/KG
TO THE S OF THIS CONVECTION...AND DEEP LAYER VERTICAL SHEAR IS
SUFFICIENT FOR SUPERCELLS. THE MOST INTENSE STORMS COULD PRODUCE
VERY LARGE HAIL AND TORNADOES.
AVIATION...TORDADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25035.
...THOMPSON
321,0895 304,0930 323,0930 340,0895SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 11:43 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Howard, Lafayette, Little River, Miller, Polk, Sevier | 2 hr |
| Apr 24, 2:41 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Columbia, Lafayette, Miller, Nevada, Ouachita | 2 hr |
| Apr 24, 10:12 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Arkansas, Cleburne, Conway, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross and 20 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 24, 12:47 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Arkansas, Bradley, Calhoun, Clark, Cleburne, Cleveland and 38 more | 3 hr |
| Apr 24, 1:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Arkansas, Bradley, Calhoun, Clark, Cleveland, Columbia and 25 more | 7 hr |
| Apr 24, 2:46 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Chicot | 119 min |
| Apr 24, 3:25 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baxter, Boone, Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Fulton and 19 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 24, 3:28 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Arkansas, Clark, Cleburne, Cleveland, Conway, Craighead and 32 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 24, 5:52 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Arkansas, Baxter, Boone, Clay, Cleburne, Cleveland and 36 more | 113 min |
| Apr 24, 6:35 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Arkansas, Baxter, Clay, Cleburne, Cleveland, Conway and 33 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 24, 6:49 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Chicot | 56 min |
| Apr 24, 6:30 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia and 17 more | 5 hr |
| Apr 24, 6:40 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia and 17 more | 4 hr |
| Apr 24, 9:39 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia, Grant, LaSalle, Tensas and 1 more | 2 hr |
| Apr 24, 11:40 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia and 10 more | 65 min |
| Apr 24, 5:17 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Orleans, Saint Tammany, Washington | 118 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Louisiana, 2003Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2003Tornado Watches in Arkansas, 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.