Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 202
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 1, 2003, 3:45 PM CDT for 15 counties in Arkansas; 17 counties in Oklahoma. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 1, 2003, 3:45 PM CDT (20:45 UTC)
- Expired
- May 1, 2003, 9:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 32 counties
Benton County, AR, Carroll County, AR, Crawford County, AR, Franklin County, AR, Howard County, AR, Johnson County, AR, Logan County, AR, Madison County, AR, Montgomery County, AR, Pike County, AR, Polk County, AR, Scott County, AR, Sebastian County, AR, Sevier County, AR, Washington County, AR, Adair County, OK, Cherokee County, OK, Choctaw County, OK, Delaware County, OK, Haskell County, OK, Latimer County, OK, LeFlore County, OK, Mayes County, OK, McCurtain County, OK, McIntosh County, OK, Muskogee County, OK, Pittsburg County, OK, Pushmataha County, OK, Rogers County, OK, Sequoyah County, OK, Tulsa County, OK, Wagoner County, OK
The radar
The Western Arkansas radar (KSRX), 12 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:45 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
29 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 4:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Cherokee | 54 min |
| May 1, 4:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Mayes | 37 min |
| May 1, 4:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Delaware | 45 min |
| May 1, 4:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Wagoner | 37 min |
| May 1, 5:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Cherokee | 53 min |
| May 1, 5:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Delaware | 50 min |
| May 1, 5:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Wagoner | 45 min |
| May 1, 5:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Pushmataha | 44 min |
| May 1, 5:55 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | Cherokee, Muskogee, Wagoner | 50 min |
| May 1, 5:57 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | TSA | Cherokee | 3 hr |
| May 1, 6:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | LeFlore | 59 min |
| May 1, 6:12 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | Pushmataha | 48 min |
| May 1, 6:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Sebastian | 60 min |
| May 1, 6:29 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | Sequoyah | 46 min |
| May 1, 6:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Crawford | 67 min |
| May 1, 6:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Cherokee | 17 min |
| May 1, 6:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | McCurtain | 55 min |
| May 1, 6:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | LeFlore | 64 min |
| May 1, 7:01 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | Sebastian | 59 min |
| May 1, 7:06 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SHV | McCurtain | 54 min |
| May 1, 7:08 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LZK | Scott | 57 min |
| May 1, 7:13 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | Sequoyah | 32 min |
| May 1, 7:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Franklin | 55 min |
| May 1, 7:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Crawford | 63 min |
| May 1, 7:42 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | LeFlore, Sequoyah | 33 min |
| May 1, 7:58 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SHV | McCurtain | 62 min |
| May 1, 8:06 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LZK | Polk, Scott | 59 min |
| May 1, 8:16 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Sebastian | 44 min |
| May 1, 8:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SHV | Sevier | 63 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
Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 179 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 816 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 44 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -340 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -135 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 012215
SEL2
SPC WW 012045
ARZ000-OKZ000-020200-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 202 RESENT 1
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
345 PM CDT THU MAY 1 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
WESTERN ARKANSAS
EASTERN OKLAHOMA
EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 345 PM UNTIL
900 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 70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES NORTHWEST OF FAYETTEVILLE ARKANSAS TO 65
MILES SOUTH OF PAGE 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...CONTINUE...WW 196...WW 197...WW 198...WW
199...WW 200...WW 201...
DISCUSSION...EXTREME INSTABILITY ACROSS ERN OK/SWRN AR WITH MUCAPES
ABOVE 4000 J/KG. BOUNDARIES ARE EXPECTED TO INITIATE RAPID SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WITH SUPERCELLS LIKELY. PRIMARY THREAT
WILL BE VERY LARGE HAIL...BUT GIVEN DEEP SHEAR PROFILES TORNADOES
ARE POSSIBLE.
AVIATION...TORNADOES 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 27020.
...HALES
362,0932 334,0932 334,0954 362,0960SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 7:51 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baxter, Clay, Fulton, Izard, Randolph, Searcy and 1 more | 114 min |
| May 1, 9:35 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Clay, Craighead, Greene | 5 hr |
| May 1, 11:23 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Crittenden, Cross, Mississippi, St. Francis | 2 hr |
| May 1, 2:13 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Howard, Little River, Polk, Scott, Sevier | 3 hr |
| May 1, 2:55 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Little River | 5 hr |
| May 1, 6:10 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Arkansas, Dallas, Hempstead, Jefferson, Lee, Little River and 3 more | 95 min |
| May 1, 6:58 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Hempstead, Howard and 10 more | 92 min |
| Apr 30, 7:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Garfield, Grant, Kay, Logan, Noble, Osage and 2 more | 6 hr |
| Apr 30, 8:17 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alfalfa, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Comanche, Cotton and 14 more | 88 min |
| Apr 30, 9:52 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Garfield, Grant, Kay, Logan, Noble, Osage and 2 more | 83 min |
| Apr 30, 11:47 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Garfield, Grant, Kay, Logan, Noble, Osage and 2 more | 118 min |
| May 1, 12:10 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Craig, Garfield, Grant, Kay, Noble, Nowata and 4 more | 5 hr |
| May 1, 2:27 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Craig, Delaware, Mayes, Nowata, Osage, Ottawa and 2 more | 2 hr |
| May 1, 10:55 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bryan, Coal, Johnston, Love, Marshall | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.