Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 240
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 4, 2003, 10:40 PM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 4, 2003, 10:40 PM CDT (03:40 UTC)
- Expired
- May 5, 2003, 4:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 45 counties
Edwards County, IL, Franklin County, IL, Gallatin County, IL, Hamilton County, IL, Hardin County, IL, Jackson County, IL, Jefferson County, IL, Johnson County, IL, Monroe County, IL, Perry County, IL, Pope County, IL, Randolph County, IL, Saint Clair County, IL, Saline County, IL, Union County, IL, Wabash County, IL, Washington County, IL, Wayne County, IL, White County, IL, Williamson County, IL, Gibson County, IN, Pike County, IN, Posey County, IN, Spencer County, IN, Vanderburgh County, IN, Warrick County, IN, Crittenden County, KY, Daviess County, KY, Henderson County, KY, Hopkins County, KY, McLean County, KY, Ohio County, KY, Union County, KY, Webster County, KY, Bollinger County, MO, Cape Girardeau County, MO, Franklin County, MO, Iron County, MO, Jefferson County, MO, Madison County, MO, Perry County, MO, Reynolds County, MO, Saint Francois County, MO, Sainte Genevieve County, MO, Washington County, MO
Warnings issued inside it
11 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 10:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Union, Webster | 43 min |
| May 4, 10:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Union, Webster | 40 min |
| May 4, 10:55 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | PAH | Webster | 35 min |
| May 4, 11:09 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LSX | Iron, Washington | 51 min |
| May 4, 11:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Vanderburgh, Warrick | 42 min |
| May 4, 11:33 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | PAH | Daviess, McLean | 42 min |
| May 4, 11:43 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LSX | Saint Francois | 47 min |
| May 4, 11:58 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LSX | Sainte Genevieve | 47 min |
| May 5, 12:58 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Perry | 32 min |
| May 5, 2:12 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Wayne | 18 min |
| May 5, 2:56 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LSX | Iron, Reynolds | 49 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
Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 00:00Z, 3.7 hours before the alert went out and 235 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
- 5 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 434 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 47 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 408 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 531 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 050335
SEL0
SPC WW 050340
ILZ000-INZ000-KYZ000-MOZ000-050900-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 240
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1040 PM CDT SUN MAY 4 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
SOUTHWEST INDIANA
WESTERN KENTUCKY
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING FROM 1040 PM UNTIL
400 AM 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 120 STATUTE MILES EAST AND
WEST OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES NORTHWEST OF MOUNT VERNON ILLINOIS TO
40 MILES EAST OF CAPE GIRARDEAU MISSOURI.
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 235...WW 236...WW 237...WW
238...WW 239...
DISCUSSION...TORNADIC SUPERCELLS ALONG THE WARM FRONT SE OF VIH AND
NE OF PAH WILL MOVE EWD ALONG THE WARM FRONT FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS
WHILE THE BOUNDARY LIFTS SLOWLY NWD. RICH LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE AND
VERY STRONG LOW-LEVEL SHEAR WILL SUPPORT A CONTINUED TORNADO THREAT
WITH STORMS NEAR THE WARM FRONT INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS.
AVIATION...TORNADOES 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 26040.
...THOMPSON
383,0865 371,0863 371,0910 383,0912SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 7:34 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alexander | 116 min |
| May 4, 8:05 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Bond, Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Cass and 73 more | 85 min |
| May 4, 9:26 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alexander, Gallatin, Hardin, Johnson, Massac, Pope and 2 more | 2 hr |
| May 4, 11:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Adams, Bond, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Christian and 33 more | 5 hr |
| May 5, 1:20 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alexander, Massac, Pulaski | 6 hr |
| May 5, 1:30 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson and 16 more | 90 min |
| May 5, 1:46 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bond, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Coles and 25 more | 89 min |
| May 5, 3:41 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alexander, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin and 13 more | 34 min |
| May 5, 3:50 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Alexander, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson and 13 more | 6 hr |
| May 5, 6:32 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alexander, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson and 10 more | 88 min |
| May 5, 9:19 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alexander, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson and 13 more | 56 min |
| May 5, 12:20 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Hardin | 7 hr |
| May 4, 11:37 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clark, Crawford, Dubois, Floyd, Harrison, Jefferson and 5 more | 23 min |
| May 4, 11:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harrison, Orange, Perry and 1 more | 5 hr |
| May 5, 2:31 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Crawford, Floyd, Harrison | 89 min |
| May 5, 7:35 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Harrison, Perry | 5 hr |
| May 5, 10:12 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Harrison, Perry | 93 min |
| May 5, 11:59 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Harrison, Perry | 61 min |
| May 5, 2:47 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Crawford, Dubois, Floyd, Gibson, Harrison, Perry and 4 more | 118 min |
| May 5, 4:27 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Steuben | 3 hr |
| May 5, 4:42 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Ohio | 3 hr |
| May 5, 6:33 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clark, Crawford, Dubois, Floyd, Gibson, Harrison and 6 more | 57 min |
| May 5, 4:18 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allen, Ballard, Barren, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway and 19 more | 57 min |
| May 5, 4:55 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Fulton | 6 hr |
| May 5, 9:35 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Calloway, Fulton | 5 hr |
| May 5, 11:06 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Fulton | 114 min |
| May 5, 2:13 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Fulton | 62 min |
| May 5, 2:35 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Fulton | 7 hr |
| May 5, 5:15 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bracken, Campbell, Grant, Greenup, Kenton, Lewis and 4 more | 5 hr |
| May 5, 6:47 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bath, Bourbon, Boyd, Bracken, Campbell, Carter and 15 more | 88 min |
| May 4, 7:19 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barry, Barton, Cedar, Christian, Dade, Dallas and 18 more | 86 min |
| May 4, 9:05 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bates, Benton, Boone, Caldwell, Carroll, Cass and 23 more | 85 min |
| May 4, 9:42 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barry, Barton, Camden, Carter, Cedar, Christian and 28 more | 93 min |
| May 5, 12:50 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Barry, Carter, Cedar, Christian, Dade, Dallas and 21 more | 5 hr |
| May 5, 1:05 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Dunklin | 3 hr |
| May 5, 3:25 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Dunklin, Pemiscot | 7 hr |
| May 5, 5:18 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dunklin, Pemiscot | 117 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Illinois, 2003Tornado Watches in Missouri, 2003Tornado Watches in Kentucky, 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.