Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 308
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 8, 2003, 4:40 PM CDT for 19 counties in Kansas; 30 counties in Missouri. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 8, 2003, 4:40 PM CDT (21:40 UTC)
- Expired
- May 8, 2003, 11:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 49 counties
Allen County, KS, Anderson County, KS, Atchison County, KS, Bourbon County, KS, Cherokee County, KS, Crawford County, KS, Doniphan County, KS, Douglas County, KS, Franklin County, KS, Jefferson County, KS, Johnson County, KS, Labette County, KS, Leavenworth County, KS, Linn County, KS, Miami County, KS, Montgomery County, KS, Neosho County, KS, Wilson County, KS, Wyandotte County, KS, Andrew County, MO, Barton County, MO, Bates County, MO, Buchanan County, MO, Caldwell County, MO, Carroll County, MO, Cass County, MO, Cedar County, MO, Clay County, MO, Clinton County, MO, Dade County, MO, Daviess County, MO, DeKalb County, MO, Gentry County, MO, Grundy County, MO, Harrison County, MO, Henry County, MO, Holt County, MO, Jackson County, MO, Jasper County, MO, Johnson County, MO, Lafayette County, MO, Livingston County, MO, Mercer County, MO, Nodaway County, MO, Platte County, MO, Ray County, MO, St. Clair County, MO, Vernon County, MO, Worth County, MO
The radar
The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 63 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:41 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
35 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 4:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Douglas, Franklin | 30 min |
| May 8, 5:02 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Miami | 58 min |
| May 8, 5:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Johnson | 53 min |
| May 8, 5:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Leavenworth, Wyandotte | 37 min |
| May 8, 5:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Lafayette, Ray | 51 min |
| May 8, 5:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Jackson | 58 min |
| May 8, 5:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Caldwell | 41 min |
| May 8, 5:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Carroll | 55 min |
| May 8, 5:58 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Daviess, Livingston | 32 min |
| May 8, 6:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Grundy | 47 min |
| May 8, 6:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Mercer, Putnam | 42 min |
| May 8, 6:52 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Grundy, Livingston | 38 min |
| May 8, 6:54 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Douglas, Franklin | 51 min |
| May 8, 7:03 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Jackson, Jefferson | 42 min |
| May 8, 7:14 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | ICT | Allen | 61 min |
| May 8, 7:21 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Anderson | 39 min |
| May 8, 7:34 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EAX | Atchison, Leavenworth | 41 min |
| May 8, 7:37 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EAX | Linn | 53 min |
| May 8, 7:38 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Douglas | 22 min |
| May 8, 7:39 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Douglas | 21 min |
| May 8, 7:41 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Douglas | 19 min |
| May 8, 7:43 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Jefferson | 17 min |
| May 8, 7:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ICT | Montgomery | 60 min |
| May 8, 7:59 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | ICT | Montgomery | 46 min |
| May 8, 8:19 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | ICT | Labette | 56 min |
| May 8, 8:27 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EAX | Linn | 63 min |
| May 8, 8:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Cass | 67 min |
| May 8, 8:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Nodaway | 36 min |
| May 8, 8:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Douglas, Jefferson | 28 min |
| May 8, 8:48 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SGF | Cherokee | 57 min |
| May 8, 8:54 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EAX | Cass | 36 min |
| May 8, 9:02 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EAX | Henry | 58 min |
| May 8, 9:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Johnson | 57 min |
| May 8, 9:18 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EAX | Johnson | 42 min |
| May 8, 10:00 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EAX | Johnson | 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
Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 93 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
- 836 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 59 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 427 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 517 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 082134
SEL8
SPC WW 082140
KSZ000-MOZ000-090400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 308
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
440 PM CDT THU MAY 8 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
EASTERN KANSAS
WESTERN MISSOURI
EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 440 PM UNTIL
1100 PM CDT.
...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...
DESTRUCTIVE 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 55 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES NORTHWEST OF SPICKARD MISSOURI TO 25 MILES
WEST SOUTHWEST OF JOPLIN 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 301...WW 303...WW 304...WW
305...WW 306...WW 307...
DISCUSSION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL RAPIDLY DEVELOP ACROSS ERN KS
ALONG AND S OF E/W WARM FRONT JUST S OF MKC. VERY FAVORABLE SHEAR
PROFILES AND STRONG INSTABILITY SUPPORT TORNADIC SUPERCELLS WITH
POTENTIAL FOR LONG LIVED SUPERCELLS AND VIOLENT TORNADOES. STORMS
WILL SPREAD NEWD INTO WRN MO.
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 550.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24040.
...HALES
403,0930 370,0935 370,0955 403,0951SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 7:01 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cheyenne, Greeley, Sherman, Wallace, Wichita | 89 min |
| May 8, 1:18 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allen, Barber, Barton, Bourbon, Butler, Chautauqua and 21 more | 3 hr |
| May 8, 1:55 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Allen, Anderson, Barber, Barton, Bourbon, Butler and 44 more | 5 hr |
| May 8, 3:51 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atchison, Barber, Barton, Bourbon, Brown, Butler and 50 more | 3 hr |
| May 8, 4:15 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Atchison, Brown, Clay, Cloud, Doniphan, Douglas and 19 more | 7 hr |
| May 8, 7:50 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atchison, Brown, Doniphan, Jackson, Jefferson, Leavenworth and 6 more | 85 min |
| May 8, 7:55 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atchison, Brown, Doniphan, Jackson, Jefferson, Leavenworth and 6 more | 95 min |
| May 8, 12:49 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Harper, Sumner | 3 hr |
| May 8, 1:07 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barton, Clay, Cloud, Dickinson, Ellis, Ellsworth and 16 more | 2 hr |
| May 8, 1:10 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cheyenne, Decatur, Graham, Norton, Rawlins, Sheridan and 2 more | 2 hr |
| May 8, 1:30 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Cheyenne, Decatur, Gove, Graham, Logan, Norton and 6 more | 6 hr |
| May 8, 1:35 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Butler, Chautauqua, Cowley, Elk, Greenwood, Harper and 5 more | 7 hr |
| May 8, 1:50 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Anderson, Atchison, Brown, Chase, Clay, Cloud and 31 more | 7 hr |
| May 8, 3:26 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Brown, Clay, Cloud, Dickinson, Ellsworth, Geary and 22 more | 2 hr |
| May 8, 3:34 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Coffey, Cowley, Elk and 10 more | 116 min |
| May 8, 3:35 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cheyenne, Decatur, Gove, Graham, Logan, Norton and 6 more | 115 min |
| May 8, 4:16 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford and 11 more | 29 min |
| May 8, 6:38 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Brown, Butler and 46 more | 2 hr |
| May 8, 9:55 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dunklin, Pemiscot | 3 hr |
| May 8, 10:25 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Butler, Carter, Dunklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot and 3 more | 6 hr |
| May 8, 12:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Audrain, Franklin, Iron, Jefferson, Lincoln, Macon and 14 more | 4 hr |
| May 8, 12:24 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Butler, Carter, Dunklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot and 3 more | 2 hr |
| May 8, 2:11 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Audrain, Knox, Lewis, Lincoln, Macon, Marion and 10 more | 2 hr |
| May 8, 5:31 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barry, McDonald, Newton, Stone | 59 min |
| May 8, 5:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Barry, Lawrence, McDonald, Newton | 5 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Missouri, 2003Tornado Watches in Kansas, 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.