Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 320
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 9, 2003, 3:35 PM CDT for 24 counties in Oklahoma; 12 counties in Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 9, 2003, 3:35 PM CDT (20:35 UTC)
- Expired
- May 9, 2003, 9:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 36 counties
Blaine County, OK, Caddo County, OK, Canadian County, OK, Carter County, OK, Cleveland County, OK, Comanche County, OK, Cotton County, OK, Creek County, OK, Garvin County, OK, Grady County, OK, Jefferson County, OK, Kingfisher County, OK, Kiowa County, OK, Lincoln County, OK, Logan County, OK, Love County, OK, McClain County, OK, Murray County, OK, Oklahoma County, OK, Payne County, OK, Pottawatomie County, OK, Seminole County, OK, Stephens County, OK, Tillman County, OK, Archer County, TX, Baylor County, TX, Clay County, TX, Haskell County, TX, Jack County, TX, Knox County, TX, Montague County, TX, Throckmorton County, TX, Wichita County, TX, Wilbarger County, TX, Wise County, TX, Young County, TX
The radar
The Altus AFB radar (KFDR), 45 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:38 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
24 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 3:52 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Knox | 33 min |
| May 9, 4:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Baylor | 51 min |
| May 9, 4:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Logan, Oklahoma | 49 min |
| May 9, 5:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Jackson, Tillman | 39 min |
| May 9, 5:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Comanche, Kiowa | 50 min |
| May 9, 5:17 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OUN | Lincoln, Logan, Payne | 43 min |
| May 9, 5:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Caddo | 47 min |
| May 9, 5:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Creek | 63 min |
| May 9, 5:59 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OUN | Payne | 31 min |
| May 9, 6:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Kiowa, Logan | 29 min |
| May 9, 6:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Caddo, Canadian, Washita | 45 min |
| May 9, 6:35 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OUN | Caddo | 25 min |
| May 9, 6:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Blaine | 49 min |
| May 9, 6:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Beckham, Kiowa, Washita | 45 min |
| May 9, 6:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Kingfisher | 50 min |
| May 9, 7:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Canadian | 37 min |
| May 9, 7:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Garfield, Logan, Noble | 46 min |
| May 9, 7:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Oklahoma | 41 min |
| May 9, 7:39 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OUN | Logan, Noble, Payne | 51 min |
| May 9, 7:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Kingfisher | 34 min |
| May 9, 7:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Oklahoma | 31 min |
| May 9, 8:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Caddo | 50 min |
| May 9, 8:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Canadian, Grady | 58 min |
| May 9, 8:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Caddo | 35 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
Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 12:00Z, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 164 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
- 9 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -506 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2120 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 48 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 65 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 217 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 6.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 092030
SEL0
SPC WW 092035
OKZ000-TXZ000-100200-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 320
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
335 PM CDT FRI MAY 9 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
WESTERN AND CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
NORTHWEST TEXAS
EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 335 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 60 MILES WEST OF MINERAL WELLS TEXAS TO 55 MILES
NORTH NORTHEAST OF OKLAHOMA CITY 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 317...WW 318...WW 319...
DISCUSSION...SCATTERED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP
IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS ALONG DRYLINE ACROSS NORTHWEST TX AND
SOUTHWEST OK. VERTICAL SHEAR PROFILES SUPPORT SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF
VERY LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. BACKING/STRENGTHENING LOW LEVEL
WINDS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ALSO SUGGEST AN INCREASING
THREAT OF ISOLATED TORNADOES.
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 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.
...HART
324,1001 360,0982 360,0955 324,0975SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 8:30 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alfalfa, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Cleveland and 25 more | 60 min |
| May 8, 11:14 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atoka, Bryan, Carter, Coal, Garvin, Haskell and 16 more | 91 min |
| May 9, 2:52 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Caddo, Carter, Cleveland, Comanche, Cotton, Creek and 15 more | 113 min |
| May 9, 4:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Craig, Delaware, Mayes, Nowata, Osage, Ottawa and 4 more | 6 hr |
| May 9, 5:36 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Cleveland, Comanche and 17 more | 84 min |
| May 9, 9:08 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Borden, Callahan, Coke, Dickens, Fisher, Foard and 16 more | 3 hr |
| May 9, 4:58 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Callahan, Coke, Concho, Crockett, Fisher, Glasscock and 11 more | 32 min |
| May 9, 5:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Callahan, Coke, Crockett, Fisher, Irion, Jones and 10 more | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 2003Tornado Watches in Texas, 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.