Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Watches in 2003

Tornado Watch 327

May 9, 200313 counties in Kansas; 15 counties in Oklahoma

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 9, 2003, 7:45 PM CDT for 13 counties in Kansas; 15 counties in Oklahoma. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 9, 2003, 7:45 PM CDT (00:45 UTC)
Expired
May 10, 2003, 1:00 AM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 28 counties

Butler County, KS, Chase County, KS, Coffey County, KS, Cowley County, KS, Elk County, KS, Greenwood County, KS, Harper County, KS, Harvey County, KS, Kingman County, KS, Marion County, KS, McPherson County, KS, Sedgwick County, KS, Sumner County, KS, Alfalfa County, OK, Beckham County, OK, Blaine County, OK, Canadian County, OK, Custer County, OK, Dewey County, OK, Garfield County, OK, Grant County, OK, Kay County, OK, Kingfisher County, OK, Logan County, OK, Major County, OK, Noble County, OK, Washita County, OK, Woods County, OK

The radar

The Vance AFB radar (KVNX), 25 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:46 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

18 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 9, 7:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPAnderson, Coffey, Franklin48 min
May 9, 7:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNGarfield33 min
May 9, 8:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNKay44 min
May 9, 8:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNWashita13 min
May 9, 8:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTCowley58 min
May 9, 8:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNNoble28 min
May 9, 8:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCuster41 min
May 9, 8:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNCanadian, Grady58 min
May 9, 8:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTCowley39 min
May 9, 9:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBlaine, Custer44 min
May 9, 9:18 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNCanadian, Grady27 min
May 9, 9:27 PM CDTTornado WarningOUNBlaine, Custer33 min
May 9, 9:44 PM CDTTornado Warning EmergencyOUNCanadian, Oklahoma46 min
May 9, 9:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBlaine37 min
May 9, 10:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNLogan38 min
May 9, 10:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNBlaine, Kingfisher43 min
May 9, 10:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOUNLincoln, Logan55 min
May 10, 12:37 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTHarvey, Reno23 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 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 161 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 2003-05-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2823 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 2003-05-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 38 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
2823 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-37 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1182 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
38 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
151 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.5
Supercell composite
2.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 100042
SEL7  
SPC WW 100045
KSZ000-OKZ000-100600-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 327 
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 
745 PM CDT FRI MAY 9 2003

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

       SOUTHERN AND EASTERN KANSAS
       NORTHERN AND WESTERN OKLAHOMA

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING FROM 745 PM UNTIL
100 AM CDT.

TORNADOES...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 60 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF CLINTON OKLAHOMA TO 20
MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF EMPORIA KANSAS.

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 318...WW 319...WW 320...WW
321...WW 322...WW 323...WW 324...WW 325...WW 326...


DISCUSSION...SUPERCELLS CENTRAL/WESTERN OK WILL CONTINUE TO
MOVE/DEVELOP NNEWD INTO SRN KS AS DRY LINE RETREATS NWWD THIS
EVENING.  SHEAR WILL REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR POTENTIAL TORNADIC
SUPERCELLS GIVEN THE VERY UNSTABLE AIRMASS AND INCREASING LOW LEVEL
SLY JET.

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 22030.


...HALES

351,1000 382,0973 382,0952 351,0975

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 9, 7:47 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Crawford, Labette and 5 more88 min
May 9, 10:04 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee and 20 more26 min
May 9, 11:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAllen, Anderson, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Coffey and 14 more6 hr
May 10, 12:49 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtchison, Barber, Brown, Butler, Chase, Clay and 24 more86 min
May 10, 1:15 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAtchison, Barber, Brown, Butler, Chase, Clay and 25 more5 hr
May 10, 2:28 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtchison, Barber, Brown, Butler, Chase, Clay and 25 more92 min
May 10, 3:05 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAllen, Anderson, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua and 17 more5 hr
May 10, 3:15 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAtchison, Brown, Doniphan, Douglas, Geary, Jackson and 10 more5 hr
May 10, 5:27 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, Anderson, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua and 20 more93 min
May 10, 7:06 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtchison, Brown, Doniphan, Douglas, Geary, Jackson and 10 more54 min
May 10, 9:16 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCChautauqua, Cherokee, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson3 hr
May 10, 10:54 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Labette, Linn and 2 more66 min
May 10, 10:58 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Brown, Coffey and 18 more2 hr
May 10, 11:35 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCLinn, Miami7 hr
May 10, 11:55 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAllen, Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Labette, Montgomery and 1 more7 hr
May 10, 1:42 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCMiami2 hr
May 10, 1:59 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Labette, Montgomery and 1 more2 hr
May 9, 7:12 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlfalfa, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Comanche and 20 more63 min
May 9, 8:24 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlaine, Canadian, Custer, Garfield, Kingfisher, Logan and 2 more66 min
May 9, 9:41 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBlaine, Canadian, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma64 min
May 9, 10:51 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCherokee, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Lincoln, Mayes and 11 more54 min
May 9, 11:10 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCCherokee, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Lincoln, Mayes and 12 more6 hr
May 10, 1:22 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCherokee, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Lincoln, Mayes and 12 more83 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 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.