Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 338
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 10, 2003, 11:55 AM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 10, 2003, 11:55 AM CDT (16:55 UTC)
- Expired
- May 10, 2003, 7:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 68 counties
Benton County, AR, Carroll County, AR, Crawford County, AR, Madison County, AR, Sebastian County, AR, Washington County, AR, Allen County, KS, Bourbon County, KS, Cherokee County, KS, Crawford County, KS, Labette County, KS, Montgomery County, KS, Neosho County, KS, Barry County, MO, Barton County, MO, Camden County, MO, Cedar County, MO, Christian County, MO, Dade County, MO, Dallas County, MO, Greene County, MO, Hickory County, MO, Jasper County, MO, Laclede County, MO, Lawrence County, MO, McDonald County, MO, Newton County, MO, Polk County, MO, St. Clair County, MO, Stone County, MO, Vernon County, MO, Webster County, MO, Adair County, OK, Atoka County, OK, Bryan County, OK, Carter County, OK, Cherokee County, OK, Choctaw County, OK, Coal County, OK, Craig County, OK, Creek County, OK, Delaware County, OK, Garvin County, OK, Haskell County, OK, Hughes County, OK, Johnston County, OK, Latimer County, OK, LeFlore County, OK, Love County, OK, Marshall County, OK, Mayes County, OK, McIntosh County, OK, Murray County, OK, Muskogee County, OK, Nowata County, OK, Okfuskee County, OK, Okmulgee County, OK, Ottawa County, OK, Pittsburg County, OK, Pontotoc County, OK, Pottawatomie County, OK, Pushmataha County, OK, Rogers County, OK, Seminole County, OK, Sequoyah County, OK, Tulsa County, OK, Wagoner County, OK, Washington County, OK
The radar
The Tulsa radar (KINX), 63 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:56 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
48 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 11:58 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Garvin, McClain | 47 min |
| May 10, 12:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Pottawatomie | 38 min |
| May 10, 12:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Garvin, McClain, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Seminole | 46 min |
| May 10, 1:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ICT | Montgomery | 51 min |
| May 10, 1:12 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Hughes | 63 min |
| May 10, 1:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Okfuskee, Okmulgee | 42 min |
| May 10, 1:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Nowata, Rogers, Washington | 65 min |
| May 10, 1:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Pontotoc, Seminole | 44 min |
| May 10, 1:35 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | Nowata, Rogers, Washington | 70 min |
| May 10, 1:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Bourbon, Crawford | 56 min |
| May 10, 1:52 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | McIntosh, Pittsburg | 53 min |
| May 10, 1:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ICT | Labette | 52 min |
| May 10, 2:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Carter, Jefferson, Love | 44 min |
| May 10, 2:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Craig | 44 min |
| May 10, 2:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Cherokee | 45 min |
| May 10, 2:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Hughes, Pontotoc | 55 min |
| May 10, 2:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Murray | 52 min |
| May 10, 2:25 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TSA | Haskell, Muskogee | 65 min |
| May 10, 2:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Craig | 53 min |
| May 10, 2:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Carter, Love | 45 min |
| May 10, 2:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | McIntosh, Pittsburg | 75 min |
| May 10, 2:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Sequoyah | 46 min |
| May 10, 3:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Ottawa | 57 min |
| May 10, 3:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Coal | 67 min |
| May 10, 3:12 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Johnston, Marshall | 48 min |
| May 10, 3:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OUN | Hughes, Pontotoc | 61 min |
| May 10, 3:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Rogers | 31 min |
| May 10, 3:16 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Crawford, Washington | 44 min |
| May 10, 3:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Adair | 38 min |
| May 10, 3:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | St. Clair, Vernon | 64 min |
| May 10, 3:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Franklin, Madison | 51 min |
| May 10, 3:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Sebastian | 47 min |
| May 10, 3:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Jasper, Newton | 55 min |
| May 10, 3:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Crawford, Washington | 21 min |
| May 10, 4:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Ottawa | 60 min |
| May 10, 4:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Carroll, Franklin, Madison | 56 min |
| May 10, 4:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Christian, Greene | 56 min |
| May 10, 4:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | Crawford, Sebastian | 43 min |
| May 10, 4:37 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SGF | Jasper, Lawrence | 53 min |
| May 10, 4:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Newton | 34 min |
| May 10, 4:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TSA | LeFlore | 34 min |
| May 10, 4:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Greene, Webster | 26 min |
| May 10, 5:00 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SGF | Webster | 45 min |
| May 10, 5:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Christian, Greene | 36 min |
| May 10, 5:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Laclede, Wright | 35 min |
| May 10, 5:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Dallas, Polk, Webster | 23 min |
| May 10, 5:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Oregon, St. Clair | 49 min |
| May 10, 5:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Vernon | 46 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, 4.9 hours before the alert went out and 163 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
- 3689 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -51 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 592 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 32 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 304 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 309 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 5.7
- Supercell composite
- 23.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 101649
SEL8
SPC WW 101655
ARZ000-KSZ000-MOZ000-OKZ000-110000-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 338
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1155 AM CDT SAT MAY 10 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
SOUTHEAST KANSAS
SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL MISSOURI
CENTRAL AND EASTERN OKLAHOMA
EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY MORNING AND EVENING FROM 1155 AM UNTIL 700
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 85 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF SPRINGFIELD MISSOURI TO
DURANT 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 335...WW 336...WW 337...
DISCUSSION...TCU AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE RAPIDLY DEVELOPING
ALONG SURFACE DRYLINE OVER CENTRAL OK. THIS TREND IS EXPECTED TO
CONTINUE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON...WITH THE LIKELIHOOD OF SUPERCELLS.
SUFFICIENT VERTICAL SHEAR AND INSTABILITY INDICATE THE THREAT OF
STRONG TORNADOES...AS WELL AS DAMAGING WINDS AND VERY LARGE HAIL.
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 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25035.
...HART
380,0921 335,0945 335,0975 380,0952
WWUS20 KWNS 101649
SEL8
SPC WW 101655
ARZ000-KSZ000-MOZ000-OKZ000-110000-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 338
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1155 AM CDT SAT MAY 10 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
SOUTHEAST KANSAS
SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL MISSOURI
CENTRAL AND EASTERN OKLAHOMA
EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY MORNING AND EVENING FROM 1155 AM UNTIL 700
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 85 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF SPRINGFIELD MISSOURI TO
DURANT 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 335...WW 336...WW 337...
DISCUSSION...TCU AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE RAPIDLY DEVELOPING
ALONG SURFACE DRYLINE OVER CENTRAL OK. THIS TREND IS EXPECTED TO
CONTINUE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON...WITH THE LIKELIHOOD OF SUPERCELLS.
SUFFICIENT VERTICAL SHEAR AND INSTABILITY INDICATE THE THREAT OF
STRONG TORNADOES...AS WELL AS DAMAGING WINDS AND VERY LARGE HAIL.
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 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25035.
...HART
380,0921 335,0945 335,0975 380,0952SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 10:54 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Fulton, Izard and 7 more | 66 min |
| May 10, 1:59 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Madison, Sebastian and 1 more | 2 hr |
| May 10, 3:30 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baxter, Boone, Cleburne, Fulton, Izard, Johnson and 8 more | 2 hr |
| May 10, 4:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Baxter, Boone, Clay, Cleburne, Conway, Craighead and 22 more | 5 hr |
| May 9, 7:45 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Butler, Chase, Coffey, Cowley, Elk, Greenwood and 7 more | 5 hr |
| May 9, 7:47 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allen, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Crawford, Labette and 5 more | 88 min |
| May 9, 10:04 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee and 20 more | 26 min |
| May 9, 11:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Coffey and 14 more | 6 hr |
| May 10, 12:49 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atchison, Barber, Brown, Butler, Chase, Clay and 24 more | 86 min |
| May 10, 1:15 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Atchison, Barber, Brown, Butler, Chase, Clay and 25 more | 5 hr |
| May 10, 2:28 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atchison, Barber, Brown, Butler, Chase, Clay and 25 more | 92 min |
| May 10, 3:05 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua and 17 more | 5 hr |
| May 10, 3:15 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Atchison, Brown, Doniphan, Douglas, Geary, Jackson and 10 more | 5 hr |
| May 10, 5:27 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua and 20 more | 93 min |
| May 10, 7:06 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atchison, Brown, Doniphan, Douglas, Geary, Jackson and 10 more | 54 min |
| May 10, 9:16 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Chautauqua, Cherokee, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson | 3 hr |
| May 10, 10:58 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Brown, Coffey and 18 more | 2 hr |
| May 10, 11:35 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Linn, Miami | 7 hr |
| May 10, 1:42 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Miami | 2 hr |
| May 10, 1:22 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Newton | 83 min |
| May 10, 5:43 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Audrain, Boone, Callaway, Clark, Knox, Lewis and 11 more | 92 min |
| May 10, 5:50 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Audrain, Boone, Callaway, Clark, Cole, Franklin and 19 more | 5 hr |
| May 10, 9:25 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Iron, Jefferson, Madison, Perry, Sainte Genevieve, Saint Francois and 1 more | 2 hr |
| May 10, 3:17 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clark, Schuyler, Scotland | 58 min |
| May 10, 3:50 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Putnam, Schuyler, Scotland | 6 hr |
| May 10, 4:48 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adair, Audrain, Benton, Boone, Callaway, Chariton and 24 more | 87 min |
| May 10, 5:40 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adair, Audrain, Benton, Boone, Callaway, Chariton and 32 more | 5 hr |
| May 10, 6:41 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Audrain, Boone, Callaway, Cole, Cooper, Lewis and 13 more | 64 min |
| May 9, 7:12 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Alfalfa, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Comanche and 20 more | 63 min |
| May 9, 8:24 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Blaine, Canadian, Custer, Garfield, Kingfisher, Logan and 2 more | 66 min |
| May 9, 9:41 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Blaine, Canadian, Kingfisher, Logan, Oklahoma | 64 min |
| May 9, 10:51 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cherokee, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Lincoln, Mayes and 11 more | 54 min |
| May 9, 11:10 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Cherokee, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Lincoln, Mayes and 12 more | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 2003Tornado 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.