Alert archive / Wisconsin / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 346
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 10, 2003, 6:15 PM CDT for 4 counties in Iowa; Houston County, Minnesota; 10 counties in Wisconsin. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 10, 2003, 6:15 PM CDT (23:15 UTC)
- Expired
- May 10, 2003, 11:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Allamakee County, IA, Clayton County, IA, Fayette County, IA, Winneshiek County, IA, Houston County, MN, Columbia County, WI, Crawford County, WI, Dane County, WI, Grant County, WI, Green County, WI, Iowa County, WI, Lafayette County, WI, Richland County, WI, Sauk County, WI, Vernon County, WI
The radar
The La Crosse radar (KARX), 63 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:16 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
16 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 6:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MKX | Columbia, Sauk | 43 min |
| May 10, 7:02 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ARX | Fayette | 28 min |
| May 10, 7:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ARX | Winneshiek | 33 min |
| May 10, 7:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ARX | Grant | 19 min |
| May 10, 8:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ARX | Houston | 30 min |
| May 10, 8:25 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MKX | Iowa, Lafayette | 65 min |
| May 10, 8:34 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | ARX | Grant | 56 min |
| May 10, 8:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ARX | Clayton | 35 min |
| May 10, 8:56 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MKX | Dane | 64 min |
| May 10, 9:05 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | ARX | Clayton | 3 hr |
| May 10, 9:24 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MKX | Iowa, Sauk | 66 min |
| May 10, 9:33 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | ARX | Grant | 57 min |
| May 10, 9:35 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | MKX | Columbia, Dane | 55 min |
| May 10, 9:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ARX | Richland | 53 min |
| May 10, 10:09 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | ARX | Grant | 3 hr |
| May 10, 10:36 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | ARX | Richland | 2 hr |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Davenport, (KDVN), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 190 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
- 1102 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 51 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 139 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 225 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 102309
SEL6
SPC WW 102315
IAZ000-WIZ000-110400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 346
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
615 PM CDT SAT MAY 10 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHEAST IOWA
SOUTHERN WISCONSIN
EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY EVENING FROM 615 PM UNTIL 1100 PM 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 45 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 90 MILES WEST OF LONEROCK WISCONSIN TO 10
MILES EAST OF MADISON WISCONSIN.
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 338...WW 340...WW 341...WW
342...WW 343...WW 344...WW 345...
DISCUSSION...WITH RAPID DEEPENING OCCURRING OVER IA...STRONG VEERING
SHEAR PROFILES WILL SUPPORT TORNADIC SUPERCELLS SPREADING NEWD
ACROSS NERN IA INTO SRN WI.
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 22035.
...HALES
435,0915 434,0890 422,0890 423,0915
WWUS20 KWNS 102309
SEL6
SPC WW 102315
IAZ000-WIZ000-110400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 346
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
615 PM CDT SAT MAY 10 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHEAST IOWA
SOUTHERN WISCONSIN
EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY EVENING FROM 615 PM UNTIL 1100 PM 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 45 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 90 MILES WEST OF LONEROCK WISCONSIN TO 10
MILES EAST OF MADISON WISCONSIN.
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 338...WW 340...WW 341...WW
342...WW 343...WW 344...WW 345...
DISCUSSION...WITH RAPID DEEPENING OCCURRING OVER IA...STRONG VEERING
SHEAR PROFILES WILL SUPPORT TORNADIC SUPERCELLS SPREADING NEWD
ACROSS NERN IA INTO SRN WI.
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 22035.
...HALES
435,0915 434,0890 422,0890 423,0915SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 5:43 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Lee | 92 min |
| May 10, 10:54 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Des Moines, Henry, Lee, Louisa, Van Buren | 66 min |
| May 10, 3:17 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Appanoose, Benton, Buchanan, Cedar, Clarke, Clinton and 26 more | 58 min |
| May 10, 3:50 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Appanoose, Benton, Cedar, Clinton, Davis, Des Moines and 29 more | 6 hr |
| May 10, 5:57 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette | 93 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Wisconsin, 2003Tornado Watches in Iowa, 2003Tornado Watches in Minnesota, 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.