Alert archive / Kentucky / Tornado Watches in 2003

Tornado Watch 353

May 10, 20035 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 10, 2003, 11:20 PM CDT for 5 states. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 10, 2003, 11:20 PM CDT (04:20 UTC)
Expired: May 11, 2003, 5:00 AM CDT
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 107 counties

Colbert County, AL, Franklin County, AL, Lauderdale County, AL, Harrison County, IN, Perry County, IN, Spencer County, IN, Adair County, KY, Allen County, KY, Anderson County, KY, Barren County, KY, Bourbon County, KY, Boyle County, KY, Breckinridge County, KY, Bullitt County, KY, Butler County, KY, Caldwell County, KY, Calloway County, KY, Casey County, KY, Christian County, KY, Daviess County, KY, Edmonson County, KY, Fayette County, KY, Grayson County, KY, Green County, KY, Hancock County, KY, Hardin County, KY, Hart County, KY, Hopkins County, KY, Jefferson County, KY, Jessamine County, KY, Larue County, KY, Logan County, KY, Lyon County, KY, Marion County, KY, McLean County, KY, Meade County, KY, Mercer County, KY, Metcalfe County, KY, Monroe County, KY, Muhlenberg County, KY, Nelson County, KY, Ohio County, KY, Simpson County, KY, Spencer County, KY, Taylor County, KY, Todd County, KY, Trigg County, KY, Warren County, KY, Washington County, KY, Woodford County, KY, Alcorn County, MS, Benton County, MS, Calhoun County, MS, Chickasaw County, MS, Coahoma County, MS, DeSoto County, MS, Itawamba County, MS, Lafayette County, MS, Lee County, MS, Marshall County, MS, Panola County, MS, Pontotoc County, MS, Prentiss County, MS, Quitman County, MS, Tallahatchie County, MS, Tate County, MS, Tippah County, MS, Tishomingo County, MS, Tunica County, MS, Union County, MS, Yalobusha County, MS, Benton County, TN, Carroll County, TN, Cheatham County, TN, Chester County, TN, Crockett County, TN, Davidson County, TN, Decatur County, TN, Dickson County, TN, Fayette County, TN, Gibson County, TN, Hardeman County, TN, Hardin County, TN, Haywood County, TN, Henderson County, TN, Henry County, TN, Hickman County, TN, Houston County, TN, Humphreys County, TN, Lawrence County, TN, Lewis County, TN, Macon County, TN, Madison County, TN, Maury County, TN, McNairy County, TN, Montgomery County, TN, Perry County, TN, Robertson County, TN, Rutherford County, TN, Shelby County, TN, Stewart County, TN, Sumner County, TN, Trousdale County, TN, Wayne County, TN, Weakley County, TN, Williamson County, TN, Wilson County, TN

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 11, 12:01 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Dyer, Gibson, Obion, Weakley	44 min
May 11, 12:21 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Haywood	39 min
May 11, 12:39 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Crockett, Henry, Madison	51 min
May 11, 12:43 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PAH	Calloway	32 min
May 11, 12:46 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PAH	Caldwell, Hopkins	29 min
May 11, 1:00 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PAH	McLean	30 min
May 11, 1:03 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	PAH	Hopkins	17 min
May 11, 1:08 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	PAH	McLean	37 min
May 11, 1:11 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Fayette, Shelby	34 min
May 11, 1:11 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OHX	Stewart	34 min
May 11, 1:13 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Henderson	47 min
May 11, 1:14 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	PAH	Muhlenberg	46 min
May 11, 1:19 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Ohio	41 min
May 11, 1:27 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OHX	Benton	28 min
May 11, 1:34 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Decatur	41 min
May 11, 1:52 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Breckinridge, Grayson	23 min
May 11, 1:54 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OHX	Hickman, Humphreys, Perry	31 min
May 11, 2:03 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Hardin	42 min
May 11, 2:06 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Decatur, Henderson	29 min
May 11, 2:16 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Grayson	29 min
May 11, 2:18 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Marshall	42 min
May 11, 2:19 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Hardeman, McNairy	26 min
May 11, 2:28 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OHX	Dickson, Hickman, Lewis, Perry	27 min
May 11, 2:32 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OHX	Hickman	28 min
May 11, 2:45 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Hardin, McNairy	30 min
May 11, 2:48 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Hardin	32 min
May 11, 2:58 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OHX	Lawrence, Lewis, Maury, Williamson	32 min
May 11, 3:01 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MEG	Lafayette, Union	44 min
May 11, 3:06 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	LMK	Hardin	24 min
May 11, 3:06 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OHX	Williamson	24 min
May 11, 3:14 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Grayson	31 min
May 11, 3:15 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Bullitt, Nelson	45 min
May 11, 3:20 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Larue	25 min
May 11, 3:23 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Edmonson, Hart	42 min
May 11, 3:28 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OHX	Smith, Wilson	32 min
May 11, 3:32 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OHX	Rutherford, Williamson	28 min
May 11, 3:41 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OHX	Macon, Trousdale	34 min
May 11, 3:43 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Washington	32 min
May 11, 3:49 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OHX	Wilson	41 min
May 11, 3:50 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OHX	Giles, Lawrence	40 min
May 11, 3:54 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	LMK	Hart	36 min
May 11, 4:01 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	OHX	Macon	29 min
May 11, 4:02 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	HUN	Colbert, Lauderdale	6 hr
May 11, 4:02 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Larue, Nelson	13 min
May 11, 4:10 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Green, Marion, Taylor	40 min
May 11, 4:17 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Mercer	28 min
May 11, 4:27 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	LMK	Mercer	18 min
May 11, 4:46 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Casey	34 min
May 11, 4:50 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Jessamine	30 min
May 11, 4:54 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Fayette	36 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

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 4.3 hours before the alert went out and 165 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1200 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1378 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 71 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 123 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.5
Supercell composite: 4.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 110417
SEL3  
SPC WW 110420
KYZ000-MSZ000-TNZ000-111000-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 353 
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 
1120 PM CDT SAT MAY 10 2003

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

       WESTERN AND CENTRAL KENTUCKY
       NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI
       WESTERN AND MIDDLE TENNESSEE

EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING FROM 1120 PM
UNTIL 500 AM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 80 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY TO
35 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF OXFORD MISSISSIPPI.

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 347...WW 348...WW 349...WW
350...WW 351...WW 352...


DISCUSSION...INTENSIFYING SQUALL LINE SHORTLY CROSSING THE MS RIVER
WITH INCREASING THREAT FOR EMBEDDED TORNADIC SUPERCELLS.  VERY
IMPRESSIVE HODOGRAPHS DEPICTED ON VWP PROFILES AHEAD OF SQUALL LINE
WITH HELICITIES FROM 300-500 M2/S2 SUPPORT STORM ROTATING.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25040.


...HALES

381,0840 335,0882 335,0910 381,0865

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 11, 1:46 AM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Colbert, Lauderdale	89 min
May 11, 3:10 AM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Bibb, Blount, Cullman, DeKalb, Fayette, Greene and 17 more	95 min
May 11, 3:20 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Blount, Cullman, Fayette, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar and 8 more	5 hr
May 11, 5:22 AM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Blount, Cullman, Fayette, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar and 8 more	83 min
May 11, 12:20 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Baldwin, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Clarke, Coffee and 18 more	115 min
May 11, 1:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Autauga, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Chambers, Chilton and 20 more	6 hr
May 11, 3:00 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Autauga, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke and 14 more	2 hr
May 10, 8:05 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Benton, Jasper, Lake, Newton, Porter	6 hr
May 10, 8:41 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Bartholomew, Boone, Brown, Clay, Crawford, Daviess and 39 more	2 hr
May 10, 8:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Posey	5 hr
May 10, 9:10 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Bartholomew, Boone, Brown, Clark, Clay, Clinton and 40 more	5 hr
May 10, 10:40 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	DeKalb, Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaGrange, LaPorte, Marshall and 5 more	2 hr
May 10, 10:56 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Benton, Jasper, Lake, Newton, Porter	94 min
May 10, 11:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	Adams, Allen, Cass, DeKalb, Elkhart, Fulton and 15 more	6 hr
May 10, 11:28 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Dearborn, Fayette, Franklin, Jay, Ohio, Randolph and 4 more	2 hr
May 10, 7:06 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Ballard, Calloway, Carlisle, Crittenden, Fulton, Graves and 5 more	54 min
May 10, 8:28 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Breathitt, Floyd, Johnson, Knott, Magoffin, Martin and 1 more	62 min
May 10, 10:04 PM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Allen, Barren, Breckinridge, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway and 23 more	116 min
May 11, 4:16 AM CDT	Mesoscale Discussion	SPC	Adair, Anderson, Barren, Bath, Bell, Bourbon and 68 more	59 min
May 11, 5:05 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Bath, Bell, Bourbon, Boyle, Breathitt, Casey and 38 more	4 hr
May 11, 5:55 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Bell, Harlan	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Kentucky, 2003 Tornado Watches in Tennessee, 2003 Tornado Watches in Mississippi, 2003 Every 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.