Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 358
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 11, 2003, 1:50 PM EDT for 20 counties in New York; 30 counties in Pennsylvania. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 11, 2003, 1:50 PM EDT (17:50 UTC)
- Expired
- May 11, 2003, 7:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 50 counties
Broome County, NY, Cayuga County, NY, Chemung County, NY, Chenango County, NY, Cortland County, NY, Herkimer County, NY, Jefferson County, NY, Lewis County, NY, Madison County, NY, Oneida County, NY, Onondaga County, NY, Ontario County, NY, Oswego County, NY, Schuyler County, NY, Seneca County, NY, Steuben County, NY, Tioga County, NY, Tompkins County, NY, Wayne County, NY, Yates County, NY, Adams County, PA, Bedford County, PA, Blair County, PA, Bradford County, PA, Centre County, PA, Clinton County, PA, Columbia County, PA, Cumberland County, PA, Dauphin County, PA, Franklin County, PA, Fulton County, PA, Huntingdon County, PA, Juniata County, PA, Lancaster County, PA, Lebanon County, PA, Luzerne County, PA, Lycoming County, PA, Mifflin County, PA, Montour County, PA, Northumberland County, PA, Perry County, PA, Potter County, PA, Schuylkill County, PA, Snyder County, PA, Sullivan County, PA, Susquehanna County, PA, Tioga County, PA, Union County, PA, Wyoming County, PA, York County, PA
The radar
The State College radar (KCCX), 98 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:52 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
17 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 3:36 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Clinton, Lycoming | 54 min |
| May 11, 3:49 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | CTP | Lycoming | 41 min |
| May 11, 4:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Lycoming | 15 min |
| May 11, 4:31 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BUF | Oswego | 59 min |
| May 11, 4:42 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BGM | Cortland, Tompkins | 48 min |
| May 11, 5:24 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BUF | Jefferson | 51 min |
| May 11, 5:26 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BGM | Cayuga, Seneca | 49 min |
| May 11, 5:33 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BUF | Oswego | 42 min |
| May 11, 5:43 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BUF | Lewis | 62 min |
| May 11, 5:56 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | BGM | Cayuga | 34 min |
| May 11, 5:58 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Sullivan | 47 min |
| May 11, 6:04 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BGM | Onondaga | 26 min |
| May 11, 6:15 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BGM | Luzerne, Wyoming | 60 min |
| May 11, 6:28 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BGM | Onondaga | 32 min |
| May 11, 6:30 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | BGM | Luzerne, Wyoming | 45 min |
| May 11, 6:36 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BGM | Cayuga | 24 min |
| May 11, 6:59 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BGM | Chemung, Cortland, Tompkins | 61 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
Buffalo Intl Airport, NY (KBUF), launched 12:00Z, 5.8 hours before the alert went out and 205 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
- 281 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -165 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 850 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 51 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 56 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 107 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 111745
SEL8
SPC WW 111750
NYZ000-PAZ000-LOZ000-112300-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 358
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
150 PM EDT SUN MAY 11 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
CENTRAL NEW YORK
CENTRAL AND EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA
LAKE ONTARIO
EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 150 PM UNTIL 700
PM EDT.
...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...
DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE 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 65 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HARRISBURG PENNSYLVANIA TO 15
MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF WATERTOWN NEW YORK.
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 357...
DISCUSSION...SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE INCREASING OVER CENTRAL PA AND
WESTERN NY AHEAD OF SURFACE COLD FRONT. RAPID INTENSIFICATION IS
POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON...WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF FAST MOVING
SUPERCELL STORMS AND BOW ECHOES. VERY FAVORABLE SHEAR PARAMETERS
AND DYNAMIC FORCING SUGGEST AN ENHANCED POTENTIAL FOR TORNADOES AND
VERY DAMAGING WINDS.
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 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25040.
...HART
394,0784 441,0771 441,0743 394,0761SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 10:07 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allegany, Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland and 19 more | 113 min |
| May 11, 10:30 AM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Orleans and 1 more | 2 hr |
| May 11, 11:45 AM EDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston and 2 more | 5 hr |
| May 11, 12:32 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Jefferson and 13 more | 118 min |
| May 11, 2:52 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston and 3 more | 113 min |
| May 11, 3:54 PM EDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Herkimer and 14 more | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Pennsylvania, 2003Tornado Watches in New York, 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.