Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 383
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 15, 2003, 4:05 PM CDT for 26 counties in Texas. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 15, 2003, 4:05 PM CDT (21:05 UTC)
- Expired
- May 15, 2003, 10:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 26 counties
Borden County, TX, Briscoe County, TX, Castro County, TX, Childress County, TX, Cottle County, TX, Crosby County, TX, Dawson County, TX, Dickens County, TX, Fisher County, TX, Floyd County, TX, Gaines County, TX, Garza County, TX, Hale County, TX, Hall County, TX, Hockley County, TX, Kent County, TX, King County, TX, Lamb County, TX, Lubbock County, TX, Lynn County, TX, Motley County, TX, Parmer County, TX, Scurry County, TX, Stonewall County, TX, Swisher County, TX, Terry County, TX
The radar
The Lubbock radar (KLBB), 69 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:08 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
4 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 6:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MAF | Scurry | 38 min |
| May 15, 6:39 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SJT | Fisher | 66 min |
| May 15, 7:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LUB | Stonewall | 43 min |
| May 15, 7:41 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SJT | Fisher | 34 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
Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 12:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 162 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
- 95 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -275 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1781 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 88 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 122 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 152107
SEL3
SPC WW 152105
TXZ000-160300-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 383
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
405 PM CDT THU MAY 15 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
WESTERN TEXAS
EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 405 PM UNTIL
1000 PM CDT.
...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...
DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...
THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 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 40 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF PLAINVIEW TEXAS TO 80
MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF LUBBOCK TEXAS.
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 379...WW 380...WW 381...WW
382...
DISCUSSION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD DEVELOP RAPIDLY IN THE NEXT
HOUR OR SO AS STRONG LARGE SCALE ASCENT OVERRIDES A STRONGLY
UNSTABLE AIR MASS ACROSS WEST TX...AND CAPPING ERODES. CAPE AND
SHEAR PARAMETERS REMAIN VERY FAVORABLE FOR TORNADIC
SUPERCELLS...INCLUDING A FEW SIGNIFICANT TORNADOES THROUGH THE MID
EVENING.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26025.
...EVANS
344,1000 323,0995 323,1024 344,1025
WWUS20 KWNS 152107
SEL3
SPC WW 152105
TXZ000-160300-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 383
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
405 PM CDT THU MAY 15 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
WESTERN TEXAS
EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 405 PM UNTIL
1000 PM CDT.
...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...
DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...
THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70 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 40 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF PLAINVIEW TEXAS TO 80
MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF LUBBOCK TEXAS.
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 379...WW 380...WW 381...WW
382...
DISCUSSION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD DEVELOP RAPIDLY IN THE NEXT
HOUR OR SO AS STRONG LARGE SCALE ASCENT OVERRIDES A STRONGLY
UNSTABLE AIR MASS ACROSS WEST TX...AND CAPPING ERODES. CAPE AND
SHEAR PARAMETERS REMAIN VERY FAVORABLE FOR TORNADIC
SUPERCELLS...INCLUDING A FEW SIGNIFICANT TORNADOES THROUGH THE MID
EVENING.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26025.
...EVANS
344,1000 323,0995 323,1024 344,1025SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 14, 7:36 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bowie, Red River | 114 min |
| May 14, 9:20 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cass, Harrison, Marion | 115 min |
| May 14, 11:20 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bell, Bosque, Coryell, Ellis, Falls, Freestone and 5 more | 115 min |
| May 14, 11:35 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Franklin, Gregg, Harrison and 8 more | 5 hr |
| May 14, 11:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Anderson, Bosque, Collin, Dallas, Delta, Denton and 16 more | 5 hr |
| May 15, 2:10 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anderson, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Henderson and 13 more | 2 hr |
| May 15, 2:27 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Gregg, Harrison, Marion, Panola, Rusk, Shelby | 2 hr |
| May 15, 1:31 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Armstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Dallam, Deaf Smith and 10 more | 119 min |
| May 15, 1:55 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Armstrong, Carson, Collingsworth, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Donley and 13 more | 6 hr |
| May 15, 3:41 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Armstrong, Baylor, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Childress and 30 more | 94 min |
| May 15, 5:15 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Frio, Kinney, Maverick, Uvalde, Zavala | 2 hr |
| May 15, 5:49 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Baylor, Coke, Cottle, Fisher, Foard, Hardeman and 17 more | 116 min |
| May 15, 6:25 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Archer, Baylor, Borden, Briscoe, Brown, Callahan and 45 more | 6 hr |
| May 15, 6:47 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Childress, Collingsworth, Donley, Gray, Hall, Hansford and 6 more | 58 min |
| May 15, 6:50 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Armstrong, Carson, Collingsworth, Dallam, Donley, Gray and 12 more | 5 hr |
Nearby
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.