Alert archive / Kentucky / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 406
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 17, 2003, 1:30 PM CDT for 52 counties in Kentucky. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 17, 2003, 1:30 PM CDT (18:30 UTC)
- Expired
- May 17, 2003, 7:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 52 counties
Adair County, KY, Anderson County, KY, Barren County, KY, Bell County, KY, Boyle County, KY, Breathitt County, KY, Casey County, KY, Clark County, KY, Clay County, KY, Clinton County, KY, Cumberland County, KY, Elliott County, KY, Estill County, KY, Fayette County, KY, Garrard County, KY, Green County, KY, Harlan County, KY, Jackson County, KY, Jessamine County, KY, Johnson County, KY, Knott County, KY, Knox County, KY, Larue County, KY, Laurel County, KY, Lawrence County, KY, Lee County, KY, Leslie County, KY, Lincoln County, KY, Madison County, KY, Magoffin County, KY, Marion County, KY, McCreary County, KY, Menifee County, KY, Mercer County, KY, Metcalfe County, KY, Monroe County, KY, Montgomery County, KY, Morgan County, KY, Nelson County, KY, Owsley County, KY, Perry County, KY, Powell County, KY, Pulaski County, KY, Rockcastle County, KY, Russell County, KY, Spencer County, KY, Taylor County, KY, Washington County, KY, Wayne County, KY, Whitley County, KY, Wolfe County, KY, Woodford County, KY
The radar
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 126 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:32 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
6 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 2:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Adair, Metcalfe | 52 min |
| May 17, 2:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Adair, Metcalfe | 50 min |
| May 17, 5:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JKL | Bell, Knox | 45 min |
| May 17, 5:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JKL | Harlan, Leslie | 57 min |
| May 17, 6:07 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JKL | Perry | 38 min |
| May 17, 6:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JKL | Knott, Letcher | 62 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 12:00Z, 6.5 hours before the alert went out and 211 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
- 1273 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 42 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 50 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 140 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
815
WWUS20 KWNS 171831
SEL6
SPC WW 171830
KYZ000-180000-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 406
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
230 PM EDT SAT MAY 17 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
CENTRAL AND EASTERN KENTUCKY
EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 230 PM UNTIL
800 PM EDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 55 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 35 MILES EAST NORTHEAST OF LEXINGTON KENTUCKY TO 45
MILES SOUTHWEST OF LONDON KENTUCKY.
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 403...WW 404...WW 405...
DISCUSSION...NRN END OF TN/AL/MS SQUALL LINE APPEARS TO HAVE BECOME
SOMEWHAT OF AN INDEPENDENT ENTITY...PER LONG-TERM COMPOSITE RADAR
IMAGERY AND SURFACE PRESSURE CHANGE FIELDS. GIVEN MODERATE TO
STRONG VEERING BOTH IN THE NEAR-SURFACE LAYER AND THROUGH MID
LEVELS...POTENTIAL WILL BE PRESENT FOR EMBEDDED SUPERCELLS WITH
BOWING SEGMENTS/ ISOLATED TORNADOES.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 50 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 21035.
...CORFIDI
381,0823 363,0831 363,0860 381,0852SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 1:14 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bell, Clinton, Knox, McCreary, Wayne, Whitley | 91 min |
| May 17, 4:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Bell, Clay, Harlan, Knox, Leslie, Letcher and 1 more | 4 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Kentucky, 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.