Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Watches in 2003

Tornado Watch 88

April 4, 20038 counties in Illinois; 47 counties in Indiana; 15 counties in Ohio

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 4, 2003, 6:30 PM CST for 8 counties in Illinois; 47 counties in Indiana; 15 counties in Ohio. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 4, 2003, 6:30 PM CST (00:30 UTC)
Expired
Apr 5, 2003, 12:00 AM CST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 70 counties

Clark County, IL, Coles County, IL, Crawford County, IL, Cumberland County, IL, Edgar County, IL, Effingham County, IL, Fayette County, IL, Jasper County, IL, Adams County, IN, Bartholomew County, IN, Blackford County, IN, Boone County, IN, Brown County, IN, Carroll County, IN, Cass County, IN, Clay County, IN, Clinton County, IN, Decatur County, IN, Delaware County, IN, Fayette County, IN, Fountain County, IN, Franklin County, IN, Grant County, IN, Greene County, IN, Hamilton County, IN, Hancock County, IN, Hendricks County, IN, Henry County, IN, Howard County, IN, Huntington County, IN, Jay County, IN, Jennings County, IN, Johnson County, IN, Madison County, IN, Marion County, IN, Miami County, IN, Monroe County, IN, Montgomery County, IN, Morgan County, IN, Owen County, IN, Parke County, IN, Putnam County, IN, Randolph County, IN, Ripley County, IN, Rush County, IN, Shelby County, IN, Sullivan County, IN, Tippecanoe County, IN, Tipton County, IN, Union County, IN, Vermillion County, IN, Vigo County, IN, Wabash County, IN, Wayne County, IN, Wells County, IN, Allen County, OH, Auglaize County, OH, Champaign County, OH, Crawford County, OH, Darke County, OH, Hardin County, OH, Logan County, OH, Marion County, OH, Mercer County, OH, Miami County, OH, Montgomery County, OH, Preble County, OH, Shelby County, OH, Van Wert County, OH, Wyandot County, OH

The radar

The Indianapolis radar (KIND), 16 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:30 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 4, 6:32 PM CSTTornado WarningILXClay, Effingham43 min
Apr 4, 6:44 PM CSTTornado WarningILXEdgar, Vermilion46 min
Apr 4, 7:04 PM CSTTornado WarningILXJasper, Richland56 min
Apr 4, 7:31 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXCrawford59 min
Apr 4, 7:41 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCLEMarion, Wyandot34 min
Apr 4, 7:55 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDKnox, Sullivan35 min
Apr 4, 8:02 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDHoward, Vigo28 min
Apr 4, 8:11 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCLECrawford34 min
Apr 4, 8:32 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDDaviess, Greene43 min
Apr 4, 8:56 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDDelaware, Madison49 min
Apr 4, 9:07 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDRandolph53 min
Apr 4, 9:13 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDHenry47 min
Apr 4, 9:32 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDRush, Shelby43 min
Apr 4, 9:36 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNFayette, Union, Wayne24 min
Apr 4, 9:39 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDBartholomew, Decatur36 min
Apr 4, 9:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDJennings45 min
Apr 4, 10:01 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNUnion29 min
Apr 4, 10:28 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNMiami, Montgomery47 min
Apr 4, 10:40 PM CSTTornado WarningILNFayette, Madison, Montgomery35 min
Apr 4, 10:43 PM CSTTornado WarningILNMontgomery32 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

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 188 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 2003-04-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 2003-04-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 1 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
3081 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
66 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
1 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
91 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 050031
SEL8
SPC WW 050030
ILZ000-INZ000-OHZ000-050600-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 88
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
730 PM EST FRI APR 4 2003

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

   EASTERN ILLINOIS                           
   SOUTHERN AND EASTERN INDIANA                            
   WESTERN OHIO                               

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING FROM 730 PM UNTIL
100 AM EST.

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 100 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES SOUTH OF TERRE HAUTE INDIANA TO 75 MILES
NORTH OF DAYTON OHIO.

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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 86.  WATCH NUMBER 86 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 730 PM EST. 
CONTINUE...WW 87...

DISCUSSION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS NRN/WRN IN AHEAD OF
SURFACE LOW AND COLD FRONT.  WITH 60-70 KT MID LEVEL WIND MAX
COUPLED WITH 40-50 KT 850 MB JET PROVIDING FAVORABLE SHEAR  FOR
CONTINUED SUPERCELL/TORNADO THREAT.  WARM FRONT EXTENDING ESEWD
ACROSS ERN IN INTO CENTRAL OH WILL BE A FOCUS FOR ENHANCED TORNADO
POTENTIAL.


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 450. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24040.


...HALES

385,0891 405,0860 405,0821 385,0852

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 4, 6:01 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClark59 min
Apr 4, 7:07 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlexander, Clay, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton and 18 more83 min
Apr 4, 9:00 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBartholomew, Clark, Crawford, Dearborn, Decatur, Dubois and 18 more90 min
Apr 4, 9:20 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCBartholomew, Clark, Crawford, Dearborn, Decatur, Dubois and 21 more5 hr
Apr 4, 10:38 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCSwitzerland97 min
Apr 4, 11:05 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAdams, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Carroll, Columbiana and 27 more5 hr
Apr 5, 1:34 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Carroll, Columbiana and 28 more86 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Indiana, 2003Tornado Watches in Ohio, 2003Tornado Watches in Illinois, 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.