Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 913
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Aug 31, 2003, 5:25 PM CDT for 25 counties in Illinois; 25 counties in Indiana. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 31, 2003, 5:25 PM CDT (22:25 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 31, 2003, 11:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 50 counties
Bond County, IL, Christian County, IL, Clark County, IL, Clay County, IL, Clinton County, IL, Coles County, IL, Crawford County, IL, Cumberland County, IL, Douglas County, IL, Edgar County, IL, Edwards County, IL, Effingham County, IL, Fayette County, IL, Jasper County, IL, Jefferson County, IL, Lawrence County, IL, Marion County, IL, Montgomery County, IL, Moultrie County, IL, Richland County, IL, Sangamon County, IL, Shelby County, IL, Wabash County, IL, Washington County, IL, Wayne County, IL, Bartholomew County, IN, Brown County, IN, Clay County, IN, Crawford County, IN, Daviess County, IN, Dubois County, IN, Floyd County, IN, Gibson County, IN, Greene County, IN, Harrison County, IN, Jackson County, IN, Johnson County, IN, Knox County, IN, Lawrence County, IN, Martin County, IN, Monroe County, IN, Morgan County, IN, Orange County, IN, Owen County, IN, Pike County, IN, Putnam County, IN, Shelby County, IN, Sullivan County, IN, Vigo County, IN, Washington County, IN
Warnings issued inside it
3 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31, 7:20 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | ILX | Clark, Crawford | 55 min |
| Aug 31, 8:13 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | ILX | Clark | 62 min |
| Aug 31, 8:15 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | IND | Sullivan, Vigo | 45 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 12:00Z, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 117 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
- 1048 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 34 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 29 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 258 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 312224
SEL3
SPC WW 312225
ILZ000-INZ000-KYZ000-010400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 913
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
525 PM CDT SUN AUG 31 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN INDIANA
A SMALL PART OF NORTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY
EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 525 PM UNTIL 1100
PM CDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 55 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES NORTH OF SCOTT AFB ILLINOIS TO 50
MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF BLOOMINGTON INDIANA.
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.
DISCUSSION...ISOLATED SUPERCELLS HAVE BEEN OCCURRING ALONG STRONG
QUASISTATIONARY BOUNDARY FROM E CENTRAL MO EWD ACROSS CENTRAL IL
SEWD INTO N CENTRAL KY. ACTIVITY IS BEING ENHANCED BY PRESENCE OF
LOW LEVEL JET ACROSS THE BOUNDARY WHICH HAS INCREASED LOW LEVEL
SHEAR AND ISOLATED TORNADO/DAMAGING WIND THREAT.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
400. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26035.
...MCCARTHY
395,0895 393,0854 380,0854 381,0895
WWUS20 KWNS 312224
SEL3
SPC WW 312225
ILZ000-INZ000-KYZ000-010400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 913
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
525 PM CDT SUN AUG 31 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN INDIANA
A SMALL PART OF NORTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY
EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 525 PM UNTIL 1100
PM CDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1.5 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 55 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES NORTH OF SCOTT AFB ILLINOIS TO 50
MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF BLOOMINGTON INDIANA.
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.
DISCUSSION...ISOLATED SUPERCELLS HAVE BEEN OCCURRING ALONG STRONG
QUASISTATIONARY BOUNDARY FROM E CENTRAL MO EWD ACROSS CENTRAL IL
SEWD INTO N CENTRAL KY. ACTIVITY IS BEING ENHANCED BY PRESENCE OF
LOW LEVEL JET ACROSS THE BOUNDARY WHICH HAS INCREASED LOW LEVEL
SHEAR AND ISOLATED TORNADO/DAMAGING WIND THREAT.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1.5 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
400. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26035.
...MCCARTHY
395,0895 393,0854 380,0854 381,0895SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31, 5:11 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bond, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Coles, Crawford and 13 more | 2 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Illinois, 2003Tornado Watches in Indiana, 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.