Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 917
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Sep 9, 2003, 5:05 PM CDT for 18 counties in Kansas; 14 counties in Nebraska. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Sep 9, 2003, 5:05 PM CDT (22:05 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 9, 2003, 10:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 32 counties
Decatur County, KS, Ellis County, KS, Gove County, KS, Graham County, KS, Lane County, KS, Logan County, KS, Ness County, KS, Norton County, KS, Phillips County, KS, Rawlins County, KS, Rooks County, KS, Rush County, KS, Scott County, KS, Sheridan County, KS, Smith County, KS, Thomas County, KS, Trego County, KS, Wichita County, KS, Adams County, NE, Buffalo County, NE, Dawson County, NE, Franklin County, NE, Frontier County, NE, Furnas County, NE, Gosper County, NE, Hall County, NE, Harlan County, NE, Howard County, NE, Kearney County, NE, Phelps County, NE, Red Willow County, NE, Sherman County, NE
The radar
The Goodland radar (KGLD), 126 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:09 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
3 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 9, 7:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Buffalo, Kearney, Phelps | 53 min |
| Sep 9, 8:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Buffalo, Dawson, Phelps | 60 min |
| Sep 9, 8:58 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Sherman | 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
N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 12:00Z, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 185 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
- 1409 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 50 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 209 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 131 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 092207
SEL7
SPC WW 092205
KSZ000-NEZ000-100300-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 917
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
505 PM CDT TUE SEP 9 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
WESTERN AND NORTHERN KANSAS
SOUTHERN NEBRASKA
EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 505 PM UNTIL
1000 PM CDT.
TORNADOES...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 65 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF KEARNEY NEBRASKA TO 85
MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF HILL CITY KANSAS.
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 916...
DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY ACROSS
THE AREA AS A SHORTWAVE TROUGH APPROACHES FROM THE WEST AND THE LOW
LEVEL JET STRENGTHENS. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL GIVEN THE
MODERATE INSTABILITY...STEEP LAPSE RATES AND DEEP LAYER SHEAR NEAR
40 KT. HOWEVER... A COUPLE OF TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY
WITH STORMS NRN KANSAS/SRN NEB...WHERE THE LOW LEVEL SHEAR WILL BE
ENHANCED BY A WARM FRONT IN THE AREA.
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 24025.
...IMY
411,0980 381,0991 381,1013 411,1003
WWUS20 KWNS 092207
SEL7
SPC WW 092205
KSZ000-NEZ000-100300-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 917
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
505 PM CDT TUE SEP 9 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
WESTERN AND NORTHERN KANSAS
SOUTHERN NEBRASKA
EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 505 PM UNTIL
1000 PM CDT.
TORNADOES...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 65 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF KEARNEY NEBRASKA TO 85
MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF HILL CITY KANSAS.
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 916...
DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY ACROSS
THE AREA AS A SHORTWAVE TROUGH APPROACHES FROM THE WEST AND THE LOW
LEVEL JET STRENGTHENS. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL GIVEN THE
MODERATE INSTABILITY...STEEP LAPSE RATES AND DEEP LAYER SHEAR NEAR
40 KT. HOWEVER... A COUPLE OF TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY
WITH STORMS NRN KANSAS/SRN NEB...WHERE THE LOW LEVEL SHEAR WILL BE
ENHANCED BY A WARM FRONT IN THE AREA.
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 24025.
...IMY
411,0980 381,0991 381,1013 411,1003SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 9, 2:16 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Grant, Haskell, Meade, Seward, Stevens | 119 min |
| Sep 9, 2:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Finney, Grant, Gray, Hamilton, Haskell, Kearny and 5 more | 5 hr |
| Sep 9, 5:10 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Finney, Grant, Gray, Hamilton, Haskell, Kearny and 5 more | 2 hr |
| Sep 9, 5:40 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cheyenne, Sherman | 95 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Kansas, 2003Tornado Watches in Nebraska, 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.