Alert archive / South Dakota / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 920
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Sep 10, 2003, 2:35 PM CDT for 8 counties in North Dakota; 28 counties in South Dakota. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Sep 10, 2003, 2:35 PM CDT (19:35 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 10, 2003, 8:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 36 counties
Burleigh County, ND, Dickey County, ND, Emmons County, ND, Kidder County, ND, LaMoure County, ND, Logan County, ND, McIntosh County, ND, Stutsman County, ND, Aurora County, SD, Beadle County, SD, Brown County, SD, Brule County, SD, Buffalo County, SD, Campbell County, SD, Charles Mix County, SD, Clark County, SD, Davison County, SD, Day County, SD, Douglas County, SD, Edmunds County, SD, Faulk County, SD, Hand County, SD, Hanson County, SD, Hutchinson County, SD, Hyde County, SD, Jerauld County, SD, Kingsbury County, SD, Lake County, SD, Lincoln County, SD, McCook County, SD, McPherson County, SD, Miner County, SD, Minnehaha County, SD, Sanborn County, SD, Spink County, SD, Turner County, SD
The radar
The Aberdeen radar (KABR), 16 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:36 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10, 3:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ABR | Edmunds | 35 min |
| Sep 10, 4:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ABR | Edmunds, McPherson | 45 min |
| Sep 10, 4:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ABR | Brown | 37 min |
| Sep 10, 5:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BIS | Dickey | 57 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
Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 12:00Z, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 72 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
- 727 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 32 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -101 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -231 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 101933
SEL0
SPC WW 101935
NDZ000-NEZ000-SDZ000-110100-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 920
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
235 PM CDT WED SEP 10 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA
EXTREME NORTHEAST NEBRASKA
EASTERN AND CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA
EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 235 PM UNTIL
800 PM CDT.
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 60 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF JAMESTOWN NORTH DAKOTA
TO 55 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF MITCHELL SOUTH DAKOTA.
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 919...
DISCUSSION...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY
DURING THE NEXT 1-2 HOURS IN VICINITY OF DEEP SURFACE LOW AND COLD
FRONT. AIRMASS IS ONLY MARGINALLY UNSTABLE. HOWEVER...VERY
FAVORABLE VERTICAL SHEAR PROFILES AND STRONG SURFACE PRESSURE FALLS
SUGGEST A RISK OF SUPERCELLS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. SMALL BOW
ECHOES AND ASSOCIATED WIND DAMAGE THREAT ALSO EXISTS.
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 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 21035.
...HART
471,0982 430,0962 430,0984 471,1005
WWUS20 KWNS 101933
SEL0
SPC WW 101935
NDZ000-NEZ000-SDZ000-110100-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 920
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
235 PM CDT WED SEP 10 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA
EXTREME NORTHEAST NEBRASKA
EASTERN AND CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA
EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 235 PM UNTIL
800 PM CDT.
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 60 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF JAMESTOWN NORTH DAKOTA
TO 55 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF MITCHELL SOUTH DAKOTA.
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 919...
DISCUSSION...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY
DURING THE NEXT 1-2 HOURS IN VICINITY OF DEEP SURFACE LOW AND COLD
FRONT. AIRMASS IS ONLY MARGINALLY UNSTABLE. HOWEVER...VERY
FAVORABLE VERTICAL SHEAR PROFILES AND STRONG SURFACE PRESSURE FALLS
SUGGEST A RISK OF SUPERCELLS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. SMALL BOW
ECHOES AND ASSOCIATED WIND DAMAGE THREAT ALSO EXISTS.
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 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 21035.
...HART
471,0982 430,0962 430,0984 471,1005SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10, 2:07 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barnes, Dickey, Emmons, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh and 3 more | 83 min |
| Sep 10, 5:27 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Burleigh, Dickey, Emmons, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan and 2 more | 93 min |
| Sep 9, 9:06 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Charles Mix, Gregory, Todd, Tripp | 114 min |
| Sep 9, 9:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Bon Homme, Charles Mix, Gregory, Yankton | 5 hr |
| Sep 10, 1:31 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bennett, Brule, Buffalo, Custer, Fall River, Gregory and 11 more | 2 hr |
| Sep 10, 11:43 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Aurora, Bon Homme, Charles Mix, Davison, Douglas, Hanson and 3 more | 2 hr |
| Sep 10, 1:55 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Clay, Union | 6 hr |
| Sep 10, 6:53 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Union | 67 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in South Dakota, 2003Tornado Watches in North Dakota, 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.