Alert archive / Ohio / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 945
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Nov 12, 2003, 4:40 PM EST for Monroe County, Washtenaw County, Michigan; 25 counties in Ohio. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Nov 12, 2003, 4:40 PM EST (21:40 UTC)
- Expired
- Nov 12, 2003, 10:00 PM EST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 27 counties
Monroe County, MI, Washtenaw County, MI, Ashland County, OH, Ashtabula County, OH, Columbiana County, OH, Crawford County, OH, Cuyahoga County, OH, Erie County, OH, Geauga County, OH, Hancock County, OH, Huron County, OH, Lake County, OH, Lorain County, OH, Lucas County, OH, Mahoning County, OH, Medina County, OH, Ottawa County, OH, Portage County, OH, Richland County, OH, Sandusky County, OH, Seneca County, OH, Stark County, OH, Summit County, OH, Trumbull County, OH, Wayne County, OH, Wood County, OH, Wyandot County, OH
The radar
The Cleveland radar (KCLE), 62 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:40 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
16 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 12, 4:40 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CLE | Hancock, Wood | 65 min |
| Nov 12, 4:50 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DTX | Monroe | 40 min |
| Nov 12, 5:00 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CLE | Sandusky, Seneca | 45 min |
| Nov 12, 5:08 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CLE | Wyandot | 52 min |
| Nov 12, 5:23 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CLE | Crawford, Marion | 67 min |
| Nov 12, 5:40 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CLE | Erie, Huron | 65 min |
| Nov 12, 5:49 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CLE | Morrow, Richland | 56 min |
| Nov 12, 6:00 PM EST | Tornado Warning | CLE | Crawford, Morrow | 30 min |
| Nov 12, 6:09 PM EST | Tornado Warning | CLE | Richland | 36 min |
| Nov 12, 6:35 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CLE | Ashland | 25 min |
| Nov 12, 6:39 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CLE | Wayne | 51 min |
| Nov 12, 6:45 PM EST | Tornado Warning | CLE | Wayne | 45 min |
| Nov 12, 7:16 PM EST | Tornado Warning | CLE | Stark | 44 min |
| Nov 12, 7:45 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PBZ | Columbiana | 60 min |
| Nov 12, 7:46 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CLE | Mahoning, Portage | 59 min |
| Nov 12, 7:56 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CLE | Ashtabula | 64 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
Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 143 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
- 1748 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 70 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 85 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 182 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 122139
SEL5
SPC WW 122140
MIZ000-OHZ000-LEZ000-130300-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 945
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
440 PM EST WED NOV 12 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHEAST LOWER MICHIGAN
NORTHERN OHIO
LAKE ERIE
EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 440 PM UNTIL
1000 PM EST.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 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 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF TOLEDO OHIO TO 15 MILES
NORTHEAST OF YOUNGSTOWN 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 SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 943. WATCH NUMBER 943 WILL NOT BE IN
EFFECT AFTER 440 PM EST. CONTINUE...WW 944...
DISCUSSION...SUPERCELLS DEVELOPING ACROSS NWRN OH/SERN LWR MI AS
STRONG VORT MAX MOVES RAPIDLY EWD ACROSS AREA WITH VERY FAVORABLE
DEEP LAYER SHEAR FOR TORNADIC SUPERCELLS. STORMS WILL MOVE RAPIDLY
EWD.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26050.
...HALES
421,0835 421,0802 403,0802 404,0835SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 12, 12:45 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Branch, Calhoun, Eaton, Genesee, Hillsdale, Ingham and 14 more | 3 hr |
| Nov 12, 1:50 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Hillsdale, Ingham, Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb and 4 more | 5 hr |
| Nov 12, 3:26 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Genesee, Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb and 4 more | 2 hr |
| Nov 12, 6:13 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Monroe | 2 hr |
| Nov 12, 2:36 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Brown, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clermont and 26 more | 2 hr |
| Nov 12, 3:20 PM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Athens, Auglaize, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clermont and 35 more | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Ohio, 2003Tornado Watches in Michigan, 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.