Alert archive / Oklahoma / Tornado Watches in 2003

Tornado Watch 948

November 17, 200343 counties in Oklahoma; 17 counties in Texas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Nov 17, 2003, 8:15 AM CST for 43 counties in Oklahoma; 17 counties in Texas. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Nov 17, 2003, 8:15 AM CST (14:15 UTC)
Expired
Nov 17, 2003, 1:00 PM CST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 60 counties

Atoka County, OK, Bryan County, OK, Canadian County, OK, Carter County, OK, Cleveland County, OK, Coal County, OK, Cotton County, OK, Craig County, OK, Creek County, OK, Delaware County, OK, Garvin County, OK, Grady County, OK, Hughes County, OK, Jefferson County, OK, Johnston County, OK, Kay County, OK, Lincoln County, OK, Logan County, OK, Love County, OK, Marshall County, OK, Mayes County, OK, McClain County, OK, McIntosh County, OK, Murray County, OK, Muskogee County, OK, Noble County, OK, Nowata County, OK, Okfuskee County, OK, Oklahoma County, OK, Okmulgee County, OK, Osage County, OK, Ottawa County, OK, Pawnee County, OK, Payne County, OK, Pittsburg County, OK, Pontotoc County, OK, Pottawatomie County, OK, Rogers County, OK, Seminole County, OK, Stephens County, OK, Tulsa County, OK, Wagoner County, OK, Washington County, OK, Archer County, TX, Clay County, TX, Collin County, TX, Cooke County, TX, Dallas County, TX, Denton County, TX, Grayson County, TX, Jack County, TX, Montague County, TX, Palo Pinto County, TX, Parker County, TX, Shackelford County, TX, Stephens County, TX, Tarrant County, TX, Wichita County, TX, Wise County, TX, Young County, TX

The radar

The Norman radar (KTLX), 114 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:17 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 17, 8:32 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTSAOsage, Pawnee58 min
Nov 17, 12:11 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDErath, Hood, Palo Pinto, Parker64 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

Fort Sill, OK (KFSI), launched 12:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 92 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, Fort Sill, OK at 12:00Z on 2003-11-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 554 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Fort Sill, OK at 12:00Z on 2003-11-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 169 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
554 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-75 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
796 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
169 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
152 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
2.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 171415
SEL8  
SPC WW 171415
OKZ000-TXZ000-171900-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 948 CORR 1
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 
815 AM CST MON NOV 17 2003

CORRECTED FOR DAYLIGHT TIME

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

  OKLAHOMA       
  TEXAS        

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 815 AM UNTIL 100
PM CST.

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 80 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF BARTLESVILLE OKLAHOMA
TO 15 MILES SOUTH OF MINERAL WELLS TEXAS.

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 947...WW 948...


DISCUSSION...


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 22035.


...CORFIDI

365,0942 323,0964 323,0992 365,0972

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 17, 1:11 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAlfalfa, Beckham, Blaine, Caddo, Canadian, Comanche and 18 more3 hr
Nov 17, 6:42 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCNowata, Osage, Washington3 hr
Nov 17, 7:43 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtoka, Bryan, Carter, Choctaw, Cleveland, Coal and 27 more3 hr
Nov 17, 10:59 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtoka, Bryan, Canadian, Carter, Cleveland, Coal and 36 more91 min
Nov 17, 12:20 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCAtoka, Bryan, Carter, Choctaw, Cleveland, Coal and 18 more6 hr
Nov 17, 2:57 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAtoka, Bryan, Choctaw, Coal, Haskell, Johnston and 6 more2 hr
Nov 17, 5:25 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCLeFlore, McCurtain65 min
Nov 16, 6:02 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArmstrong, Briscoe, Childress, Cottle, Crosby, Dickens and 12 more118 min
Nov 17, 7:11 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Angelina, Austin, Brazos, Burleson, Cherokee and 40 more3 hr
Nov 17, 8:20 AM CSTTornado WatchSPCAnderson, Angelina, Austin, Bastrop, Bell, Brazoria and 54 more5 hr
Nov 17, 9:58 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBandera, Bexar, Blanco, Brown, Burnet, Callahan and 36 more92 min
Nov 17, 10:21 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Fort Bend, Hardin, Harris and 6 more84 min
Nov 17, 11:50 AM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAnderson, Angelina, Aransas, Austin, Bell, Bosque and 75 more85 min
Nov 17, 12:45 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCBrazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Colorado, DeWitt, Fort Bend and 15 more5 hr
Nov 17, 3:02 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAustin, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Colorado, DeWitt and 16 more88 min
Nov 17, 5:07 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAngelina, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston and 14 more53 min
Nov 17, 5:35 PM CSTTornado WatchSPCChambers, Galveston, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Newton and 2 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Oklahoma, 2003Tornado Watches in Texas, 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.