Alert archive / Pennsylvania / Tornado Watches in 2003
Tornado Watch 971
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Nov 19, 2003, 12:45 PM EST for 4 states. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Nov 19, 2003, 12:45 PM EST (17:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Nov 19, 2003, 6:00 PM EST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 37 counties
Kent County, DE, New Castle County, DE, Sussex County, DE, Anne Arundel County, MD, Baltimore County, MD, Caroline County, MD, Cecil County, MD, City of Baltimore, MD, Harford County, MD, Kent County, MD, Queen Anne's County, MD, Talbot County, MD, Atlantic County, NJ, Burlington County, NJ, Camden County, NJ, Cape May County, NJ, Cumberland County, NJ, Gloucester County, NJ, Hunterdon County, NJ, Mercer County, NJ, Salem County, NJ, Warren County, NJ, Berks County, PA, Bucks County, PA, Chester County, PA, Dauphin County, PA, Delaware County, PA, Lancaster County, PA, Lebanon County, PA, Lehigh County, PA, Montgomery County, PA, Northampton County, PA, Northumberland County, PA, Philadelphia County, PA, Schuylkill County, PA, Snyder County, PA, York County, PA
The radar
The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 89 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:44 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
6 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 19, 1:29 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Baltimore, City of Baltimore | 61 min |
| Nov 19, 1:56 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CTP | Lancaster, York | 64 min |
| Nov 19, 2:24 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LWX | Harford | 66 min |
| Nov 19, 2:32 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI | Cecil, Kent | 58 min |
| Nov 19, 3:23 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | LWX | Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Howard and 3 more | 4 hr |
| Nov 19, 3:34 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI | Queen Anne's, Talbot | 56 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
Phillips Aaf/Abe, MD (KAPG), launched 12:00Z, 5.8 hours before the alert went out and 74 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
- 17 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -32 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 571 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 49 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 200 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 237 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 191744
SEL1
SPC WW 191745
DEZ000-MDZ000-NJZ000-PAZ000-CWZ000-192300-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 971
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1245 PM EST WED NOV 19 2003
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
DELAWARE
EASTERN MARYLAND
MOST OF NEW JERSEY
SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA
COASTAL WATERS
EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 1245 PM UNTIL
600 PM EST.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF DOVER DELAWARE TO 40
MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF ALLENTOWN PENNSYLVANIA.
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 967...WW 969...WW 970...
DISCUSSION...NARROW LINE OF FORCED CONVECTION WILL CONTINUE TO
INCREASE AS IT MOVES STEADILY ENEWD INTO WRN PORTIONS OF WATCH.
DAMAGING WINDS ARE EXPECTED WITH STRONGEST ACTIVITY...ESPECIALLY
AHEAD OF BOW ECHOES...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES MAY ALSO BE OBSERVED.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.
...HART/DARROW
382,0762 405,0772 405,0744 382,0734SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 19, 2:56 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Kent, New Castle, Sussex | 2 hr |
| Nov 19, 8:50 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Cecil and 10 more | 6 hr |
| Nov 19, 10:57 AM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico | 93 min |
| Nov 19, 11:25 AM EST | Tornado Watch | SPC | Dorchester, Saint Mary's, Somerset, Wicomico, Worcester | 6 hr |
| Nov 19, 12:47 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Charles, Frederick and 5 more | 118 min |
| Nov 19, 2:27 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Saint Mary's, Somerset, Worcester | 93 min |
| Nov 19, 3:59 PM EST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Somerset, Worcester | 61 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Pennsylvania, 2003Tornado Watches in New Jersey, 2003Tornado Watches in Maryland, 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.