Alert archive / California / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Sacramento, CA

May 8, 2003Sacramento County, California

NWS Sacramento, CA issued this tornado warning at May 8, 2003, 5:59 PM PDT for Sacramento County, California. It was in force for 31 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 8, 2003, 5:59 PM PDT (00:59 UTC)
Expired
May 8, 2003, 6:30 PM PDT
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Sacramento, CA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Sacramento County, CA

The radar

The Sacramento radar (KDAX), 26 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:58 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Oakland, CA (KOAK), launched 00:00Z, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 122 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, Oakland, CA at 00:00Z on 2003-05-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Oakland, CA at 00:00Z on 2003-05-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 59 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-12 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1102 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
59 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
59 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

926 
WFUS56 KSTO 090059
TORSTO
CAC067-090130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA
555 PM PDT THU MAY 8 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHWESTERN SACRAMENTO COUNTY IN CALIFORNIA
  * VALID UNTIL 630 PM PDT

* AT 553 PM PDT...NUMEROUS REPORTS OF FUNNEL CLOUD HAVE BEEN         
  REPORTED BY THE PUBLIC IN NORTHWEST SACRAMENTO COUNTY INCLUDING    
  NEAR SACRAMENTO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. 

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED BY THIS WARNING INCLUDE...
  CARMICHAEL
  CITRUS HEIGHTS
  NORTH HIGHLANDS
  RIO LINDA

LAT...LON 3871 12166 3858 12156 3864 12127 3874 12127

&&

The office that day

Everything else NWS Sacramento, CA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 8, 6:33 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningSTOSacramento, Yolo27 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in California, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes 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.