Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2003
Tornado Warning 18, NWS Topeka, KS
NWS Topeka, KS issued this tornado warning at May 8, 2003, 7:03 PM CDT for Jackson County, Jefferson County, Kansas. It was in force for 42 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, 7:03 PM CDT (00:03 UTC)
- Expired
- May 8, 2003, 7:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 42 min
- Issued by
- NWS Topeka, KS
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
Counties Jackson County, KS, Jefferson County, KS
The radar
The Topeka radar (KTWX), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:04 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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 1:50 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 7 hr |
| May 8, 4:40 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 26 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
- 1679 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -6 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 807 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 62 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 247 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 271 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 2.1
- Supercell composite
- 9.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
034
WFUS53 KTOP 090003
TORTOP
KSC085-087-090045-
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
702 PM CDT THU MAY 8 2003
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A
* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
SOUTHEASTERN JACKSON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST KANSAS
JEFFERSON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST KANSAS
* UNTIL 745 PM CDT
* AT 656 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 13 MILES WEST OF
MERIDEN...OR ABOUT 8 MILES NORTHWEST OF TOPEKA...MOVING NORTHEAST
AT 45 MPH.
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED...
MERIDEN
PERRY LAKE
OZAWKIE
OSKALOOSA
MCLOUTH
WINCHESTER
IF A TORNADO APPROACHES...GO TO A BASEMENT OR SEEK SHELTER IN A
HALLWAY OR CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING. USE BLANKETS
OR PILLOWS TO COVER YOUR HEAD AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
LEAVE MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES...AND GO TO A BASEMENT OR STORM
SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST DITCH
OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD. AVOID OVERPASSES.
STAY TUNED TO WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR THE LATEST
SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION.
LAT...LON 3922 9577 3921 9559 3909 9559 3916 9519
3940 9518
$$The office that day
Everything else NWS Topeka, KS issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 7:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Brown | 27 min |
| May 8, 7:21 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Anderson | 39 min |
| May 8, 7:38 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Douglas | 22 min |
| May 8, 7:39 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Douglas | 21 min |
| May 8, 7:41 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Douglas | 19 min |
| May 8, 7:43 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Jefferson | 17 min |
| May 8, 8:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Douglas, Jefferson | 28 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 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.