Thunderstorm Wind, Lawrence
- When
- December 17, 9:41 PM CST
- Where
- Lawrence County, Mt Vernon
- Measured
- 70 kt (81 mph)
- Reported by
- AMATEUR RADIO
- Coordinates
- 37.100, -93.833
Damaging Wind in Missouri, December 17, 2002
1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Springfield, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 17, 2:20 PM CST, 7 hours 21 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 17, 2:20 PM CST, 7 hours 21 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 220 PM CST TUE DEC 17 2002 FORECAST CONCERNS: SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL/PRECIPITATION ENDING WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON/EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. VERY ACTIVE WEATHER POTENTIAL OVERNIGHT AS 25H JET WITH 150+ MPH WINDS AND DEEP LAYER SHEAR DEVELOPS OVER THE AREA. CONWAY WIND PROFILER ALREADY INDICATING 50KTS (SSW DIRECTION) AT 85H EARLY THIS AFTERNOON WITH SURFACE AND BOUNDARY LAYER WINDS AROUND 30 TO 40 KTS FROM THE SOUTH/SOUTHEAST. SOME ELEVATED CONVECTION ALREADY TRYING TO DEVELOP IN SOUTHEAST KANSAS ALONG THE MOISTURE GRADIENT AND CONVERGENCE BOUNDARY LAYER NEAR 90H. CONVECTIVE INHIBITIONS CONTINUE TO BE NEAR 100 J/KG AT THE SURFACE WHICH IS LIKELY KEEPING CONVECTION FROM FIRING IN SOUTHERN MISSOURI THIS AFTERNOON. LATEST BUFKIT INFORMATION HAS DEEP LAYER SHEAR CONTINUING OVERNIGHT WITH 50-65KTS AT 90H TO 70H. GREATEST VEERING OF THE WINDS IN THE LOWEST KM WOULD BE NEAR THE WARM FRONT WHICH IS CURRENT IN CENTRAL MISSOURI. CAPES RISE TO NEAR 1000 J/KG THIS EVENING WITH CONVECTIVE INHIBITIONS STILL NEAR 50 J/KG. THE BEST POTENTIAL FOR CONVECTIVE INITIATION WOULD BE ALONG THE WARM FRONT THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. UNTIL THE UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVING FROM NORTHERN NEW MEXICO MOVING INTO THE OKLAHOMA/KANSAS AND WESTERN MISSOURI LATER TONIGHT...DO NOT EXPECT MUCH IN THE WAY OF PRECIPITATION UNTIL THEN. AM LEANING TOWARD A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING WITH LIKELY CONDITIONS AFTER MIDNIGHT. MESO ANALYST WILL NEED TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO ANY SURFACE BOUNDARIES THIS EVENING AS HELICITIES RISE TO NEAR 500 M2/S2. MODELS DIFFER ON ENDING THE PRECIPITATION ON WEDNESDAY/EARLY THURSDAY AS THE ETA SLOWS DOWN THE MAIN COLD FRONT WHICH KEEPS PRECIPITATION IN THE REGION (MAINLY SOUTH CENTRAL) THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. GFS MOVES THINGS OUT FASTER WITH MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION ENDING BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. HAVE GONE WITH A BLEND OF THE TWO MODELS KEEPING SOME PRECIPITATION INTO SOUTH CENTRAL MISSOURI WEDNESDAY EVENING. THICKNESS VALUES FALL BELOW 5400M ON FRIDAY...WHICH SHOULD BE THE COLDEST DAY IN THE NEXT 7. VERY LOW CONFIDENCE IN THE EXTENDED RANGE AS MOST OF THE MODELS DIVERGE FROM ANY ONE SPECIFIC SCENARIO. WILL CONTINUE THE CHANCE OF RAIN ON SUNDAY AND INTRODUCE A CHANCE OF RAIN ON TUESDAY AS THE LONG WAVE TROUGH OVER THE WESTERN PACIFIC BRINGS IN MORE PACIFIC MOISTURE AND STRONG SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. THICKNESS VALUES CONTINUE TO MODIFY THROUGH THIS PERIOD...SO EXPECT NEAR OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES. ISC GRIDS ALREADY SENT. .SGF... MO...NONE. KS...NONE. JLT
Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 17, 8:46 PM CST, 55 minutes before
KSZ073-097-101-MOZ055>058-066>071-077>083-088>098-101>106-181200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 846 PM CST TUE DEC 17 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE MISSOURI OZARKS AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. WEATHER HAZARDS EXPECTED: LARGE HAIL DAMAGING WINDS ISOLATED TORNADOES AREAS AFFECTED AND TIMING: LOCATIONS ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM NEVADA TO COLUMBUS KANSAS. INITIAL THREAT WITH THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL BE LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND TORNADOES. DISCUSSION: A POTENT STORM SYSTEM WAS RAPIDLY TAKING SHAPE ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS STATES TONIGHT. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL JET WAS MOVING OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST UNITED STATES WILL INTERACT WITH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TO PRODUCE STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS HAVE ALREADY DEVELOPED ACROSS WESTERN MISSOURI AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST KANSAS. THIS ACTIVITY WAS RACING TO THE NORTHEAST AT NEAR 50 MPH. THESE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN OVERNIGHT AS STRONG WIND SHEAR COMBINES WITH IMPRESSIVE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND AN APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. ANOTHER CHANCE OF SEVERE WEATHER MAY DEVELOP AGAIN TOMORROW AS THE MAIN COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. THE GREATEST CHANCE OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE EAST OF A LINE FROM WARSAW TO CASSVILLE MISSOURI. THE MAIN THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. NO OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED FROM THURSDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE REQUIRED SOUTH AND WEST OF SPRINGFIELD THROUGH 1 AM. AREAS EAST OF SPRINGFIELD WILL LIKELY BE ACTIVATED AFTER 10 PM. TERRY THIS PRODUCT IS NOW AVAILABLE IN GRAPHICAL FORMAT...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION...AT HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/SGF
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Dec 17, 7:40 PM CST, 2 hours 1 minute before
KSZ073-097-101-MOZ055>058-066>070-077>081-088>096-101>105-180700- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - TORNADO WATCH NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 740 PM CST TUE DEC 17 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 778...IN EFFECT UNTIL 100 AM CST WEDNESDAY MORNING. THIS TORNADO WATCH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... IN MISSOURI: BARRY...BARTON...BENTON...CAMDEN...CEDAR...CHRISTIAN...DADE... DALLAS...DOUGLAS...GREENE...HICKORY...JASPER...LACLEDE...LAWRENCE... MARIES...MCDONALD...MILLER...MORGAN...NEWTON...OZARK...POLK... PULASKI...ST. CLAIR...STONE...TANEY...VERNON...WEBSTER AND WRIGHT. IN KANSAS: BOURBON...CHEROKEE AND CRAWFORD. SOME CITIES IN THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH INCLUDE AVA... BOLIVAR...BRANSON...CAMDENTON...FORT LEONARD WOOD...FORT SCOTT... JOPLIN...LEBANON...MONETT...MOUNT VERNON...NEOSHO...NEVADA...OSAGE BEACH...OZARK...PITTSBURG...SPRINGFIELD AND STOCKTON. THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ACROSS SOUTHWEST MISSOURI THIS EVENING...AND ARE EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY THROUGHOUT THE EVENING HOURS. INITIAL THREAT WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS...HOWEVER AN INCREASED TORNADO THREAT IS EXPECTED AS THE OVERNIGHT PROGRESSES...AS INCREASED WIND SHEAR AND INSTABILITY MOVES INTO THE REGION. A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE WEATHER...INCLUDING LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES...IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. WHILE SEVERE WEATHER MAY NOT BE IMMINENT...PERSONS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS...AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. THIS PRODUCT...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION...IS AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/SGF OR AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV. BOOKBINDER
Special weather statement, Dec 17, 7:40 PM CST, 2 hours 1 minute before
KSZ073-097-101-MOZ055>058-066>070-077>081-088>096-101>105-180700- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - TORNADO WATCH NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 740 PM CST TUE DEC 17 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 778...IN EFFECT UNTIL 100 AM CST WEDNESDAY MORNING. THIS TORNADO WATCH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES... IN MISSOURI: BARRY...BARTON...BENTON...CAMDEN...CEDAR...CHRISTIAN...DADE... DALLAS...DOUGLAS...GREENE...HICKORY...JASPER...LACLEDE...LAWRENCE... MARIES...MCDONALD...MILLER...MORGAN...NEWTON...OZARK...POLK... PULASKI...ST. CLAIR...STONE...TANEY...VERNON...WEBSTER AND WRIGHT. IN KANSAS: BOURBON...CHEROKEE AND CRAWFORD. SOME CITIES IN THIS TORNADO WATCH INCLUDE AVA...BOLIVAR...BRANSON... CAMDENTON...FORT LEONARD WOOD...FORT SCOTT...JOPLIN...LEBANON... MONETT...MOUNT VERNON...NEOSHO...NEVADA...OSAGE BEACH... OZARK...PITTSBURG...SPRINGFIELD AND STOCKTON. THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ACROSS SOUTHWEST MISSOURI THIS EVENING...AND ARE EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY THROUGHOUT THE EVENING HOURS. INITIAL THREAT WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS...HOWEVER AN INCREASED TORNADO THREAT IS EXPECTED AS THE OVERNIGHT PROGRESSES...AS INCREASED WIND SHEAR AND INSTABILITY MOVES INTO THE REGION. A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE WEATHER...INCLUDING LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES...IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. WHILE SEVERE WEATHER MAY NOT BE IMMINENT...PERSONS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS...AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. THIS PRODUCT...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION...IS AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/SGF OR AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV. BOOKBINDER
The radar
The Springfield radar (KSGF), 41 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:39 UTC.
Event by event
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado in Missouri, December 17, 2002
- Ice Storm in Michigan, December 17 to 18, 2002
- Damaging Winds in Illinois, December 17 to 18, 2002
- Winter Storm in North Dakota, December 17 to 19, 2002
- Tornado in Missouri, December 17, 2002
- Ice Storm in Minnesota, December 17 to 18, 2002
- Hail in Kansas, December 17 to 18, 2002
- Ice Storm in Wisconsin, December 17 to 18, 2002
- Extreme Cold in Florida, December 17, 2002
- High Wind in Alaska, December 17 to 19, 2002
- Hail in Oklahoma, December 17, 2002
- Ice Storm and Heavy Snow in Alaska, December 17, 2002
More
Every storm in Missouri in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, December 2002
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5326196.