Hail in Oklahoma, March 17, 2003

Name: Hail in Oklahoma, March 17, 2003
Start: 2003-03-17T22:00
End: 2003-03-17T22:30
Location: Oklahoma

March 17, 2003 · NWS TSA · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

2 hail, 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 Tulsa, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 17, 8:50 PM CST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 17, 8:50 PM CST, 1 hour 10 minutes before

EASTERN OKLAHOMA/NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OKLAHOMA
850 PM CST MON MAR 17 2003

UPDATED TO DROP MENTION OF SEVERE AND ADJUST POPS.  STILL THINK
THERE MAY BE A SEVERE STORM OR TWO BUT NOT WORTH HIGHLIGHTING IT IN
THE ZONES.  GENERALLY DREW A GRADIENT OF POPS FROM WEST TO EAST
ACROSS THE AREA WITH THE HIGHER POPS IN THE WEST NEAR CURRENT
CONVECTION.  THUNDERSTORM CHANCES TOMORROW SHOULD BE GREATER WITH
THE UPPER LOW APPROACHING FROM THE WEST AND WITH A STRONG VORT LOBE
MOVING NORTHEAST INTO THE AREA.  KEPT SEVERE WORDING FOR TOMORROW
BUT IT MAY BE MORE LIKE A HEAVY RAIN EVENT.

.TSA...
AR...NONE.
OK...NONE.

ABBAS

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 17, 5:10 PM CST, 4 hours 50 minutes before

ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-181200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
510 PM CST MON MAR 17 2003

THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS AS WELL AS
MUCH OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS FROM LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EARLY MORNING
HOURS.

.SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
AREA 1...ALL OF EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

PROBABILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS...100

IF THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP...
     PROBABILITY OF SEVERE STORMS...80
     TIME OF INITIAL EVENT...5:00 PM
     PROBABILITY OF A TORNADO / F2 OR GREATER TORNADO...10/5
     PROBABILITY OF GOLFBALL HAIL OR LARGER...10
     PROBABILITY OF 73 MPH WIND OR GREATER...20

GIVEN PROBABILITIES REPRESENT THE POTENTIAL FOR AN OCCURRENCE
ANYWHERE IN THE DEFINED AREA.

DISCUSSION...
A PIECE OF ENERGY WILL BREAK OFF A LARGE AND POWERFUL UPPER LEVEL
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES AND MOVE ACROSS
OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS TONIGHT.  THUNDERSTORMS WERE
OCCURRING OVER CENTRAL AND WESTERN OKLAHOMA THIS AFTERNOON IN
ADVANCE OF THIS FEATURE.  THE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO SPREAD INTO
EASTERN OKLAHOMA THIS EVENING AND EVENTUALLY INTO NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
LATE THIS EVENING OR DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.  WITH DEW POINTS IN
THE MID 50S AND MODERATE INSTABILITY ACROSS THE AREA LARGE HAIL WILL
BE THE MAIN THREAT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY
THE SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL WILL CONTINUE TUESDAY MORNING AND INTO
TUESDAY AFTERNOON. A STRONG JET STREAM AND MODERATE INSTABILITY WILL
MAINTAIN A FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY AS THE
UPPER SYSTEM MOVES SLOWLY ACROSS TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA AND INTO
ARKANSAS.

.SPOTTER / EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTION STATEMENT...SPOTTER
ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE REQUIRED ACROSS EASTERN OKLAHOMA THIS
EVENING AND POSSIBLY ACROSS NORTHWEST AKANSAS LATE THIS EVENING OR
DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.

RELATED GRAPHICAL INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT...
WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TULSA

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 17, 4:33 PM CST, 5 hours 27 minutes before

OKZ054-059-172315-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
433 PM CST MON MAR 17 2003

...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IN EFFECT FOR OSAGE AND PAWNEE COUNTIES
   UNTIL 515 PM CST...

AT 433 PM CST...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 8 MILES
WEST OF PAWNEE...MOVING NORTH AT 35 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE CAPABLE
OF PRODUCING UP TO DIME SIZE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH.

THE COMMUNITIES APPERSON...BURBANK...FAIRFAX...LYMAN...MCCORD...
PAWNEE...RALSTON...SKEDEE AND WEBB CITY WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS
STORM THROUGH 515 PM CST.

Special weather statement, Mar 17, 4:40 PM CST, 5 hours 20 minutes before

OKZ060-054-182330-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
440 PM CST MON MAR 17 2003

...DAMAGE IN TULSA...

AT 435PM SPOTTERS REPORTED DAMAGE IN TULSA NEAR 49TH AND PEORIA.
WINDOWS WERE BLOWN OUT OF A BUSINESS...ALONG WITH ROOF DAMAGE.

AT 440PM THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHWEST INTO OSAGE COUNTY AND HAS
HAS WEAKENED...BUT GIVEN THAT IT HAS PRODUCED SIGNIFICANT WINDS ...
PERSONS IN SOUTHEAST OSAGE COUNTY SHOULD BE ALERT AND LISTEN FOR
MORE INFORMATION.

Local storm report, Mar 17, 7:27 PM CST, 2 hours 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
0727 PM CST MON MAR 17 2003

TIME(CST)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0237 PM    1 E BURBANK               OK   0.75 IN HAIL
03/17/03   OSAGE

0201 PM    4 N HOMINY                OK   0.75 IN HAIL
03/17/03   OSAGE

BM

Special weather statement, Mar 17, 9:21 PM CST, 39 minutes before

ARZ001-002-010-011-019-020-029-OKZ049-053>076-180515-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TULSA OK
921 PM CST MON MAR 17 2003

THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS LIKELY TO INCREASE LATER TONIGHT ACROSS
EASTERN OKLAHOMA AS A MODERATE LOW-LEVEL JET INTERSECTS A
THUNDERSTORM BOUNDARY...WHICH AT 9PM EXTENDED FROM NEAR SOUTH
COFFEYVILLE TO JUST WEST OF OKEMAH.  STORM DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE
FURTHER ENHANCED AS VERY STRONG JET STREAM WINDS SPREAD INTO SOUTHERN
OKLAHOMA TONIGHT FROM WEST TEXAS.

GIVEN THE INCREASING WINDS ALOFT AND REMAINING INSTABILITY...A FEW OF
THE STORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE SEVERE...PRODUCING HAIL AND
STRONG WINDS.

THE POTENTIAL FOR STORMS WILL INCREASE IN WESTERN ARKANSAS LATE
TONIGHT AND TOWARD MORNING.

PERSONS IN EASTERN OKLAHOMA AND NORTHWEST ARKANSAS SHOULD CHECK TO
SEE THAT THERE WEATHER RADIOS ARE SET TO ALARM AND EXPECT THE
POSSIBILITY OF STORMS DURING THE NIGHT.

STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR FURTHER INFORMATION FROM THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE.

The radar

The Tulsa radar (KINX), 112 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:01 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Pawnee

When: March 17, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Pawnee County, Pawnee
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.333, -96.800

Hail, Osage

When: March 17, 10:30 PM CST
Where: Osage County, Fairfax
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: POST OFFICE
Coordinates: 36.567, -96.700

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Oklahoma in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Oklahoma, March 2003

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: 5346071, 5346072.