Tornadoes · United States · Kansas · 2003
F0 tornado, Smith County, Kansas, June 23, 2003
This F0 tornado ran 0.2 miles across Smith County on June 23, 2003, touching down at 1:45 AM CDT and reaching 20 yards wide. It killed nobody.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F040 to 72 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3158 to 206 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5261 to 318 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The record
- Rating
- F0
- Date
- June 23, 2003
- Touchdown
- 1:45 AM CDT (06:45 UTC)
- Path length
- 0.2 miles (0.3 km)
- Path width
- 20 yards (18 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Smith County
- Touchdown point
- 39.900, -98.950
- Lift-off point
- 39.900, -98.950
- Record number
- 1252
The warnings
27 minutes of warning. NWS GID issued a tornado warning for this county at 06:18 UTC, 27 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 07:15 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03:45 UTC | 04:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID |
| 06:18 UTC | 07:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | GID |
Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 04:43 UTC.
SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Jun 22, 2:00 PM CDT, 11 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 22, 2:00 PM CDT, 11 hours 45 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 200 PM CDT SUN JUN 22 2003 NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED FOR CURRENT FCST BUT TO UP LOWS A BIT OVR NEXT FEW DAYS AND LOWER HIGHS SOMEWHAT THU...OTHERWISE THINKING PRETTY MUCH THE SAME. RIGHT NOW...WATCHING MOISTURE DISCONTINUITY IN FORM OF FINE LINE MOVE EWD OUT OF LBF TERRITORY. THIS WOULD BE LIKELY FIRST INITIATION POINT FOR CONVECTION TODAY...OVR NRN CWA IN VALLEY SHERMAN GREELEY OR HOWARD COUNTIES...POSSIBLY BUILDING SWD SOMEWHAT OVR TIME. LOTS OF JUICE IN THE FORM OF SFC DPTS UPR 60S TO LOW 70S EAST OF LINE...AND WITH SUN STARTING TO BREAK THROUGH GENERATING LOADS OF LL CAPE. SHOULD REACH CONVECTIVE TEMPS ALSO RATHER EASILY...ESPECIALLY NEAR AND S OF I80 CORRIDOR. LL SHEAR QUITE GOOD...HOWEVER MID TO UPR LVLS HAVE SOMETHING TO BE DESIRED. OVERALL...BEST CHC FOR TSRA WILL BE OVR NRN HALF OF CWA ALONG DEV WARM FRONT...WITH BEST CHC FOR SEVERE N OF I80 AND E OF HIGHWAY 281. STRONG OR ISOLATED SEVERE CANNOT BE RULED OUT OVR REST OF CWA...HOWEVER MUCH MORE STABLE CONDITIONS ENCROACHING UPON SWRN PORTION OF CWA. FOR NOW KEEPING WITH SCATTERED MENTION...40 POPS NE...30S EVERYWHERE ELSE BUT SWRN CWA WITH 20 POPS. FOR MON...CONTINUES TO LOOK QUITE HOT AND FAIRLY MOIST...HOWEVER MUCH TOO CAPPED OVR MOST OF OUR CWA...WITH INSTABILITY AXIS PUSHING FURTHER TO THE EAST. LEFT SMALL 20 POPS E AND NE CWA FOR AFT/EVE PERIOD FOR POINTS IN NERN ZONES...ESPECIALLY WITH LEFT OVR CONVECTIVE BOUNDARY(S) HAVING THE CHANCE TO PUSH INTO THIS AREA. HOWEVER...NOT MUCH OF CHANCE REALLY. BEYOND...NO REAL CHANGES EXCEPT ABOVE MENTIONED LOWERING OF TEMPS A BIT MORE THU BEHIND FRONT AS RELATIVELY COOL DRY AIR MOVES BACK FOR A DAY OR SO. .GID...NONE. 10
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 22, 2:55 PM CDT, 10 hours 50 minutes before
KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-231200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 255 PM CDT SUN JUN 22 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND PARTS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THERE IS A MODERATE RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING OVER PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS. IT APPEARS THE MOST LIKELY AREA FOR SEVERE STORMS WILL BE MAINLY NORTH AND EAST OF A GOTHENBURG TO RED CLOUD TO MANKATO KANSAS LINE. THIS WOULD INCLUDE THE TRI CITIES AREA. THE ATMOSPHERE HAS BECOME MORE UNSTABLE THIS AFTERNOON AS MORNING CLOUDS GAVE WAY TO INCREASED SUNSHINE. STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS CONTINUE TO TRANSPORT AMPLE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE INTO THE REGION. IN ADDITION...A COLD FRONT THAT WAS LOCATED FROM JUST EAST OF AINSWORTH TO NEAR GOTHENBURG AND THEN SOUTH THROUGH MCCOOK SHOULD PUSH SLOWLY EASTWARD. OTHER BOUNDARIES THAT WERE PRODUCED FROM THUNDERSTORMS LAST NIGHT AND THIS MORNING WILL ALSO HELP TO INITIATE THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. ONE BOUNDARY WAS LOCATED NORTH OF FULLERTON AND ORD... WHILE ANOTHER WAS JUST WEST OF YORK AND EXTENDED SOUTH TO CONCORDIA KANSAS. IN ADDITION...WIND SHEAR PARAMETERS REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR GENERATING SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE REGION. THE COMBINATION OF ALL THESE FACTORS POINT TO THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT WITH SOME STORMS PRODUCING LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND TORNADOES. EMERGENCY MANAGERS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS SITUATION THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY EXTREMELY UNSTABLE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP LATE MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING OVER PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA...WITH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE...MAINLY ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 80. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND ARE POSSIBLE...AS ARE ISOLATED TORNADOES. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES FOR PARTS OF THE AREA WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MID WEEK WITH ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON OR EVENING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING. EWALD
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jun 22, 10:58 PM CDT, 2 hours 47 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
1058 PM CDT SUN JUN 22 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1030 PM 4 NW LOVEWELL KS .75 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 JEWELL REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
14 DEGREE TEMPERATURE
DROP IN 5 MINUTES.Local storm report, Jun 22, 11:01 PM CDT, 2 hours 44 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
1101 PM CDT SUN JUN 22 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1030 PM ONG NE 60+ MPH TSTM GUST
06/22/03 CLAY REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
LARGE TREES UPROOTED.
1050 PM EDGAR NE 60+ MPH TSTM GUST
06/22/03 CLAY REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
EIGHT INCH BRANCHES
BROKEN.Special weather statement, Jun 22, 11:49 PM CDT, 1 hour 56 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 1149 PM CDT SUN JUN 22 2003 NEZ062>064-076-077-086-087-230545- CLAY-FILLMORE-HALL-HAMILTON-NUCKOLLS-THAYER-YORK- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...GRAND ISLAND...SUPERIOR...YORK 1149 PM CDT SUN JUN 22 2003 ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 564 HAS BEEN REPLACED BY SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 565... THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80 DURING THE NIGHTTIME HOURS. THE THREAT OF TORNADOS HAVE DIMINISHED...HOWEVER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS REMAIN POSSIBLE THROUGH 5 AM. NEZ040-041-047>049-230545- GREELEY-HOWARD-MERRICK-NANCE-POLK- 1149 PM CDT SUN JUN 22 2003 ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 564 HAS BEEN CANCELED... THE TORNADO WATCH WHICH WAS PREVIOUSLY IN EFFECT HAS BEEN CANCELED. THUNDERSTORMS ARE CONCENTRATED SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80...AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NO LONGER EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. FAY
Local storm report, Jun 23, 12:14 AM CDT, 1 hour 31 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
1214 AM CDT MON JUN 23 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1213 AM MANKATO KS .75 INCH HAIL
06/23/03 JEWELL REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.Local storm report, Jun 23, 1:26 AM CDT, 19 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
126 AM CDT MON JUN 23 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0600 PM GRAND IS NE 1 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 HALL ONE INCH HAIL OVER
FONNER VIEW GOLFCOURSE.
REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER.
0602 PM 1 E GRAND IS NE 1 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 HALL REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER.
0615 PM 3 S GILTNER NE 1 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 HAMILTON REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER.
0628 PM DESHLER NE 2.75 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 THAYER REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER.
0640 PM 1 W DESHLER NE TORNADO
06/22/03 THAYER REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0644 PM 1 W AURORA NE 1.25 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 HAMILTON
0654 PM 8 SW DESHLER NE TORNADO
06/22/03 THAYER REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0700 PM AURORA NE 2.75 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 HAMILTON REPORTED BY EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT.
0705 PM AURORA NE 4.5 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 HAMILTON REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER.
0720 PM DESHLER NE TORNADO
06/22/03 THAYER REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER.
0725 PM BRADSHAW NE 1.75 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 YORK
0729 PM DESHLER NE TORNADO
06/22/03 THAYER TREES DOWN AND
ELECTRICITY OUT. DEBRIS
IN THE AIR.
0800 PM 5 SW BENEDICT NE 1 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 YORK REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0810 PM 7 NW HEBRON NE .75 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 THAYER REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER.
0815 PM SHICKLEY NE .88 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 FILLMORE REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0821 PM 4 N ST PAUL NE .75 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 HOWARD REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER.
0830 PM HEBRON NE 70+ MPH TSTM GUST
06/22/03 THAYER REPORTED BY FIRE AND
RESCUE. 100 YEAR OLD
TREES DOWN IN DESHLER.
0830 PM 3 N BRADSHAW NE TORNADO
06/22/03 YORK REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0845 PM 1 S SHICKLEY NE 60 MPH TSTM GUST
06/22/03 FILLMORE POWER LINES DOWN.
0900 PM SPALDING NE 1 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 GREELEY REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0906 PM STRANG NE FLOOD
06/22/03 FILLMORE DEEP WATER ON HIGHWAY
THROUGH STANG.
0906 PM 7 W FULLERTON NE 1 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 NANCE WALL CLOUD 7 MILES WEST
OF FULLERTON.
0920 PM EDGAR NE 70 MPH TSTM GUST
06/22/03 CLAY TREE LIMBS DOWN.
0930 PM FULLERTON NE 1 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 NANCE REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0935 PM 1 S FULLERTON NE TORNADO
06/22/03 NANCE REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0955 PM 8 SW STOCKTON KS .75 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 ROOKS REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0955 PM AURORA NE 4.5 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 HAMILTON REPORTED BY STORM
SPOTTER. HOLES IN
NEIGHBORS ROOF BIG
ENOUGH TO CRAWL THROUGH.
0955 PM HEBRON NE FLOOD
06/22/03 THAYER REPORTED BY FIRE AND
RESCUE. FLOODING NORTH
AND WEST OF HEBRON ON
HIGHWAY 81 AND 136.
CARS STALLED IN WATER.
1030 PM DESHLER NE FLOOD
06/22/03 THAYER REPORTED BY FIRE AND
RESCUE. ROAD FLOODING
WEST OF DESHLER.
1030 PM DESHLER NE TORNADO
06/22/03 THAYER REPORTED BY FIRE AND
RESCUE. 2 CONFIRMED
INJURIES WITH EARLIER
STORM WEST OF DESHLER.
1030 PM 4 NW LOVEWELL KS .75 INCH HAIL
06/22/03 JEWELL REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
14 DEGREE TEMPERATURE
DROP IN 5 MINUTES.
1030 PM ONG NE 60+ MPH TSTM GUST
06/22/03 CLAY REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
LARGE TREES UPROOTED.
1050 PM EDGAR NE 60+ MPH TSTM GUST
06/22/03 CLAY REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
EIGHT INCH BRANCHES
BROKEN.
1213 AM MANKATO KS .75 INCH HAIL
06/23/03 JEWELL REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.Local storm report, Jun 23, 1:33 AM CDT, 12 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
133 AM CDT MON JUN 23 2003
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0107 AM 13 N AGRA KS TORNADO
06/23/03 PHILLIPS REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0132 AM 2 S FRANKLIN NE .75 INCH HAIL
06/23/03 FRANKLIN REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0133 AM FORMOSO KS 1 INCH HAIL
06/23/03 JEWELL REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.The air that afternoon
The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.
N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), 00:00Z
6.8 hours before the tornado, 195 km from the path. June 23, 2003.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 3917 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -19 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 4256 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1508 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 2 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -14 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 38 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- -0.3
- Supercell composite
- -2.7
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 7.7 K/km
N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), 12:00Z
5.2 hours after it, 195 km from the path. June 23, 2003.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1863 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -67 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 560 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 608 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 47 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 14 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 129 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 337 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 19.9
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.6 K/km
The radar
The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 64 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 06:42 UTC.
Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track
Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2003 tornado in KansasEvery tornado in Kansas since 1950Warnings in force in Kansas nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of June 23, 2003
11 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 23 | 1:07 AM CDT | F0 | Phillips, KS | 0.2 | 30 | |||
| June 23 | 1:50 AM CDT | F0 | Smith, KS | 0.2 | 20 | |||
| June 23 | 4:45 PM CDT | F1 | Sargent, ND | 2.5 | 50 | |||
| June 23 | 5:02 PM CDT | F0 | Sargent, ND | 3.0 | 25 | |||
| June 23 | 5:08 PM CDT | F0 | Sargent, ND | 1.0 | 25 | |||
| June 23 | 5:15 PM CDT | F0 | Sargent, ND | 2.0 | 25 | |||
| June 23 | 7:50 PM CDT | F0 | Grant, SD | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| June 23 | 9:00 PM CDT | F0 | Antelope, NE | 0.0 | 20 | |||
| June 23 | 9:43 PM CDT | F4 | Coleridge tornado, NE | 13.0 | 1,200 | 1 | $3.7 million | |
| June 23 | 10:21 PM CDT | F0 | Frontier, NE | 0.1 | 10 | $10,000 | ||
| June 23 | 10:51 PM CDT | F0 | Woodbury, IA | 0.1 | 50 |
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.