Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Wichita, KS

April 7, 1986Chase County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this tornado warning at Apr 7, 1986, 7:34 PM CST for Chase County, Kansas. It was in force for 26 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Apr 7, 1986, 7:34 PM CST (01:34 UTC)
Expired: Apr 7, 1986, 8:00 PM CST
In force: 26 min
Issued by: NWS Wichita, KS
Area: Whole counties

County Chase County, KS

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 1.6 hours before the alert went out and 114 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1567 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1107 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 69 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -57 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 152 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.5
Supercell composite: 2.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KICT 080134
TORICT
KSC017-080200-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
734 PM CST MON APR 7 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 800 PM CST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF


EAST CENTRAL KANSAS...CHASE

AT 730 PM A TORNADO WAS REPORTED ALONG HIGHWAY 150 IN EXTREME
EASTERN MARION COUNTY..NORTHWEST OF MATFIELD GREEN...MOVING
EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.  DON/T HESITATE.
A FEW SECONDS MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE.

SWAIN

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 7, 4:10 PM CST, 3 hours 24 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
405 PM CST MON APR 7 1986

AT 400 PM CST A SCATTERED LINE OF HEAVY TO INTENSE THUNDERSTORM HAD
DEVELOPED FROM SOUTHEAST KANSAS NEAR FREDONIA TO COTTONWOOD FALLS
TO NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS NEAR MINNEAPOLIS.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAINS AND STRONG GUSTY
WINDS...ALONG WITH HAIL.

FH

Special weather statement, Apr 7, 4:45 PM CST, 2 hours 49 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
440 PM CST MON APR 7 1986

..A TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR A LARGE PART OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN
KANSAS AND PARTS OF SOUTHWEST MISSOURI UNTIL 1100 PM..

AT 430 PM CST A SCATTERED LINE OF HEAVY TO INTENSE THUNDERSTORM
EXTENDED FROM SOUTHEAST KANSAS 10 MILES WEST OF CHANUTE NEAR BUFFALO
TO COTTONWOOD FALLS TO 25 MILES SOUTH OF CONCORDIA NEAR MINNEAPOLIS.

THESE THUNDERSTORM1S MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAINS AND STRONG GUSTY
WINDS...ALONG WITH HAIL.

MOVEMENT WAS NORTH AT 15 MILES AN HOUR.

HEAVY THUNDERSTORM WERE IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA 10 TO 30 MILES SOUTH
OF COFFEYVILLE.  MOVEMENT WAS NORTH AT 15 MILES AN HOUR.

FH

Local storm report, Apr 7, 6:22 PM CST, 1 hour 12 minutes before

LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
XXX PM CST MON APR 7 1986

DATE     TIME CST  EVENT

APR 7    517 PM    NICKEL SIZE HAIL VERY HEAVY RAIN IN CHANUTE.

         523 PM    MADISON IN GREENWOOD COUNTY. PEA TO NICKEL SIZE
                   HAIL AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.

         524 PM    BASEBALL SIZE HAIL AT CHANUTE IN NEOSHO COUNTY.

         526 PM    BASEBALL SIZE HAIL AT MADISON IN NORTHERN GREENWOOD
                   COUNTY.

         540 PM    PEA SIZE HAIL AT IOLA IN ALLEN COUNTY.

         555 PM    TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN 5 MILES EAST OF VIRGIL KANSAS
                   IN EASTERN GREENWOOD COUNTY.
WILSON

Special weather statement, Apr 7, 6:58 PM CST, 36 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
650 PM CST MON APR 7 1986

..A TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR A LARGE PART OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN
KANSAS AND PARTS OF SOUTHWEST MISSOURI UNTIL 1100 PM..

AT 630 PM CST AAREA OF SEVERE TO INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WAS IN EASTERN
KANSAS MOVING INTO MISSOURI.  THE AREA WAS EAST OF A LINE FROM ERIE
IN CENTRAL KANSAS TO COTTONWOOD FALLS TO YATES CENTER TOOSWEGO.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAINS AND STRONG GUSTY
WINDS...ALONG WITH HAIL.  AND MAY BE PRODUCING TORNADOES.

MOVEMENT WAS SOUTHEAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR.

FH

The office that day

Everything else NWS Wichita, KS issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 7, 6:02 PM CST	Tornado Warning	ICT	Woodson	28 min
Apr 7, 6:13 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Crawford	47 min
Apr 7, 6:27 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Crawford	33 min
Apr 7, 6:33 PM CST	Tornado Warning	ICT	Neosho, Wilson, Woodson	27 min
Apr 7, 6:44 PM CST	Tornado Warning	ICT	Cherokee, Crawford	31 min
Apr 7, 6:58 PM CST	Tornado Warning	ICT	Allen, Neosho	22 min
Apr 7, 7:05 PM CST	Tornado Warning	ICT	Chase, Marion	25 min
Apr 7, 7:24 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Cherokee, Crawford, Labette	56 min
Apr 7, 7:31 PM CST	Tornado Warning	ICT	Cherokee, Crawford, Labette	29 min
Apr 7, 8:21 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Butler, Chase, Greenwood	54 min
Apr 7, 9:41 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Neosho, Wilson	49 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 1986 Every tornado warning in 1986 Tornadoes in 1986

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.