Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1986

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 72, NWS Topeka, KS

May 12, 1986Brown County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 12, 1986, 8:47 PM CDT for Brown County, Kansas. It was in force for 43 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
May 12, 1986, 8:47 PM CDT (01:47 UTC)
Expired
May 12, 1986, 9:30 PM CDT
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Topeka, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Brown County, KS

The radar

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

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 12, 9:10 PM CDTHail 1Brown, KS

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 92 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Topeka, KS at 00:00Z on 1986-05-13Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2058 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Topeka, KS at 00:00Z on 1986-05-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -12 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
2058 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-47 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1781 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
29 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTOP 130147
SVRTOP
KSC013-130230-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
847 PM CDT MON MAY 12 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 930 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTY OF

NORTHEAST KANSAS...BROWN

AT 845PM CDT RADAR SHOWED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ALONG THE KANSAS/
NEBRASKA BORDER JUST NORTHWEST OF HIAWATHA KANSAS. THE STORM WAS
MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.
GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STORM AS IT
MOVED ACROSS NORTHWEST MISSOURI AND SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA EARLIER
THIS EVENING.

PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY.
DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING ARE LIKELY.

AKULOW

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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, May 12, 6:45 PM CDT, 2 hours 2 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONCORDIA KS
645 PM CDT MON MAY 12 1986

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR CLAY AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES
OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND DICKINSON..MCPHERSON AND SALINE COUNTIES OF
CENTRAL KANSAS UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT...

AT 645 PM CDT THERE WERE NO THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTH CENTRAL OR CENTRAL
KANSAS.

THERE WAS A NEWLY DEVELOPED LIGHT SHOWER 25 MILES EAST OF MARYSVILLE
NEAR SENECA IN NORTHEAVST KANSAS.  THE SHOWER SHOULD MOVE EAST NORTHEAST
AT 20 MPH.

PHILLIPS 2345
Special weather statement, May 12, 6:56 PM CDT, 1 hour 51 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
655 PM CDT MON MAY 12 1986

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 152 CONTINUES FOR MUCH OF NORTHEAST
AND EASTCENTRAL KANSAS UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT.

AT 650PM...A LIGHT SHOWER HAD FORMED NEAR SENECA KANSAS WITH VERY
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS NOTED IN EXTREME NORTHWEST MISSOURI AND SOUTHWEST
IOWA. THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SOUTHWARD INTO
KANSAS LATER TONIGHT AS THE ATMOSPHERE R^EMAINS VERY UNSTABLE AND
FAVORABLE FOR THUNDERSTORM GROWTH.

IN THE MEANTIME RESIDENTS SHOULD BE ALERT TO LOCAL WEATHER CONDITIONS.

AKULOW
Special weather statement, May 12, 7:45 PM CDT, 1 hour 2 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONCORDIA KS
745 PM CDT MON MAY 12 1986

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR CLAY AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES
OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND DICKINSON..MCPHERSON AND SALINE COUNTIES OF
CENTRAL KANSAS UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT...

AT 745 PM CDT THERE WERE NO THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTH CENTRAL OR CENTRAL
KANSAS.

PHILLIPS 0045
Special weather statement, May 12, 7:52 PM CDT, 55 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
751 PM CDT MON MAY 12 1986

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 152 CONTINUES FOR MUCH OF NORTHEAST
AND EASTCENTRAL KANSAS UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT.

AT 750PM...NO THUNDERSTORMS HAD YET FORMED OR MOVED INTO NORTHEAST OR
EASTCENTRAL KANSAS...HOWEVER VERY INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO
MOVE SOUTHWARD ACROSS NORTHWEST MISSOURI AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA.
THESE STORMS COULD PUSH INTO NORTHEAST KANSAS LATER THIS EVENING AS
WEATHER CONDITIONS REMAIN GOOD FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.

STAY TUNED TO LOCAL RADIO OR TV FOR LATER STATEMENTS.

AKULOW
Special weather statement, May 12, 8:18 PM CDT, 29 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
818 PM CDT MON MAY 12 1986

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 152 CONTINUES FOR MUCH OF NORTHEAST
AND EASTCENTRAL KANSAS UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT.

NO THUNDERSTORMS HAD YET DEVELOPED OR MOVED INTO NORTHEAST OR EAST
CENTRAL KANSAS AT 815PM.  A LARGE AND POTENT MASS OF STORMS REACHED
ACROSS THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF MISSOURI TO SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA NEAR
FALLS CITY.

THE STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT ABOUT 30 MILES AN HOUR AND SHOULD
CROSS DONIPHAN AND THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF BROWN COUNTIES BETWEEN
830 AND 915 THIS EVENING.  RESIDENTS IN THESE TWO EXTREME NORTHEAST
KANSAS COUNTIES SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...HEAVY
DOWNPOURS AND POSSIBLY SOME HAIL.

SCHURR
Special weather statement, May 12, 8:41 PM CDT, 6 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONCORDIA KS
840 PM CDT MON MAY 12 1986

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR CLAY AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES
OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND DICKINSON..MCPHERSON AND SALINE COUNTIES OF
CENTRAL KANSAS UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT...

AT 840 PM CDT THERE WERE NO THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTH CENTRAL OR CENTRAL
KANSAS.

THERE WAS A MASSIVE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN EXTREME NORTHWEST MISSOURI
NORTH OF ST. JOSEPH AND WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

PHILLIPS 0141

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 12, 9:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPAtchison53 min
May 12, 10:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPJackson, Jefferson56 min
May 12, 10:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPShawnee58 min
May 12, 10:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPDouglas, Jefferson46 min
May 12, 11:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPDouglas, Osage, Shawnee70 min
May 13, 12:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPFranklin60 min
May 13, 12:31 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPDouglas, Osage29 min
May 13, 1:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPFranklin45 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 1986Every severe thunderstorm warning 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.