Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Topeka, KS

May 16, 1986Clay County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this tornado warning at May 16, 1986, 3:40 PM CDT for Clay County, Kansas. It was in force for 50 min. 2 reports 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 16, 1986, 3:40 PM CDT (20:40 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 1986, 4:30 PM CDT
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Topeka, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Clay 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 16, 4:00 PM CDTTornado F1Clay, KS
May 16, 4:30 PM CDTHail 1.75Clay, 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 12:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 137 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 12:00Z on 1986-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1823 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 12:00Z on 1986-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 165 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
1823 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-69 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
706 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
165 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
180 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.2
Supercell composite
6.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCNK 162040
TORCNK
KSC027-162130-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONCORDIA KS
340 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 430 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF


NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS...CLAY

AT 340 PM CDT RADAR SHOWED A TORNADO 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
CLAY CENTER MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

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

ADAMS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 12:33 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPOsborne57 min
May 16, 5:07 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPSmith53 min
May 16, 5:24 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPPottawatomie51 min
May 16, 6:27 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPMarshall, Pottawatomie, Riley58 min
May 16, 6:27 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPNemaha58 min
May 16, 6:40 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTOPMarshall, Nemaha, Pottawatomie, Riley4 hr
May 16, 6:40 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningTOPBrown4 hr
May 16, 7:18 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPAtchison57 min
May 16, 8:19 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPWashington61 min
May 16, 8:48 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPClay32 min
May 16, 9:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPRiley30 min
May 16, 2:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPClay, Cloud57 min
May 16, 3:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPCloud, Ottawa53 min
May 16, 4:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPMarshall, Riley45 min
May 16, 4:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPGeary45 min
May 16, 4:08 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPRiley37 min
May 16, 4:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPWashington55 min
May 16, 4:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPEllsworth, Saline55 min
May 16, 4:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPClay57 min
May 16, 4:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPMarshall, Pottawatomie, Riley50 min
May 16, 4:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPGeary50 min
May 16, 4:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPMcPherson61 min
May 16, 5:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPRice67 min
May 16, 5:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPDickinson, Saline60 min
May 16, 5:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPRiley41 min
May 16, 6:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPMcPherson42 min
May 16, 6:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPPottawatomie52 min
May 16, 6:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPJackson42 min

Nearby

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