Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Dodge City, KS

May 3, 1987Finney County, Kansas

NWS Dodge City, KS issued this tornado warning at May 3, 1987, 5:52 PM CDT for Finney County, Kansas. It was in force for 58 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 3, 1987, 5:52 PM CDT (22:52 UTC)
Expired
May 3, 1987, 6:50 PM CDT
In force
58 min
Issued by
NWS Dodge City, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Finney 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 3, 6:07 PM CDTTornado F0Finney, 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

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 80 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, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 1987-05-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 18 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, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 1987-05-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 199 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
18 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-366 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1199 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
56 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
199 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
230 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDDC 032253
TORDDC
KSC055-032350-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
552 PM CDT SUN MAY 3 1987
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 650 PM CDT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF
 
SOUTHWEST KANSAS... WESTERN FINNEY
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER WESTERN FINNEY COUNTY INCLUDING THE GARDEN
CITY ARE PRODUCING TORNADIC ACTIVITY AS THEY MOVE NORTH ACROSS THE
AREA.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.  DON'T HESITATE.
A FEW SECONDS MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE.
 
JR

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 3, 4:10 PM CDTTornado WarningDDCHaskell50 min
May 3, 4:29 PM CDTTornado WarningDDCGrant31 min
May 3, 4:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCGrant63 min
May 3, 5:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCStanton31 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 1987Every tornado warning in 1987Tornadoes in 1987

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.