Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Kansas City, MO

May 18, 1987Bates County, Cass County, Missouri

NWS Kansas City, MO issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1987, 8:57 PM CDT for Bates County, Cass County, Missouri. It was in force for 33 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 18, 1987, 8:57 PM CDT (01:57 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 1987, 9:30 PM CDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Kansas City, MO
Area
Whole counties

Counties Bates County, MO, Cass County, MO

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, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 128 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 1987-05-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 4455 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 1987-05-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 16 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
4455 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1095 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
64 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.8
Supercell composite
4.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMCI 190157
TORMCI
MOC013-037-190230-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY INTL AIRPORT
857 PM CDT MON MAY 18 1987
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  930 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI
          ...NORTHERN BATES...SOUTHERN CASS
 
AT 845PM CDT A TORNADO WAS REPORTED ON THE GROUND NEAR MAIN CITY...
IN EXTREME SOUTHWEST CASS COUNTY MISSOURI.  MAIN CITY IS 50 MILES
SOUTH OF KANSAS CITY.  THE TORNADO WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEME'NT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Kansas City, MO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 7:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXJackson46 min
May 18, 7:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXCass49 min
May 18, 7:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXJackson42 min
May 18, 8:28 PM CDTTornado WarningEAXBates, Cass32 min
May 18, 10:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXChariton, Macon, Randolph61 min
May 19, 4:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXMaries, Pulaski33 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Missouri, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.