Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 113, NWS Topeka, KS

August 19, 1987Pottawatomie County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 19, 1987, 4:20 PM CDT for Pottawatomie County, Kansas. It was in force for 50 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
Aug 19, 1987, 4:20 PM CDT (21:20 UTC)
Expired
Aug 19, 1987, 5:10 PM CDT
In force
50 min
Issued by
NWS Topeka, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Pottawatomie 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
Aug 19, 5:00 PM CDTHail 1Pottawatomie, 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, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 74 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 1987-08-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 189 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 1987-08-19The 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
189 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-204 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
954 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
135 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 KTOP 192120
SVRTOP
KSC117-131-149-192210-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
420 PM CDT WED AUG 19 1987
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 510 PM CDT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF
 
NORTHEAST KANSAS... SOUTHEASTERN MARSHALL... WESTERN NEMAHA...
   NORTHEASTERN POTTAWATOMIE
 
AT 417 PM CDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED OVER EASTERN
MARSHALL COUNTY MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR.
ONE INCH HAIL AND WINDS ESTIMATED AT 60 MILES AN HOUR WERE REPORTED
AT 415 PM 6 MILES NORTHEAST OF FRANKFORT IN SOUTHEAST MARSHALL
COUNTY.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM...PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD
MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY AND PREPARED FOR STRONG DAMAGING WINDS...
LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND HEAVY RAINS.
 
BILLS

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, Aug 19, 2:34 PM CDT, 1 hour 46 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
235 PM CDT WED AUG 19 1987

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR NORTHEAST AND MOST OF EAST CENTRAL
   KANSAS UNTIL 9 PM CDT...

AT 230 PM CDT...THERE WERE NO THUNDERSTORMS IN ANY PART OF KANSAS.
HOWEVER...VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA
APPROACHING NORTHEAST KANSAS. THE STORMS EXTENDED FROM ABOUT 5 MILES
NORTH OF FALLS CITY NEBRASKA WEST TO NEAR BEATRICE NEBRASKA AND ON
BACK WEST INTO SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA NORTH OF CONCORDIA.

THESE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE SOUTH SOUTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN
HOUR AND WILL BE COMING INTO THE NORHTEAST KANSAS COUNTIES OF
MARSHALL...NEMAHA...BROWNA AND DONIPHAN COUNTIES BY AROUND 3 PM.

HAIL...STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY RAINS HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THESE
STORMS AS THEY MOVED THROUGH EASTERN NEBRASKA LATE THIS MORNING
THROUGH EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. RESIDENTS IN NORTHEAST KANSAS SHOULD
BE ALERT AS THESE STORMS PA(SS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE COVER IF
THREATENING WEATHER IS OBSERVEED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED.

BILLS
Special weather statement, Aug 19, 2:50 PM CDT, 1 hour 30 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONCORDIA KS
250 PM CDT WED AUG 19 1987

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND MOST
OF CENTRAL KANSAS UNTIL 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING..THE WATCH ALSO IS
IN EFFECT FOR ADJACENT ARES OF EASTERN KANSAS AND SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA.

AT 250 PM CDT NO THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN CENTRAL OR NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS.
STRONG TO INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA..SOME 60
MILES NORTH OF BELLEVILLE AND ABOUT 50 MILES NORTH OF WASHINGTON.
THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 TO 35 MILES AN HOUR
AND CAN WILL MOVE INTO NORTHERN WASHINGTON COUNTY OF NORTHCENTRAL
KASNAS BY 330 PM CDT.

HAIL..STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY RAINS HA3VE BEEN REPORTED FROM THESE
STORMS IN NEBRASKA..PERSONS IN NORTHERN WASHINGTON COUNTY SHOULD
BE ALERT FOR THESE THUNDERSTORMS AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SAFE
SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER PPROACHES.
SCHNEIDER
Special weather statement, Aug 19, 3:39 PM CDT, 41 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONCORDIA KS
335 PM CDT WED AUG 19 1987

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND MOST
OF CENTRAL KANSAS UNTIL 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING..THE WATCH ALSO IS
IN EFFECT FOR ADJACENT AREAS OF EASTERN KANSAS AND SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA.

AT 335 PM CDT STRONG TO INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING INTO THE
THE NORTHEAST PART OF WASHINGTON COUNTY OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS.  THE
THUNDERSTORMS WERE 15 MILES NORTHEAST OF WASHINGTON NEAR HOLLENBERG AND
HANOVER.  HAIL..STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND VERY HEAVY RAIN CAN BE EXPECTED
IN NORTHEAST WASHINGTON COUNTY.  THE STORMS ARE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT
35 MILES AN HOUR.

PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THESE S|TORMS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO SAFE
SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER PPROACHES.
SCHNEIDER
Special weather statement, Aug 19, 3:51 PM CDT, 29 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
350 PM CDT WED AUG 19 1987

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR NORHERN ATCHISON COUNTY UNTIL
   4 PM CDT...WARNING FOR SOUTHERN BROWN COUNTY CANCELLED...
...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR NORTHEAST AND MOST OF EAST CENTRAL
   KANSAS UNTIL 9 PM CDT...

AT 340 PM CDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING INTO NORTHERN ATCHISON
COUNTY AND WILL MOVE ACROSS THE CITY OF ATCHISON BY 405 PM CDT.
GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL AND 50 TO 60 MILE AN HOUR WINDS WERE REPORTED
WITH THIS STORM AS IT MOVED ACROSS BROWN COUNTY BETWEEN 3 PM AND 340 PM.
RESIDENTS OF NORTHERN AND EASTERN ATCHISON COUNTY SHOULD MOVE TO A
PLACE OF SAFETY AS THIS STORM PASSES.

ANOTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORM HAD ALSO MOVED INTO NORTHWEST MARSHALL
COUNTY NEAR MARYSVILLE. THIS STORM WAS NOT AS STRONG AS THE ONE
IN ATCHISON COUNTY..BUT WILL LIKELY PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS OF 40 TO 50
MILES AN HOUR AND SOME SMALL HAIL AS WELL AS HEAVY RAINS AS IT MOVES
TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. THIS STORM SHOULD MOVE
ACROSS FRANKFORT AND INTO POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY TO NEAR WESTMORELAND
AND ONAGA BY 430 PM THIS AFTERNOON.

RESIDENTS IN NORTHEAST KANSAS SHOULD BE ALERT TO THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT IN THEIR AREA FOR THE REST OF THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING
AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES OR
A WARNING IS ISSUED.

BILLS
Special weather statement, Aug 19, 4:11 PM CDT, 9 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
412 PM CDT WED AUG 19 1987

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS FOR BROWN AND ATCHISON COUNTIES
   EXPIRED AT 4PM CDT...
...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR NORTHEAST AND MOST OF EAST CENTRAL
   KANSAS UNTIL 9 PM CDT...

AT 400 PM CDT...THE THUNDERSTORM THAT PROMPTED THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WARNING FOR BROWN AND ATCHISON COUNTIES..WAS MOVING INTO MISSOURI TO
THE NORTH NORTHWEST OF KANSAS CITY. THE STORM HAD DECREASED SOME IN
INTENSITY.

ANOTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS IN MARSHALL COUNTY OVER OR NEAR
FRANKFORT. THIS STORM PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS OF 40 TO 45
MILES AN HOUR AS IT MOVED ACROSS MARYSVILLE. THIS STORM WAS MOVING
TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL MOVE ACROSS ONAGA
TO NEAR HOLTON BY 515 PM CDT. HOLTON IS ABOUT 25 MILES NORTH OF
TOPEKA.

THIS STORM WILL LIKELY PRODUCE SOME HAIL AS WELL AS GUSTY WINDS OF
40 TO 50 MILES AN HOUR AND VERY HEAVY RAIN AS IT MOVES SOUTHEAST.

RESIDENTS IN NORTHEAST KANSAS SHOULD BE ALERT TO THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT IN THEIR AREA FOR THE REST OF THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING
AND BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES OR
A WARNING IS ISSUED.

BILLS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 19, 3:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPBrown32 min
Aug 19, 3:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPAtchison42 min
Aug 19, 4:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPMarshall, Nemaha32 min
Aug 19, 4:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPJackson, Pottawatomie41 min
Aug 19, 5:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPAtchison, Jefferson50 min
Aug 19, 5:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPShawnee, Wabaunsee50 min
Aug 19, 5:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPDouglas, Franklin, Osage44 min
Aug 19, 6:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPFranklin, Lyon, Osage, Wabaunsee44 min
Aug 19, 6:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPAnderson46 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 1987Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.