Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 1, NWS North Platte, NE

May 18, 1988Lincoln County, Nebraska

NWS North Platte, NE issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1988, 7:38 PM CDT for Lincoln County, Nebraska. It was in force for 52 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 18, 1988, 7:38 PM CDT (00:38 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 1988, 8:30 PM CDT
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS North Platte, NE
Area
Whole counties

County Lincoln County, NE

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

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 15 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 00:00Z on 1988-05-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 474 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 00:00Z on 1988-05-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 10 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
474 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-72 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1804 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
10 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
163 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLBF 190038
TORLBF
NEC111-190115-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
738 PM CDT WED MAY 18 1988

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 815 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY

   IN THE SOUTHWEST PART OF NEBRASKA
      WESTERN LINCOLN

AT 730 PM CDT  NORTH PLATTE POLICE REPORTED SEVERAL FUNNEL CLOUDS
10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HERSHEY.  MOVING NORTH AT 30 MPH.

THIS WARNING INCLUDES THE TOWN OF HERSHEY.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE IS IN
A BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...FIND SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

REPORTS OF TORNADOS OR TORNADO DAMAGE SHOULD BE GIVEN TO A LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH
OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF AVAILABLE.
OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES...TAKE
COVER IN A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...FIND SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...TAKE SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH...
OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

IF YOU LIVE IN A HOME OR APARTMENT...FIND SHELTER IN THE INNERMOST
PORTION OF THE BUILDING ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  GET TO A BASEMENT IF
ONE IS AVAILABLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FLYING
DEBRIS WITH CUSHIONS...BLANK.ETS...OR PILLOWS.

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Nebraska, 1988Every tornado warning in 1988Tornadoes in 1988

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.