Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Dodge City, KS

May 11, 1990Gray County, Kansas

NWS Dodge City, KS issued this tornado warning at May 11, 1990, 9:02 PM CDT for Gray County, Kansas. It was in force for 43 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 11, 1990, 9:02 PM CDT (02:02 UTC)
Expired
May 11, 1990, 9:45 PM CDT
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Dodge City, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Gray 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 11, 9:28 PM CDTHail 1Gray, 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 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 47 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 00:00Z on 1990-05-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 932 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 00:00Z on 1990-05-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 267 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
932 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-218 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1345 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
267 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
358 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDDC 120204
TORDDC
KSC069-120245-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
902 PM CDT FRI MAY 11 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DODGE CITY HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  945 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTHWEST KANSAS
          ...NORTH CENTRAL GRAY
 
THE TORNADO OBSERVED JUST WEST OF THE AIRPORT AT GARDEN CITY WILL MOVE
INTO NORTHERN GRAY COUNTY 20 MILES EAST OF GARDEN CITY WITIN THE NEXT
30 MINUTES.
 
 
THIS IS A VERY 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 FOR A
STURDIER BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 11, 8:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCHamilton, Kearny41 min
May 11, 8:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCFinney, Hodgeman60 min
May 11, 8:49 PM CDTTornado WarningDDCFinney41 min
May 11, 8:58 PM CDTTornado WarningDDCFinney32 min
May 11, 9:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCFord, Gray, Hodgeman44 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes in 1990

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.