Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 11, NWS Wichita, KS

April 9, 1990Harvey County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this tornado warning at Apr 9, 1990, 6:13 PM CDT for Harvey County, Kansas. It was in force for 32 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 9, 1990, 6:13 PM CDT (23:13 UTC)
Expired
Apr 9, 1990, 6:45 PM CDT
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Wichita, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Harvey County, KS

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 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 188 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 1990-04-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 1990-04-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 362 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1423 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
362 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
395 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KICT 092313
TORICT
KSC079-092345-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
613 PM CDT MON APR 9 1990

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 645 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY

   IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL PART OF KANSAS
      HARVEY

AT 608 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 15 MILES EAST OF HUTHCINSON
IN EXTREME SOUTHWEST HARVEY COUNTY...OR JUST WEST OF PATTERSON.

MOVEMENT WAS EAST NORTHEAST AT 15 MILES AN HOUR.

 THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY. DON/T HESITATE.
 A FEW SECONDS MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE.

 IF YOU ARE IN PATTERSON...HALSTEAD...OR SEDGWICK...YOU ARE IN THE
 PATH OF THIS TORNADO.

BURKE

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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, Apr 9, 4:16 PM CDT, 1 hour 57 minutes before
KSZ009-011-012-017-092200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
414 PM CDT MON APR 9 1990

...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 112 IS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF CENTRAL AND
EAST KANSAS AND NORTH OKLAHOMA...

AT 413 PM CDT A FEW SHOWERS HAD DEVELOPED RAPIDLY IN CENTRAL KANSAS.
THEY WERE IN A LINE FOM 15 MILES WEST OF HUTCHINSON TO THE OKLAHOMA
STATE LINE 80 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WICHITA.

RYAN
Special weather statement, Apr 9, 5:02 PM CDT, 1 hour 11 minutes before
KSZ009-011-012-017-092200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
603 PM CDT MON APR 9 1990

...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 112 IS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF CENTRAL AND
EAST KANSAS AND NORTH OKLAHOMA...

AT 600 PM CDT A THUNDERSTORM WAS CENTERED ABOUT 10 MILES NORTHWEST
OF HUTCHINSON...ANOTHER WAS 35 MILES WEST OF WICHITA...OR JUST SOUTH
OF KINGMAN.  OTHER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN NORTH OKLAHOMA AND
WEST KANCSAS.

NO SEVERE WEATHER WAS INDICATED IN CENTRAL OR EAST KANSAS.

RYAN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 9, 5:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTReno43 min
Apr 9, 6:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTHarvey56 min
Apr 9, 6:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTHarvey57 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.