Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 9, NWS North Platte, NE

May 18, 1990Frontier County, Red Willow County, Nebraska

NWS North Platte, NE issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1990, 7:38 PM CDT for Frontier County, Red Willow County, Nebraska. It was in force for 37 min. 3 reports 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 18, 1990, 7:38 PM CDT (00:38 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 1990, 8:15 PM CDT
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS North Platte, NE
Area
Whole counties

Counties Frontier County, NE, Red Willow County, NE

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 18, 7:45 PM CDTTornado F1Red Willow, NE
May 18, 8:08 PM CDTTornado F1Red Willow, NE
May 18, 8:08 PM CDTHail 2.5Red Willow, NE

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

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 88 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 1990-05-19Temperature 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 km-30°-20°-10°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 1990-05-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 182 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
0 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
182 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
360 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
5.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLBF 190039
TORLBF
NEC063-145-190115-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
738 PM CDT FRI MAY 18 1990
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTH PLATTE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  815 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA
          ...FRONTIER...SOUTHERN RED-WILLOW
 
AT 730 PM CDT...REPORTS OF FUNNEL CLOUDS AND POSSIBLE TORNADOES
CONTINUED OVER MUCH OF RED WILLOW COUNTY OF NEBRASKA. THESE
SIGHTINGS HAD OCCURRED NEAR THE CITY OF MCCOOK...OR 53 MILES SOUTH
OF NORTH PLATTE NEBRASKA.
 
POSSIBLE TORNADO SIGHTINGS WERE NOTED IN THE COMMUNITES OF
INDIANOLA AND CAMBRIDGE NEBRASKA.
 
THESE TORNADOES WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.  THIS TORNADIC
SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO SOUTHERN FRONTIER COUNTY BY 750 PM CDT.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  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 REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
SJC

The office that day

Everything else NWS North Platte, NE issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 7:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFCedar, Knox55 min
May 18, 7:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFCherry68 min
May 18, 7:12 PM CDTTornado WarningLBFLincoln33 min
May 18, 7:44 PM CDTTornado WarningLBFLincoln31 min
May 18, 7:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFArthur, Grant, Hooker64 min
May 18, 8:59 PM CDTTornado WarningLBFRed Willow31 min
May 18, 9:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFThomas55 min
May 18, 9:29 PM CDTTornado WarningLBFRed Willow31 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Nebraska, 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.