Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 1991

Tornado Warning 3, NWS North Platte, NE

May 2, 1991Hayes County, Nebraska

NWS North Platte, NE issued this tornado warning at May 2, 1991, 7:28 PM CDT for Hayes County, Nebraska. It was in force for 32 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 2, 1991, 7:28 PM CDT (00:28 UTC)
Expired
May 2, 1991, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS North Platte, NE
Area
Whole counties

County Hayes County, NE

The nearest sounding before it

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 78 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 1991-05-03Temperature 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°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 1991-05-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 304 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
1162 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
64 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
304 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
479 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLBF 030028
TORLBF
NEC085-030100-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
728 PM CDT THU MAY 2 1991

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 800 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY

   IN THE SOUTHWEST PART OF NEBRASKA
      HAYES

AT 720 PM CDT A HAYES SPOTTER REPORTED A TORNADO 3 MILES NORTH
OF HAYES CENTER WHICH IS ABOUT 37 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF NORTH
PLATTE.  THIS TORNADO IS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES
AN HOUR.

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.

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.

 A TORNADO WATCH IS CURRE)NTLY IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA.

 MONSON 0027Z

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, May 2, 4:44 PM CDT, 2 hours 44 minutes before
NEZ006-022230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
440 PM CDT THU MAY 2 1991

AT 440 PM CDT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WERE BEGINNING TO BREAK OUT
ACROSS SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA.  ONE STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED JUST
SOUTH OF ELSIE IN PERKINS COUNTY OR ABOUT 35 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF
NORTH PLATTE.  THIS THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPED RAPIDLY OVER THE PAST 30
MINUTES AND IT DOES APPEAR THAT IT MAY PRODUCE SMALL HAIL.

OTHER THUNDERSTORMS WERE ENTERING SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA FROM NORTHEAST
COLORADO ABOUT 25 MILES NORTHWEST OF BENKELMAN OR ABOUT 45 MILES NORTH
NORTHWEST OF GOODLAND KANSAS.  THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
INCREASE IN INTENSITY AS THEY CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTH;EAST AT 25 MILES
AN HOUR.

RESIDENTS OF SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA SHOULD BE ALERT FOR POSSIBLE SEVERE
WEATHER DEVELOPING LATER THIS EVENING AS THESE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE
TO INTENSIFY.

MONSON
Special weather statement, May 2, 5:30 PM CDT, 1 hour 58 minutes before
NEZ006-022330-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
530 PM CDT THU MAY 2 1991

...TORNADO WATCH FOR PARTS OF SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA UNTIL 8 PM MDT THIS
EVENING...

AT 525 PM CDT SCATTERED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE CONTINUING TO
DEVELOP AND INTENSIFY ACROSS SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA.

THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED ACROSS KEITH AND PERKINS
COUNTY OF SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA.  ONE STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS ABOUT 15
MILES SOUTH OF PAXTON OR ABOUT 35 MILES SOUTHWEST OF NORTH
PLATTE...ANOTHER JUST EAST OF OGALLALA OR ABOUT 45 MILES WEST OF NORTH
PLATTE..ANOTHER ABOUT 15 MILES SOUTHWEST OF OGALLALA OR ABOUT 55 MILES
WEST SOUTHWEST OF NORTH PLATTE AND FINALLY ONE STRONG THUNDERSTORM
ABOUT 10 MILES WEST OF OGALLALA OR ABOUT 55 MILES WEST OF NORTH
PLATTE.  ALL OF THESE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DO APPEAR THAT THEY MAY
PRODUCE AT LEAST SMALL HAIL ALONG WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN.
THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST ATl 25 MILES AN HOUR.

OTHER THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY TO DEVELOP AND INTENSIFY AS THE EVENING
PROGRESSES.  RESIDENTS OF SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR
SEVERE WEATHER THIS EVENING.

MONSON

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 2, 7:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFRed Willow58 min
May 2, 7:15 PM CDTTornado WarningLBFPerkins
May 2, 7:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFKeith28 min
May 2, 7:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFLincoln, Perkins57 min
May 2, 9:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFLincoln25 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Nebraska, 1991Every tornado warning in 1991Tornadoes in 1991

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.