Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1992

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Topeka, KS

May 11, 1992Ellsworth County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this tornado warning at May 11, 1992, 2:59 PM CDT for Ellsworth County, Kansas. It was in force for 31 min. 2 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 11, 1992, 2:59 PM CDT (19:59 UTC)
Expired: May 11, 1992, 3:30 PM CDT
In force: 31 min
Issued by: NWS Topeka, KS
Area: Whole counties

County Ellsworth County, KS

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 11, 3:00 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Ellsworth, KS
May 11, 3:15 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Ellsworth, 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 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 180 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 25 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -128 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1446 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 5 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -43 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -35 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 KCNK 112000
TORCNK
KSC053-112030-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONCORDIA KS
259 PM CDT MON MAY 11 1992
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CONCORDIA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  330 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN CENTRAL KANSAS
 
   ...ELLSWORTH COUNTY
 
AT 258 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 40 SOUTHWEST OF
SALINA BETWEEN HOLLYROOD AND ELLSWORTH MOVING TO THE EAST AT 25 MPH.
THIS STORM WILL BE KANAPOLIS LAKE BY 330 PM CDT. LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS
REPORTED POSSIBLE TORNADO WITH THIS STORM.
 
 
THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS STORM.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE IN THE
PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND I"F 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.
PACKETT

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 11, 10:43 AM CDT, 4 hours 16 minutes before

KSZ013>016-DDHHMM-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTHEAST KANSAS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1043 AM CDT MON MAY 11 1992

THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTHEAST KANSAS:

ANDERSON     DOUGLAS      JEFFERSON     NEMAHA          SHAWNEE
ATCHISON     FRANKLIN     LYON          OSAGE           WABAUNSEE
BROWN        GEARY        MARSHALL      POTTAWATOMIE
COFFEY       JACKSON      MORRIS        RILEY

SYNOPSIS: A SURFACE TROUGH WILL MOVE INTO NORTHEAST KANSAS LATE THIS
AFTERNOON. THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY IN THE WARM UNSTABLE AIR HEAD OF
THE TROUGH.

SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE SEVERE
WEATHER...AND SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER THIS AFTERNOON
OR EVENING.
RWC

Special weather statement, May 11, 11:22 AM CDT, 3 hours 37 minutes before

KSZ007-008-010-011-112300-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR CENTRAL AND NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONCORDIA KS
1121 AM CDT MON MAY 11 1992

THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN CENTRAL KANSAS

BARTON       RICE       MCPHERSON     RUSSELL
ELLSWORTH    SALINE     DICKINSON     LINCOLN

AND IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS

SMITH        JEWELL     REPUBLIC      WASHINGTON
OSBORNE      MITCHELL   CLOUD         CLAY
OTTAWA

SYNOPSIS: AN UNSTABLE AIRMASS IN CONJUNCTION WITH A SLOW MOVING TROUGH
OF LOW PRESSURE WILL LIKELY PRODUCE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS
MOST OF CENTRAL AND NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS.  THE THREAT OF SEVERE STORMS
WILL BE MAINLY TO THE EAST OF HIGHWAY 81.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

PACKETT

Special weather statement, May 11, 1:04 PM CDT, 1 hour 55 minutes before

KSZALL-111900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
103 PM CDT MON MAY 11 1992

...THERE IS A CHANCE FOR SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS PARTS OF KANSAS THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS PARTS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH
CENTRAL KANSAS THIS AFTERNOON AND THEN MOVE NORTHEAST INTO THE EVENING
HOURS.  THUNDERSTORMS WERE STARTING TO DEVELOP ALONG THE OKLAHOMA KANSAS
BORDER NEARING 1 PM.

SEVERAL OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL REACH SEVERE LIMITS WITH THE
POSSIBILITY FOR DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL.  A TORNADO WATCH IS POSTED
FOR THIS AREA UNTIL 8 PM.

BETWEEN 1 AND 4 PM...THE MOST LIKELY AREA FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT
WILL BE IN THE AREA BOUNDED BY HIGHWAY 281 ON THE WEST...INTERSTATE 70
ON THE NORTH...AND HIGHWAY 135 TO THE EAST.

IF YOU ARE IN THIS AREA...BE SURE TO KEEP INFORMED ON THE LATEST WEATHER
DEVELOPMENTS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS AND LISTEN FOR POSSIBLE
WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

FELDT

Special weather statement, May 11, 1:13 PM CDT, 1 hour 46 minutes before

KSZ007-008-010-011-111915-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONCORDIA KS
113 PM CDT MON MAY 11 1992

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM FOR BARTON...ELLSWORTH...RICE AND
MCPHERSON COUNTIES...

AT 110 PM RADAR INDICATED TWO RAPIDLY INTENSIFYING THUNDERSTORMS.  ONE
WAS LOCATED 20 MILES NORTHWEST OG GREAT BEND NEAR TIMPKEN AND THE OTHER
WAS LOCATED 20 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF GREAT BEND NEAR GALATIA.

THESE STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING BRIEF HEAVY RAINS...DEADLY
LIGHTNING AND HAIL AS THEY MOVE TOWARD THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

PACKETT

Special weather statement, May 11, 2:01 PM CDT, 58 minutes before

KSZ007-008-010-011-111915-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONCORDIA KS
200 PM CDT MON MAY 11 1992

...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING THAT WAS IN EFFECT FOR SALINE COUNTY
HAS BEEN CANCELLED THE STORM HAS WEAKENED...

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM FOR BARTON...ELLSWORTH...RICE AND
MCPHERSON COUNTIES...

AT 2PM RADAR INDICATED THE THE STORM THAT WAS NEAR BROOKVILLE HAD
QUICKLY DISSIPATED.

JF

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 10, 8:46 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TOP	Rice	29 min
May 10, 9:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Mitchell	47 min
May 11, 1:36 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Saline	69 min
May 11, 1:41 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TOP	Russell	34 min
May 11, 2:11 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TOP	Russell	34 min
May 11, 2:51 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TOP	Russell	13 min
May 11, 3:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Lincoln	37 min
May 11, 3:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Ellsworth	39 min
May 11, 3:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Clay	40 min
May 11, 4:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	McPherson	56 min
May 11, 4:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Ottawa	39 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 1992 Every tornado warning in 1992 Tornadoes in 1992

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.