Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1993

Tornado Warning 61, NWS Topeka, KS

September 21, 1993Pottawatomie County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this tornado warning at Sep 21, 1993, 12:33 PM CDT for Pottawatomie County, Kansas. It was in force for 42 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
Sep 21, 1993, 12:33 PM CDT (17:33 UTC)
Expired
Sep 21, 1993, 1:15 PM CDT
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS Topeka, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Pottawatomie County, KS

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Sep 21, 12:45 PM CDTTornado F0Westmoreland, KSA small weak tornado hit briefly in an open field.

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

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 5.6 hours before the alert went out and 74 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 1993-09-21Temperature 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, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 1993-09-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 61 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1292 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
61 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
145 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 KTOP 211734
TORTOP
KSC149-211815-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1233 PM CDT TUE SEP 21 1993
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  115 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTHEAST KANSAS
 
   ...POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY
 
AT 1232 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLAR RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE
TORNADO 15 MILES NORTHEAST OF MANHATTAN NEAR WESTMORELAND. THIS STORM
IS MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST NEAR 25 MILES AN HOUR. WESTMORELAND
FOSTORIA AND BELVUE ARE IN THE PATH OF 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 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.
 
 
 
&

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, Sep 21, 8:33 AM CDT, 4 hours before
KSZ007-008-010-011-211530-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONCORDIA KS
930 AM CDT TUE SEP 21 1993

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER NORTHCENTRAL KANSAS...

AT 930 AM CDT RADAR INDICATED NEWELY DEVELOPED THUNDERSTORMS IN A 20 MILE
WIDE AREA FROM 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF CONCORDIA NEAR COURTLAND SOUTHWARD
TO 35 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CONCORDIA NEAR BARNARD.  MOVEMENT IS NORTHEAST
30 MPH.  THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE 12 MILES NORTHWEST OF CONCORDIA NEAR
SCANDIA AND 20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CONCORDIA NEAR GLASCO.

NOLES
Special weather statement, Sep 21, 8:48 AM CDT, 3 hours 45 minutes before
KSZ007-008-010-011-211545-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONCORDIA KS
947 AM CDT TUE SEP 21 1993

...THUNDERSTORMS AROUND LOVEWELL LAKE...

A THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF DEADLY LIGH
Special weather statement, Sep 21, 9:30 AM CDT, 3 hours 3 minutes before
KSZ007-008-010-011-211530-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONCORDIA KS
930 AM CDT TUE SEP 21 1993

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER NORTHCENTRAL KANSAS...

AT 930 AM CDT RADAR INDICATED NEWELY DEVELOPED THUNDERSTORMS IN A 20 MILWIDE AREA FROM 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF CONCORDIA NEAR COURTLAND SOUTHWARD
TO 35 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CONCORDIA NEAR BARNARD.  MOVEMENT IS NORTHEAST
30 MPH.  THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE 12 MILES NORTHWEST OF CONCORDIA NEAR
SCANDIA AND 20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CONCORDIA NEAR GLASCO.

NOLES
Special weather statement, Sep 21, 9:47 AM CDT, 2 hours 46 minutes before
KSZ007-008-010-011-211545-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CONCORDIA KS
947 AM CDT TUE SEP 21 1993

...THUNDERSTORMS AROUND LOVEWELL LAKE...

A THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF DEADLY LIGHTNING AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WAS
LOCATED AROUND THE LOVEWELL LAKE AREA.  PERSONS NEAR OR AROUND LOVEWELL
LAKE SHOULD MOVE TO A PLACE OF SHELTER AND GET AWAY FROM THE WATER.
MOVEMENT OF THIS STORM IS NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH AND SHOULD MOVE ACROSS
THE JEWELL COUNTY LINE INTO NEBRAKSA BY 955 AM CDT.

NOLES
Special weather statement, Sep 21, 10:46 AM CDT, 1 hour 47 minutes before
KSZ004>008-010-212300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1046 AM CDT TUE SEP 21 1993

...A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON FOR AREA LAKES IN WESTERN
AND NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS...

A STRONG SOUTH WIND OF 20 TO 30 MILES AN HOUR OVER WESTERN AND NORTH
CENTRAL KANSAS THIS AFTERNOON WILL CAUSE ROUGH AND CHOPPY WATER
ON AREA LAKES.  ANYONE VENTURING ONTO AREA LAKES SHOULD USE CAUTION
AND STAY IN AREAS PROTECTED FROM THE HIGH WIND.

WALAWENDER
Special weather statement, Sep 21, 11:23 AM CDT, 1 hour 10 minutes before
KSZ013>016-211730-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1124 AM CDT TUE SEP 21 1993

...A STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING INTO NORTHEAST KANSAS...

AT 1120 AM...RADAR SHOWED A THUNDERSTORM WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN SOUTHWEST
OF MARYSVILLE...NEAR THE WASHINGTON-MARSHALL COUNTY LINE.

THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

THIS STORM WILL MOVE THROUGH WATERVILLE AND BLUE RAPIDS BETWEEN 1140 AND
1155 AM.

VERY HEAVY RAIN...MARBLE SIZED HAIL AND WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MILES AN
HOUR CAN BE EXPECTED TO ACCOMPANY THIS STORM.

WALAWENDER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 21, 10:12 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPCloud33 min
Sep 21, 10:40 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPClay, Washington35 min
Sep 21, 11:12 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPWashington48 min
Sep 21, 11:33 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPMarshall, Riley42 min
Sep 21, 12:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPPottawatomie45 min
Sep 21, 1:17 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPPottawatomie20 min
Sep 21, 1:17 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPJackson43 min
Sep 21, 1:54 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPJackson51 min
Sep 21, 2:26 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPJefferson, Shawnee49 min
Sep 21, 2:37 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPShawnee38 min
Sep 21, 3:11 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPDouglas, Jefferson64 min
Sep 21, 4:16 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPDouglas, Jefferson29 min
Sep 21, 4:43 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPDouglas32 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 1993Every tornado warning in 1993Tornadoes in 1993

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.