Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1994

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Goodland, KS

May 5, 1994Sherman County, Wallace County, Kansas

NWS Goodland, KS issued this tornado warning at May 5, 1994, 7:43 PM MDT for Sherman County, Wallace County, Kansas. It was in force for 62 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 5, 1994, 7:43 PM MDT (01:43 UTC)
Expired
May 5, 1994, 8:45 PM MDT
In force
62 min
Issued by
NWS Goodland, KS
Area
Whole counties

Counties Sherman County, KS, Wallace County, KS

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDEN), launched 00:00Z, 1.7 hours before the alert went out and 152 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, Denver, CO at 00:00Z on 1994-05-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 148 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Denver, CO at 00:00Z on 1994-05-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 17 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
148 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-93 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2956 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
17 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
144 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 KGLD 060144
TORGLD
KSC181-199-060245-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
743 PM MDT THU MAY 5 1994
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GOODLAND HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  845 PM MDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHWEST KANSAS
 
   ...SOUTHWESTERN SHERMAN COUNTY
 
IN WEST CENTRAL KANSAS
 
   ...WALLACE COUNTY
 
AT 740 PM MDT RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 20 SOUTHWEST OF
GOODLAND. THE TORNADO WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH AND SHOULD PASS K27
15 MILES SOUTH OF GOODLAND BY 825 PM MDT.
 
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.
 
BOYLE

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 5, 4:18 PM MDT, 3 hours 25 minutes before
KSZ001>005-013>017-027>029-041-042-052320-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
417 PM MDT (517 PM CDT) THU MAY 5 1994

AT 415 PM MDT (515 PM CDT)...GOODLAND DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG
THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 23 MILES NORTHWEST OF SYRACUSE. THIS STORM WAS
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR...AND WILL MOVE INTO SOUTHERN
GREELEY COUNTY AROUND 430 PM MDT.

OTHER THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING 11 MILES NORTHWEST OF LEOTI.

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST TO DEVELOP THIS EVENING ACROSS
THE REGION.  SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE AND PRODUCE LARGE
HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS LATER THIS EVENING.

IF YOU PLAN TO BE OUTDOORS THIS EVENING...CHECK THE LATEST WEATHER
INFORMATION AND KEEP A WEATHER EYE ON THE SKY.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...RADIO OR TELEVISION FOR THE
LATEST UPDATES CONCERNING THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION.

TURNER
Special weather statement, May 5, 4:41 PM MDT, 3 hours 2 minutes before
COZ090>092-052345-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
440 PM MDT THU MAY 5 1994

AT 437 PM MDT...GOODLAND DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM
WAS MOVING INTO WESTERN KIT CARSON COUNTY OF EASTERN COLORADO.  THE
THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 18 MILES NORTHWEST OF FLAGLER AND WAS MOVING
TO THE EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

THIS STORM WILL PASS JUST TO THE NORTH OF FLAGLER JUST AFTER 5 PM MDT.
SMALL HAIL FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS
STORM.

SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO SPREAD ACROSS THE
AREA LATER THIS EVENING.  SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY EXCEED SEVERE LEVELS
A PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

AT SIGNS OF AN IMPENDING STORM...TOWERING THUNDERHEADS...DARKENING
SKIES...LIGHTNING AND INCREASING WINDS...MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY.
TUNE IN NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TV STATION FOR
THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

TURNER
Special weather statement, May 5, 5:09 PM MDT, 2 hours 34 minutes before
KSZ001>005-013>017-027>029-041-042-060010-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
509 PM MDT (609 PM CDT) THU MAY 5 1994

...TORNADO WATCH #188 CONTINUES IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM MDT (MIDNIGHT
   CDT) FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST KANSAS...

AT 505 PM MDT (605 PM CDT)...GOODLAND DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG
THUNDERSTORM CONTINUED OVER GREELEY COUNTY.  THE THUNDERSTORM WAS
LOCATED NEAR TRIBUNE AND WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR.

WHILE NO OTHER PRECIPITATION WAS DETECTED OVER NORTHWEST KANSAS THERE
IS THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER.  A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT
UNTIL 11 PM MDT (MIDNIGHT CDT) FOR THAT AREA OF NORTHWEST KANSAS ALONG
AND EAST OF A TRIBUNE TO OBERLIN LINE.

AT SIGNS OF AN IMPENDING STORM...TOWERING THUNDERHEADS...DARKENING
SKIES...LIGHTNING AND INCREASING WINDS...MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY.
TUNE IN NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TV STATION FOR
THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

TURNER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 5, 6:27 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDDecatur, Sheridan63 min
May 5, 6:33 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDThomas42 min
May 5, 6:53 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDNorton67 min
May 5, 7:09 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDPhillips51 min
May 5, 7:21 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDGraham69 min
May 5, 7:35 PM MDTTornado WarningGLDGraham55 min
May 5, 7:36 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDDecatur, Norton69 min
May 5, 7:57 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDPhillips63 min
May 5, 8:46 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDDecatur, Norton59 min
May 5, 9:02 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDRawlins58 min
May 5, 9:05 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDPhillips55 min
May 5, 9:26 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDSheridan, Thomas64 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 1994Every tornado warning in 1994Tornadoes in 1994

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.