Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1994

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Wichita, KS

April 9, 1994Cowley County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this tornado warning at Apr 9, 1994, 7:54 PM CDT for Cowley County, Kansas. It was in force for 66 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 9, 1994, 7:54 PM CDT (00:54 UTC)
Expired
Apr 9, 1994, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
66 min
Issued by
NWS Wichita, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Cowley County, KS

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 0.9 hours before the alert went out and 222 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 00:00Z on 1994-04-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1994-04-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 160 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
588 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
75 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
160 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
747 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 KICT 100057
TORICT
KSC035-100200-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
754 PM CDT SAT APR 9 1994
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WICHITA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  900 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS
 
   ...NORTHERN COWLEY COUNTY
 
AT 755 PM...A TRAINED SPOTTER INDICATED A TORNADO CROSSING THE KANSAS
TURNPIKE JUST EAST OF BELL PLAINE. IT
WAS MOVING EAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR. PEOPLE IN
UDALL...AKRON..ROCK...FLORA ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO. GO TO YOUR
TORNADO SHELTER NOW.
 
THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS STORM.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE IN THE
PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROU ND 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, Apr 9, 3:28 PM CDT, 4 hours 26 minutes before
KSC015-019-035-049-073-077-095-173-191-092230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
325 PM CDT SAT APR 9 1994

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR A LARGE PART OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND
SOUTHEAST KANSAS UNTIL 10 PM CDT...

AT 320 PM CDT...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSHOWERS WERE SCATTERED MAINLY NORTH
OF A LINE FROM PRATT TO EMPORIA. HOWEVER...MUCH STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS
ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THROUGH THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING
ACROSS SOUTHERN KANSAS.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES. IF YOU LIVE IN OR
NEAR THE WATCH AREA...BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IF
HAZARDOUS WEATHER APPROACHES OR A WARNING IS ISSUED.

OGREN
Special weather statement, Apr 9, 4:18 PM CDT, 3 hours 36 minutes before
KSZ082-091-092315-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
416 PM CDT SAT APR 9 1994

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM FOR A LARGE PART
OF SOUTHEAST AND SOUTHCENTRAL KANSAS...

AT 415 PM... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED WIDELY
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHEAST AND SOUTH CENTRAL
KANSAS.

ONE STRONG STORM WAS LOCATED AROUND 20 MILES SOUTH OF MEDICINE
LODGE... MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR. THIS STORM
WILL MOVE BETWEEN ZENDA AND ATTICA BY 500 PM.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM... BE READY TO MOVE TO SAFE
SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER IS OBSERVED.

CAMPBELL
Special weather statement, Apr 9, 5:20 PM CDT, 2 hours 34 minutes before
KSC095-173-191-100015-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
518 PM CDT SAT APR 9 1994

...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL AND
SOUTHEAST KANSAS UNTIL 10 PM CDT THIS EVENING...
...A TORNADO WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR HARPER COUNTY UNTIL 6 PM CDT...

AT 515 PM CDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO IN HARPER
COUNTY WAS PART OF A SERIES OF NEWLY DEVELOPED STORMS EXTENDING SOUTH
AND SOUTHWEST OF THAT AREA.

SOME OF THESE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR LARGE HAIL
AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE MOVING NORTHEAST INTO SOUTHWEST SEDGWICK
COUNTY AROUND 545 PM...THEN UP INTO THE GREATER WICHITA AREA BETWEEN
615 AND 7 PM CDT.

SOME OF THESE STRONGER STORMS WILL ALSO BE PASSING THROUGH NORTHWEST
SUMNER COUNTY AND SOUTHEAST KINGMAN COUNTY BEFORE 6 PM CDT.

PERSONS IN THESE AREAS OF SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO
MOVE TO SAFE SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.

J.CHRISTENSON

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 9, 7:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTSedgwick, Sumner55 min
Apr 9, 7:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTButler, Cowley61 min
Apr 9, 7:19 PM CDTTornado WarningICTHarper, Sumner56 min
Apr 9, 7:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTKingman, Reno57 min
Apr 9, 8:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTButler56 min
Apr 9, 8:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTElk, Wilson67 min
Apr 9, 8:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTSedgwick41 min
Apr 9, 8:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTNeosho68 min
Apr 9, 9:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTButler57 min
Apr 9, 9:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTBourbon, Crawford65 min
Apr 9, 9:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTMontgomery, Wilson55 min
Apr 9, 9:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTSedgwick58 min
Apr 9, 9:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTLabette, Neosho59 min
Apr 9, 9:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTButler49 min
Apr 9, 10:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTCherokee, Crawford47 min
Apr 9, 11:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTChautauqua63 min
Apr 9, 11:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTWilson, Woodson46 min
Apr 9, 11:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTMontgomery52 min
Apr 10, 5:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTCherokee57 min
Apr 10, 5:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTMontgomery60 min
Apr 10, 6:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTLabette65 min
Apr 10, 6:55 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningICTMontgomery4 hr

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.