Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Dodge City, KS

May 16, 1995Finney County, Gray County, Kansas

NWS Dodge City, KS issued this tornado warning at May 16, 1995, 6:44 PM CDT for Finney County, Gray County, Kansas. It was in force for 46 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
May 16, 1995, 6:44 PM CDT (23:44 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 1995, 7:30 PM CDT
In force
46 min
Issued by
NWS Dodge City, KS
Area
Whole counties

Counties Finney County, KS, Gray County, KS

The radar

The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 56 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:43 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 16, 6:50 PM CDTTornado F0Charleston, KSThe Tornado barely crossed into Gray County.

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, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 62 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, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 1995-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 490 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 1995-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 193 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
490 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-471 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1757 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
193 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
182 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDDC 162345
TORDDC
KSC055-069-170030-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
644 PM CDT TUE MAY 16 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DODGE CITY HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  730 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHWEST KANSAS
 
   ...EASTERN FINNEY COUNTY...NORTHERN GRAY COUNTY
 
AT 642 PM CDT...A TORNADOE WAS REPORTED ON THE GROUND 3 MILES NORTWEST
OF PIERCEVILLE AND MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. THIS EXTREMELY
DANGEROUS STORM WILL MOVE OVER MOSTLY OPEN FARM LAND NORTH OF
PIERCEVILLE AND WILL BE NEAR HIGHWAY 156 AND HIGHWAY 23 BY 715 PM CDT.
 
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.
BELtL
 
 
&

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 8:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCHamilton19 min
May 15, 8:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCFinney54 min
May 15, 9:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCKearny38 min
May 15, 9:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCFinney39 min
May 15, 9:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCNess32 min
May 15, 10:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCFinney, Gray42 min
May 15, 10:23 PM CDTTornado WarningDDCGray37 min
May 15, 11:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCFord, Gray, Hodgeman44 min
May 15, 11:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCRush48 min
May 15, 11:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCFord50 min
May 16, 12:19 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCKiowa30 min
May 16, 12:19 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCEdwards41 min
May 16, 5:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCKearny44 min
May 16, 5:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCFinney66 min
May 16, 6:15 PM CDTTornado WarningDDCFinney30 min
May 16, 6:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCEllis36 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 1995Every tornado warning in 1995Tornadoes in 1995

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.