Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 103, NWS Wichita, KS

May 31, 1996Barton County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 31, 1996, 3:03 PM CDT for Barton 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
May 31, 1996, 3:03 PM CDT (20:03 UTC)
Expired
May 31, 1996, 3:45 PM CDT
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS Wichita, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Barton County, KS

The radar

The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 133 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:07 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 31, 3:07 PM CDTHail 1Hoisington, 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 12:00Z, 8.1 hours before the alert went out and 127 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 1996-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 405 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 1996-05-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 171 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
405 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-338 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
951 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
171 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
213 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Wichita, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 31, 3:40 AM CDT, 11 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 3:40 AM CDT, 11 hours 23 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
341 AM CDT FRI MAY 31 1996

PLENTIFUL LO LVL MSTR ON MODEST SLY FLO TO CONT ACRS CWA TODAY. H8 DWPTS
OF +14 TO +16C DEPICTED BEST BY NGM INTO CNTRL/ERN KS DURG DAY ON 25-30KT
LLJ. SFC WRMFNT PROGD TO MOV ONLY SLOLY NWD ACRS OK AND INTO SCNTRL AND
SERN KS LATER THIS EVE. THIS IN COMBO WITH PERIODIC S/WVS IN UPR FLO OVR
UNSTABLE AIRMASS SHUD INITIATE CNVTN ACRS FA THRU TNGT. KICT 88D ALREADY
SHOWG CNVTN DVLPG JUST E OF ICT ATTM ACRS SRN FLINT HILLS. BELIEVE LIKELY
CAT 60 POPS WARRANTED ACRS AREA TODAY. DO NOT SEE MUCH IN WAY OF SS WHICH
MAY TEMPER EXTENT OF SVR WX A BIT. FWC TEMPS SEEM RSNBL.

RSL 075/061 65   SLN 075/063 65
ICT 078/065 65   HUT 077/064 65
CNU 077/065 66

KED

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 31, 1:03 PM CDT, 2 hours before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 31, 3:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTBarton31 min
May 31, 4:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTEllsworth, Rice51 min
May 31, 4:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTRussell52 min
May 31, 5:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTRice43 min
May 31, 6:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTEllsworth57 min
May 31, 6:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTBarton37 min
May 31, 6:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTRussell35 min
May 31, 6:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTEllsworth50 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 1996Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1996

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.