Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 108, NWS Wichita, KS

May 31, 1996Ellsworth County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 31, 1996, 6:03 PM CDT for Ellsworth County, Kansas. It was in force for 57 min. 4 reports 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, 6:03 PM CDT (23:03 UTC)
Expired
May 31, 1996, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
57 min
Issued by
NWS Wichita, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Ellsworth County, KS

The radar

The Wichita radar (KICT), 134 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:07 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, 6:18 PM CDTHail 1Holyrood, KS
May 31, 6:50 PM CDTHail 1Langley, KS
May 31, 6:54 PM CDTHail 0.75Holyrood, KS
May 31, 7:03 PM CDTHail 1.75Langley, 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, 11.1 hours before the alert went out and 180 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, 14 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 3:40 AM CDT, 14 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

Local storm report, May 31, 4:16 PM CDT, 1 hour 47 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KANSAS
415 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 1996

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0408 PM    5 S CLAFLIN               KS   1 INCH HAIL
05/31/96   BARTON

HYSELL
Local storm report, May 31, 4:30 PM CDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KANSAS
435 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 1996

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0423 PM    4 W BUSHTON               KS   1 INCH HAIL
05/31/96   RICE                           REPORTED BY CITIZEN

0424 PM    BUSHTON                   KS   1 INCH HAIL
05/31/96   RICE                           REPORTED BY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

0428 PM    BUSHTON                   KS   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/31/96   RICE                           REPORTED BY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

HYSELL
Local storm report, May 31, 4:42 PM CDT, 1 hour 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KANSAS
442 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 1996

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0428 jPM    4 SW HOLYROOD             KS   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/31/96   ELLSWORTH                      REPORTED BY CITIZEN

HYSELL
Local storm report, May 31, 4:45 PM CDT, 1 hour 18 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KANSAS
445 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 1996

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0425 PM    3 S CLAFLIN               KS   1.80 INCH HAIL
05/31/96   BARTON                         REPORTED BY SHERIFF'S
                                          DEPUTY COVERING THE GROUND

NOONAN
Local storm report, May 31, 5:08 PM CDT, 55 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KANSAS
508 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 1996

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0445 PM    4 SE RUSSELL              KS   1 INCH HAIL
05/31/96   RUSSELL                        REPORTED BY CITIZEN
                                          SOME CARS DENTED

HYSELL
Local storm report, May 31, 5:43 PM CDT, 20 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KANSAS
543 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 1996

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0535 PM    4 NW CHASE                KS   .75 INCH HAIL
05/31/96   RICE                           REPORTED BY CITIZEN

HYSELL

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 31, 3:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTBarton42 min
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, 6:08 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.