Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 262, NWS Dodge City, KS

August 22, 1997Stafford County, Kansas

NWS Dodge City, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 22, 1997, 12:25 AM CDT for Stafford County, Kansas. It was in force for 35 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: Aug 22, 1997, 12:25 AM CDT (05:25 UTC)
Expired: Aug 22, 1997, 1:00 AM CDT
In force: 35 min
Issued by: NWS Dodge City, KS
Area: Whole counties

County Stafford County, KS

The radar

The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 114 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:28 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Aug 22, 12:35 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 65	Stafford, KS	5 inch diameter tree limbs blown down.

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Aug 21, 9:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr
Aug 21, 11:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 00:00Z, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 108 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 3676 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -35 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1196 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 151 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 246 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 4.0
Supercell composite: 21.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDDC 220525 RRA
SVRDDC
KSC185-220600-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
1225 AM CDT FRI AUG 22 1997

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  NORTHERN AND EASTERN STAFFORD COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 100 AM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
  STAFFORD                   THROUGH 1250 PM CDT
  ZENITH                     BY 1225 AM CDT
  NEOLA                      BY 1230 AM CDT

* AT 1223 AM CDT...DODGE CITY DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 2 MILES WEST OF ZENITH MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH...EXPECT WINDS OF
65 MPH OR GREATER AND TORRENTIAL RAIN.  SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY AND
STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.  HEAVY RAIN CAN FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY.  YOU
SHOULD NEVER TRY TO CROSS WATER COVERED ROADS.

MCAVOY/STOUT

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 Dodge City, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 21, 2:48 PM CDT, 9 hours 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 21, 2:48 PM CDT, 9 hours 37 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION ...CORRECTION TO FLASH FLOOD WATCH CODING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
248 PM CDT THU AUG 21 1997

LINE OF MID LEVEL CLOUDS FROM HYS TO P28...NEAR 850 WARM FRONT. 12Z
ANALYSIS PUTS IMPRESSIVE 850 MOIST AXIS THROUGH DDC TO GLD-N WITH 18Z
SFC WARM FRONT FROM ABOUT GLD-HYS-JUST EAST OF P28.  WV LOOP CONFIRMS
S/W OVER EASTERN WYOMING THAT WAS/IS DEPICTED IN MODEL PROGS.  SHORT
FUSE COMPOSITE SHOWS CAP GOING TOWARD ZERO BUT 700MB PROGS INDCATE
SLIGHT WARMING AT THAT LEVEL.  500MB COLD POOL ACCOMPANING S/W LATE THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO GET THINGS GOING.  NGM/ETA
GRIDDS HAVE BEST MOISTURE CONVERGANCE OVER NORTHWEST KS/SOUTHWEST
NEBRASKA BY 00Z. SO MAY DEVELOP IN THAT AREA.

CURRNENT SHEAR PROFILE SHOWS GOOD VEERING AT LOW LEVELS AND 850MB WINDS
HAVE BEEN BACKING DURING THE DAY.  TORNADOES? AND SVR HAIL APPEAR TO
BOTH BE IN THE PICTURE TONIGHT.  WITH FFG VALUES OF 1.5-2.5 OVER
SOUTHEAST COUNTIES...WILL PROBABLY ADD A FLASH FLOOD WATCH.

WILL GO WITH LIKELY POPS FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN COUNTIES TONIGHT AND
MENTION SVR POSSIBILITY.  AS FOR WEST...WILL BE SOMEWHERE AROUND 40%.

.DDC...FFA SE TONIGHT KSZ066-080-081-089-090

DDC 065/087 065/088 061 622
GCK 063/089 063/088 060 622
EHA 062/090 022/090 060 622
LBL 064/088 064/089 060 522
HYS 064/084 063/088 062 622
P28 070/089 070/092 066 622

REITER/TB

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 21, 11:53 PM CDT, 32 minutes before

KSZ030-031-043>046-061>066-075>081-086>090-220855-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
1153 PM CDT (1053 PM MDT) THU AUG 21 1997

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 711 REPLACES TORNADO WATCH 709 AND
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 710...

MOST OF SOUTHWEST...SOUTH-CENTRAL...AND CENTRAL KANSAS IS NOW UNDER
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 711.  THIS WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM
CDT OR 3 AM MDT.

THIS WATCH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...SCOTT...LANE...NESS
...RUSH...HAMILTON...KEARNY...FINNEY...GRAY...HODGEMAN...PAWNEE
...STAFFORD...PRATT...EDWARDS...FORD...HASKELL...GRANT...SEWARD...
MEADE...CLARK...COMANCHE...KIOWA...AND BARBER COUNTIES.

TREGO COUNTY IS NO LONGER IN A TORNADO WATCH.
ELLIS COUNTY IS NO LONGER IN A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH.

SEARCY

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 21, 10:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Ellis	62 min
Aug 21, 10:21 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Trego	59 min
Aug 21, 11:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Ness, Rush	59 min
Aug 21, 11:05 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Ellis	60 min
Aug 21, 11:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Pawnee	47 min
Aug 22, 12:20 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Scott	50 min
Aug 22, 12:42 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Pratt	48 min
Aug 22, 1:29 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Ford, Hodgeman	56 min
Aug 22, 2:18 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Clark	47 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 1997 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997

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.