Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 24, NWS Dodge City, KS

August 20, 1997Clark County, Kansas

NWS Dodge City, KS issued this tornado warning at Aug 20, 1997, 3:09 PM CDT for Clark 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
Aug 20, 1997, 3:09 PM CDT (20:09 UTC)
Expired
Aug 20, 1997, 3:55 PM CDT
In force
46 min
Issued by
NWS Dodge City, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Clark County, KS

The radar

The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 60 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:12 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
Aug 20, 3:10 PM CDTHail 1.75Minneola, 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, 8.2 hours before the alert went out and 60 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 1997-08-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1641 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 1997-08-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 92 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
1641 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-81 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1385 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
92 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
113 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KDDC 202009 RRA
TORDDC
KSC025-202055-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
309 PM CDT WED AUG 20 1997

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  WESTERN CLARK COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS

* UNTIL 355 PM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
  INTERSECTION OF H160/283  BY 325 PM CDT

* AT 307 PM CDT...DODGE CITY DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THE THREAT OF
  A TORNADO 5 MILES NORTH OF INTERSECTION OF H160/283 MOVING SOUTH AT
  15 MPH.

* THIS STORM WILL ALSO PRODUCE SOFTBALL SIZE HAIL NEAR HIGHWAY 283
  AND REPLACES THE PREVIOUS WARNING THAT EXPIRES AT 310 PM.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS IN A
BASEMENT.  IF A BASEMENT IS NOT AVAILABLE...GO THE AN INTER$IOR ROOM
ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE

HUTTON/MCAVOY

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 20, 9:47 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCStafford48 min
Aug 20, 10:09 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCPawnee, Rush46 min
Aug 20, 10:17 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCPratt48 min
Aug 20, 10:32 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCStafford63 min
Aug 20, 12:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCKiowa48 min
Aug 20, 12:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCComanche48 min
Aug 20, 2:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCClark64 min
Aug 20, 2:37 PM CDTTornado WarningDDCClark33 min
Aug 20, 5:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCGray63 min
Aug 20, 6:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCGray47 min
Aug 20, 6:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCMeade50 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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.