Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 47, NWS Kansas City, MO

May 16, 1997Atchison County, Kansas

NWS Kansas City, MO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 16, 1997, 9:03 PM CDT for Atchison County, Kansas. It was in force for 57 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, 1997, 9:03 PM CDT (02:03 UTC)
Expired: May 16, 1997, 10:00 PM CDT
In force: 57 min
Issued by: NWS Kansas City, MO
Area: Whole counties

County Atchison County, KS

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 16, 9:30 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Effingham, KS	The county sheriff's office reported dime-size hail along the south side of Effingham just off Highway 159.

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
May 16, 7:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 2.1 hours before the alert went out and 66 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: 515 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -24 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1946 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 117 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 382 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 6.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

377 
WUUS1 KMCI 170203 RRA
SVRMCI
KSC005-170300-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PLEASANT HILL/KANSAS CITY MO
903 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 1997

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
    ATCHISON COUNTY - NORTHEAST KANSAS
 
* UNTIL 1000 PM CDT

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
    MUSCOTAH BY 915 PM
    ARRINGTON BY 925 PM
    EFFINGHAM BY 930 PM

* AT 9 PM CDT WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 12 MILES NORTHWEST OF EFFINGHAM OR 20 MILES WEST
  NORTHWEST OF ATCHISON KANSAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM CAN EXPECT HAIL UP TO ONE INCH IN
DIAMETER AND WIND GUSTS TO 65 MPH

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.  FOR
YOUR SAFETY...MOVE INDOORS AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

HUDSON

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 Kansas City, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 16, 3:05 PM CDT, 5 hours 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 16, 3:05 PM CDT, 5 hours 58 minutes before

NORTHWEST MISSOURI FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PLEASANT HILL/KANSAS CITY MO
305 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 1997

SFC ANLYS AND VIS LOOP AT 19Z SHW BNDRY MVG SEWRD INTO NRN NE. VIS LOOP
ALSO SHWS THIN LINE OF CU DVLPG FM ABOUT LNK TO DDC ALG AXIS OF LO LVL
MSTR AND -4 TO -6 LIS. AS CNVGNC FM NRN BNDRY MVG SE HITS MSTR POOL
ANTICIPATE LINE OF SHRWS/TSTMS FORMING AND MVG INTO NW CWA THIS EVNG.
ATM HAS WARMED UP CONSIDERABLY LAST 12 HRS WITH FRZG LVLS NOW AT OR ABV
10K FT. HOWEVER WITH DRY SOUNDING AND WET BULB ZERO VALUES STILL ARND
7-8K FT LARGE HAIL NOT OUT OF QUESTION. TSTM WNDS MAIN CONCERN WITH STG
DIRECTIONAL SHEAR. HOWEVER DUE TO MOST SGFNT LIFTING MECHANISMS ALOFT
FOCUSED OVR MN/IA THINK THAT ANY SVR WX THIS EVNG WILL BE WDLY SCT ACR
FCST AREA. WILL KEEP CRNT POPS IN FCST FOR TNT AND HAVE ALREADY
MENTIONED PSBL LCL SVR IN 18Z HAZARDOUS WX OUTLOOK. CRNT TEMP FCST FOR
TNT LKS GOOD AS WELL AND WILL MAKE NO CHGS. CRNT MSTLY SUNNY FCST FOR
SAT LKS GOOD. MAY TRIM TEMPS A BIT CLOSER TO SLIGHTLY COOLER FAN
NUMBERS. WITH INCRS IN LO LVL MSTR THINK QUITE A BIT OF CU SHOULD FORM
ON SAT AND KEEP A LIGHT LID ON TEMPS SAT.

REAL FIREWORKS APPR TO BE ON TAP FOR SAT NITE AND SUN. MODELS SHW STG
INSTABILITY AXIS OVR ERN KS/NW MO AHD OF CD FNT ON SUN. ONCE AGN STG
WNDS SHLD BE PRIMARY FOCUS WITH TSTMS WITH DECENT DIRECTIONAL SHEAR.
STILL A BIT CONCERNED THAT STEEP LAPSE RATE MAY BE MORE OF A FUNCTION
OF INTENSE WAA IN LO LVLS AND GRIDDED DAT SUGGESTS LTL CAA AT OR ABV H5.
HOWEVER AS SPC MENTIONED WITH TIME OF YEAR AND NW FLW...POTENTIAL
EXISTS FOR WND/DERECHIO TYPE EVENT. WILL GO WITH LIKELY POPS SAT NITE
AND SUN OVR WRN CWA AND CHC SAT NITE/LIKELY SUN ACR E. THINK THAT
FWC/FAN MAY BE TOO WRM FOR SUN WITH CLDS AND PCPN.

MCI UT 055/081 061/076 056 88316

BODNER

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.