Alert archive / Missouri / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 55, NWS Kansas City, MO
NWS Kansas City, MO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 17, 1997, 9:10 PM CDT for Bates County, Cass County, Missouri; Miami County, Kansas. It was in force for 50 min. 3 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 17, 1997, 9:10 PM CDT (02:10 UTC)
- Expired
- May 17, 1997, 10:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Kansas City, MO
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Miami County, KS, Bates County, MO, Cass County, MO
The radar
The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 42 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 9:10 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Osawatomie, KS | A severe weather spotter reported golfball-size hail near Osawatomie during a slow moving super cell severe thunderstorm. |
| May 17, 9:27 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Gunn City, MO | A second round of severe thunderstorms produced large hail over portions of Cass County. A HAM Radio operator reported golfball-size hail at Gunn City. |
| May 17, 9:35 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 60 | Merwin, MO | A Bates County citizen reported a 60 MPH wind gust at Merwin. No significant damage was reported. |
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 17, 7:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 2.2 hours before the alert went out and 113 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 647 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -131 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2220 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 49 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 53 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 290 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 9.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
512
WUUS1 KMCI 180211 RRA
SVRMCI
KSC121-MOC013-037-180315-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PLEASANT HILL/KANSAS CITY MO
910 PM CDT SAT MAY 17 1997
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
MIAMI COUNTY - EAST CENTRAL KANSAS
BATES COUNTY - WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI
CASS COUNTY - WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI
* UNTIL 1000 PM CDT
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
PAOLA
SOMERSET
ARCHI
LOUISBURG
* AT AT 908 PM WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM FROM DREXEL TO ARCHIE TO CREIGHTON TO NEAR HILLSDALE
LAKE TO PAOLA TO LOUISBURG MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH. HAIL UP TO
SOFTBALL SIZE AND DAMAGING WINDS HAVE BEEN REPORTED.
PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM CAN EXPECT HAIL UP TO GOLFBALL SIZE
AND WINDS TO 65 MPH OR HIGHER
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. FOR
YOUR SAFETY...MOVE INDOORS AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
MAXIMUK
&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 17, 2:46 PM CDT, 6 hours 24 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 17, 2:46 PM CDT, 6 hours 24 minutes before
NORTHWEST MISSOURI FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PLEASANT HILL/KANSAS CITY MO 245 PM CDT SAT MAY 17 1997 FAIRLY ACTIVE NEXT 36 HRS EXPECTED. SVR WX THREAT IS FIRST AND FOREMOST CONCERN. FIRST SHORT WAVE TROF TO AFFECT FA NOW OVER NW KS OR SO PER PROFILERS AND WV IMAGERY. ETA MINORS THIS FEATURE OUT SLIGHTLY TOWARD 00Z BUT STILL SEE ITS REFLECTION IN 700 & 500 HEIGHTS BY 06Z WITH 700 VORT CENTERED OVER FAR NW MO. CONSIDERABLE WAA CLOUDINESS DVLPG AHD OF FEATURE IN CNTRL NEB/KS. AT ANY RATE...DEPSITE WK LOW LVL CONVERGENCE...LOOKS LIKE KS WAVE TO PROVIDE JUST ENUF UPWARD FORCING TO OVERCOME EVER WEAKENING CAP. QUICKIE MODIFIED 12Z TOP SOUNDING USING 87/61 SFC PARCEL YIELDED AT LEAST 2000 J/KG CAPE AND MINIMAL CAP. THUS...EXPECTING TSRA TO FIRE PRIOR TO SUNSET WITH SVR A PSBLTY. BETTER SVR THREAT LOOKS TO BE TNGT AS MUCH STRONGER ALBERTA TROF DROPS SE AND GENERATES NICE HEIGHT FALLS ACRS HI PLAINS. ETA DVLPS 40KT SWRLY LLJ IN RESPONSE BY MIDNIGHT WHICH BECOMES NEARLY PERPENDICULAR TO DIFFUSE BUT CERTAIN BOUNDARY CURRENTLY LOCATED ROUGHLY FROM NCNTRL KS TO SCNTRL MO (WITH ANOTHER BOUNDARY JUST SOUTH OF IA/MO BORDER). RESULT IS PRETTY STRONG LIFT OF VERY UNSTALBE AIR OVER BOTH BOUNDARIES. ETA QPF ALSO DEVELOPS CONVECTIVE PCPN ON NOSE OF LLJ IN ERN KS. THEREFORE...EXPECT WILL GO ABV LOW GUIDANCE POPS...MAYBE INTO LIKELY CATEGORY. QUESTION WHETHER OR NOT TO MENTION SVR. GET PRETTY GOOD TURNING IN SUB-CLOUD LAYER TNGT...VERY UNSTABLE AIR IN PLACE AND LIFT FROM SHORT WAVE PLUS HELP FROM BOUNDARY. HOWEVER...MID-LEVEL WINDS PRETTY WEAK SO ALTHO SHD BE ABLE TO GET UPDRAFTS SUSTAINED FOR A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME...TSRA SHOULD TRANSITION FAIRLY QUICKLY INTO OUTFLOW DOMINATED CELLS. JUST READ WELL-WRITTEN SWODY1 WITH UPGRADE FROM SLGT TO MDT RISK AND THIS PUSHES ME OVER FENCE. WILL MENTION SVR. TMRW LOOKS TO BE ACTIVE AS WELL...PENDING LOCATION OF CONVECTIVE BOUNDARIES OF TONIGHT. UNLESS CONVECTIVE DEBRIS CLOUDS INHIBIT HEATING...SHOULD WARM TO LEVELS VERY CLOSE OF THOSE TODAY (XCP POSSIBLY IN THE NW WITH EARLIER FROPA) GIVEN FCST 850 MB TEMPS. BELIEVE TSRA SHD REFIRE FROM JUST SE OF MKC TO IRK LINE ALONG FRONT AND QUICKLY BECOME SVR. WILL HOLD OFF THOUGH ON MENTION OF 2ND PERIOD SVR GIVEN QUESTION OF POSITION OF BOUNDARIES. WILL ORIENT POPS FROM NW TO SE...HIEST SE. TEMPS WILL FOLLOW SIMILARLY. PROXIMITY OF FRONT TO SERN ZONES WILL FORCE ME TO KEEP POPS IN FOR SUN NIGHT...WHILE NW ZONES IN STG CAA WILL GO POP-FREE. SPENT EXCEPTIONALLY LITTLE TIME LOOKING AT RETURN TO COOLER WX ON MON. GUIDANCE TEMPS LOOK FINE. MCI BB 065/085 054/066 044 99653 MANION
The office that day
Everything else NWS Kansas City, MO issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 7:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Cass | 60 min |
| May 17, 8:16 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Cass | 59 min |
| May 17, 8:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Johnson | 66 min |
| May 17, 8:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Henry | 42 min |
| May 17, 9:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Johnson, Lafayette | 58 min |
| May 17, 9:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Jackson | 41 min |
| May 17, 9:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Pettis | 54 min |
| May 17, 9:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Holt | 37 min |
| May 17, 10:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Bates | 60 min |
| May 17, 10:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Cooper | 52 min |
| May 18, 6:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Grundy, Linn, Sullivan | 118 min |
| May 18, 6:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Grundy, Linn, Sullivan | 73 min |
| May 17, 7:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Johnson | 60 min |
| May 17, 7:54 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | EAX | Miami | 36 min |
| May 17, 8:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Miami | 45 min |
| May 17, 8:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Johnson, Leavenworth, Wyandotte | 64 min |
| May 17, 9:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Linn | 31 min |
| May 17, 9:45 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | EAX | Miami | 4 hr |
| May 17, 10:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Linn | 47 min |
| May 17, 10:32 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | EAX | Linn | 4 hr |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Missouri, 1997Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 1997Every 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.