Alert archive / Missouri / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 65, NWS Kansas City, MO
NWS Kansas City, MO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 18, 1997, 6:17 PM CDT for Grundy County, Linn County, Sullivan County, Missouri. It was in force for 73 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 18, 1997, 6:17 PM CDT (23:17 UTC)
- Expired
- May 18, 1997, 7:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 73 min
- Issued by
- NWS Kansas City, MO
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Grundy County, MO, Linn County, MO, Sullivan County, MO
The radar
The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 164 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:21 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 18, 6:17 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Laredo, MO | A Trenton radio station reported that hail an inch in diameter fell during a severe thunderstorm in Laredo. |
| May 18, 6:28 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Humphreys, MO | The public reported golfball-size hail 4 miles southwest of Humpheys and quarter-size hail in Browning during a severe thunderstorm. |
| May 18, 6:36 PM CDT | Hail 0.88 | Purdin, MO | The public reported nickel-size hail in Northwest Linn County along Route MM about 15 miles northwest of Purdin. |
| May 18, 7:30 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Winigan, MO | Golfball-size hail was reported by the public about a mile east of Winigan. |
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 18, 5:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 7 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 236 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
- 906 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -412 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1411 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 366 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 509 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.3
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 Kansas City, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 18, 2:43 PM CDT, 3 hours 34 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 18, 2:43 PM CDT, 3 hours 34 minutes before
NORTHWEST MISSOURI FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PLEASANT HILL/KANSAS CITY MO 240 PM CDT SUN MAY 18 1997 ROUND THREE...ALTHO SITN NOT AS CLEAR CUT AS I WOULD PREFER. VERY/XTRMLY UNSTABLE AIR IN PLACE TODAY WITH CAPES FCST TO REACH AOA 3000 J/KG GIVEN A SFC PARCEL OF 90/64. HOWEVER...STILL SOME NEGATIVE AREA ON SOUNDING WITH THOSE NUMBERS...AND IT'S MORE THAN WAS IN PLACE YDAY. SPOT WE WERE KIND OF LOOKING AT FOR CONVECTIVE INITIATION...NW MO...HAS BEEN UNDER BKN AC DECK...REDUCING HEATING. CONVERGENCE ALONG PRE-FRONTAL TROF FROM SERN NEB TO SWRN KS NOT ALL THAT STRONG...THO HAS BEEN INCRG PAST COUPLE OF HOURS PER ADAP. INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT IS SECONDARY SFC LOW TAKING SHAPE ACRS SWRN KS. ETA FCSTS THIS LOW TO DEEPEN THRU MIDNIGHT WHICH IN TURN SHD HELP KEEP OUR LOW LVL WINDS FROM VEERING AROUND TOO TERRIBLY MUCH. CONVERGENCE ALONG FRONT THEN SHOULD BE ENHANCED WHICH SHOULD FINALLY GET STUFF GOING. JUST TOOK AT LOOK AT 18Z SOUNDING FROM TOP AND CIN (NEG AREA) A BIT MORE STOUT THAN I HAD EXPECTED BASED ON 12Z RUN. THIS LEADS ME TO BELIEVE IT WILL BE A LATE SHOW...LATER THAN LAST NIGHT. 15Z RUC SHOWS NO PCPN IN CWA THRU 03Z AND I'M INCLINED TO THINK IT'S GOT THE RIGHT IDEA (DESPITE THE FACT THAT RUC BLEW IT LAST NIGHT). BOTTOM LINE THO CONVGC ALG FRONT SHOULD EVENTUALLY OVERCOME CAP WITH ETA GENERATING COPIOUS QPF'S IN 03-12Z TIME FRAME. NOT QUITE READY TO JUMP ONTO FWC'C CATEGORICAL POPS BANDWAGON THO (WILL PROBABLY JUST USE COVERAGE VS POPS FOR NRN ZONES WITH AS PERSISTENT SHRA/TSRA CONTINUE). GIVEN THUNDER...SVR SHD FOLLOW AND CURRENT ZONES HAVE THIS MENTIONED. MID-LVL WINDS STILL PRETTY WEAK...BUT STRONGER ALG IA BORDER WHERE TOR THREAT IS PROBABLY HIGHER THAN SRN ZONES. WITH 3000 CAPE THO...ALL BETS OFF DESPITE LACK OF GOOD TURNING IN LOW LVL WINDS. ENUF ABOUT 1ST PD. STILL SOME Q-VECTOR CONVGC AND UPWARD VV'S AFT 12Z MON AS UPR WAVE DOESN'T QUITE CLEAR AREA UNTIL MIDDAY. THO THINK LINE OF TSRA WILL HAVE CLEARED CWA BY 12Z MON...PSBLTY OF PCPN LINGERING INTO 2ND PERIOD WARRANTS CONTINUING CHC POPS FOR NOW. SIGNIFICANT COOLING TO TAKE PLACE IN 2ND AND 3RD PERIODS WITH 850 ZERO C DEG LINE FCST TO DROP INTO NRN MO BY 48 HRS. SORT OF PREFER WARMER FWC...THO NOT QUITE READY NUDGE TEMPS BACK UPWARD FOR MON. SFC RIDGE AXIS JUST TO OUR WEST BY 12Z TUE SO WINDS LOOK LIKE THEY MAY STAY UP JUST ENUF MON NIGHT TO KEEP MINS FROM BOTTOMING OUT TOO BAD. NICE DAY SET FOR TUE AND GUIDANCE FINE. MCI EU 057/064 045/070 050 99740 MANION
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 18, 1:04 PM CDT, 5 hours 13 minutes before
KSZ025-057-060-102>105-MOZ001>008-011>017-020>025-028>033-037>040- 043>046-053-054-191200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PLEASANT HILL/KANSAS CITY MO 100 PM CDT SUN MAY 18 1997 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY BEGINNING LATE THIS AFTERNOON... FORECAST: ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY NORTH OF THE MISSOURI RIVER SHOULD CONTINUE THROUGH THE EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS...BUT THESE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO REACH SEVERE LEVELS. HOWEVER...THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP ACROSS NORTHWEST MISSOURI OR NORTHEAST KANSAS LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL INTENSIFY VERY RAPIDLY AND THEN MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA BEFORE ENDING LATE TONIGHT. SOME OF THE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO REACH SEVERE LEVELS WITH THE MAIN THREATS BEING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. VERY HEAVY RAINS WILL ACCOMPANY SOME OF THE STORMS THIS EVENING SO FLASH FLOODING IS A THREAT AS WELL. SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED AFTER 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON. DISCUSSION: A VERY WARM AND HUMID AIR MASS IS IN PLACE ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA WITH TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO TOP OUT NEAR 90 DEGREES. AS A RESULT...THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE VERY UNSTABLE BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON. A COLD FRONT APPROACHING FROM THE NORTHWEST WILL COMBINE WITH AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE TO TRIGGER THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING. DUE TO THE VERY UNSTABLE AIR...THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD QUICKLY REACH SEVERE LEVELS. THE COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA LATE TONIGHT...ENDING THE THUNDERSTORM THREAT FROM WEST TO EAST. MANION
Local storm report, May 18, 1:39 PM CDT, 4 hours 38 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTION TO ISSUANCE TIME
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PLEASANT HILL/KANSAS CITY MISSOURI
1239 PM CST SUN MAY 18 1997
TIME(CST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0803 PM GREENTOP MO .75 INCH HAIL
05/18/97 ADAIR REPORT 3 SOUTH OF GREENTOP
0836 PM KIRKSVILLE MO .75 INCH HAIL
05/18/97 ADAIR PENNY SIZE HAIL
0839 PM KIRKSVILLE MO .75 INCH HAIL
05/18/97 ADAIR DIME SIZE HAIL NORTHWEST
OF KIRKSVILLE
0846 PM KEARNEY MO .88 INCH HAIL
05/18/97 CLAY NICKLE SIZE HAIL
I-35/KEARNEY
0927 PM HAMILTON MO 1.75 INCH HAIL
05/18/97 CALDWELL GOLFBALL HAIL REPORT 4 SW
HAMILTON NEAR HWY 13 AND
ROUTE PThe 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, 9:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Bates, Cass | 50 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 |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Missouri, 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.