Alert archive / Missouri / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 86, NWS Kansas City, MO

May 25, 1997Bates County, Missouri

NWS Kansas City, MO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 25, 1997, 11:21 PM CDT for Bates County, Missouri. It was in force for 54 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 25, 1997, 11:21 PM CDT (04:21 UTC)
Expired: May 26, 1997, 12:15 AM CDT
In force: 54 min
Issued by: NWS Kansas City, MO
Area: Whole counties

County Bates County, MO

The radar

The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 62 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:21 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 26, 12:13 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 70	Amsterdam, MO	The Bates County sheriff office reported tree limbs down up to 6 inches in diameter in Amsterdown and 5 miles east of Worland. Wind speeds were estimated at 70 MPH by severe weather spotters.

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 25, 10:00 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 4.4 hours before the alert went out and 140 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: 982 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1108 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 36 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 183 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.3
Supercell composite: 1.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

167 
WUUS1 KMCI 260416 RRA
SVRMCI
MOC013-260515-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PLEASANT HILL/KANSAS CITY MO
1121 PM CDT SUN MAY 25 1997

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
    BATES COUNTY - WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI
 
* UNTIL 1215 AM CDT

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
    RICH HILL BY 1130 PM
    PLEASANT GAP BY 1145 PM

* AT 1118 PM WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF RICH HILL MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25
  MPH.

PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM CAN EXPECT HAIL TWO INCHES IN
DIAMETER OR LARGER AND WINDS TO 60 MPH OR GREATER.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.  FOR
YOUR SAFETY...MOVE INDOORS AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. A TORNADO
WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT.  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY
DO PRODUCE TORNADOES.

MANION

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 25, 2:55 PM CDT, 8 hours 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 25, 2:55 PM CDT, 8 hours 26 minutes before

NORTHWEST MISSOURI FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PLEASANT HILL/KANSAS CITY MO
255 PM CDT SUN MAY 25 1997

AS PER PREVIOUS AFD...HVY RAFL THREAT BIGGEST CONCERN IN SHORT TERM
WITH SVR WX A CONCERN AS WELL.  QSTNRY FRONT MORE OR LESS STRADDLING
I-70 ATTM WITH SFC LOW INVOF DDC.  VERY UNSTABLE AMS SOUTH OF BOUNDARY
AND SLGTLY TO MDTLY SO TO THE NORTH.  MODIFIED 12Z TOP SNDG USING
M70S/M60S FOR SFC PARCEL AND GOT NEAR 2000 CAPE WITH LITTLE NEG AREA.
HOWEVER...MID LVL WINDS ARE REALLY WEAK...SO SHEAR AND STORM RELATIVE
FLOW WEAK AS WELL.  WBZ PRETTY HIGH TOO SO WILL NOT MENTION SVR.

TUFF CALL ON WHETHER OR NOT TO GO WITH FF WATCH.  REASONS FOR:  BOUNDARY
NEARBY...SLOWING SHORT WAVE TROF IN KS...TROPICAL AMS IN
PLACE...PORTIONS OF CWA WITH WET GROUND, ETC.  REASONS AGAINST:  FF
GUIDANCE FAIRLY HIGH...850 WINDS FCST TO WEAKEN AND VEER THROUGHOUT
NIGHT THEREBY WEAKENING OUR INFLOW OF HIGH THETA-E AIR...CONVECTIVE
COMPLEX OVER OK SHOULD CUT OFF INFLOW AS WELL...BREAK IN TSRA ACTIVITY
PSBL AFTER FIRST WAVE ROTATES THRU.  ATTM...FEEL FF THREAT WONT BE
WIDESPREAD ENUF TO WARRANT WATCH ALTHO FIGURE A FF WARNING OR TWO WILL
LIKELY BE ISSUED TNGT.  WILL OPT TO HIT HARD IN ZONES FOR NOW AND ALLOW
EVE CREW TO REASSESS NEED FOR WATCH.

LOOKS LIKE MAYBE A BREAK MON AM BEFORE NEXT SHORT WAVE ROTATES THRU
LARGER TROF FOR LATE MON.  WILL CONTINUE CURRENT CHC POPS AND THEN GO
LIKELY FOR MON NIGHT AS LIFT INCREASES SUBSTANTIALLY AGAIN.  ETA SHOWS
SFC LOW TRACKING ALG KS/OK BORDER WITH BOUNDARY CONTINUING TO SAG
SLOWLY SWD.  THIS SEEMS REASONABLE...ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING HOW TNGTS
ACTIVITY SHD GIVE BOUNDARY A SHOVE SWD.  NEVERTHELESS...WITH 850 WINDS
BACKING AROUND TO SSW IN SE KS AND ERLY WINDS IN OUR FA...CONVERGENCE
SHD BE PRETTY GOOD.  WITH GOOD UPWARD FORCING AND MOISTURE STILL IN
PLACE...WILL CARRY LIKELY POPS...WITH +RA A THREAT AGAIN.

PROXIMITY OF UPR LOW ON TUE WILL FORCE ME TO CARRY CHC POPS FOR TUE AS
WELL.

HIGHS THRU PD SHD REMAIN AOB NORM...ESP TUE BUT WILL LIKELY STICK
CLOSER TO WARMER FWC GIVEN PSBLTY OF SEEING SOME BREAKS MON.  HIGH
DWPTS WILL KEEP MINS ABV FAN GUIDANCE TOO...CLOSER TO FWC AGAIN.

.EAX...NONE.

JM

The office that day

Everything else NWS Kansas City, MO issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 25, 10:02 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Bates	43 min
May 25, 10:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Cass	42 min
May 26, 12:18 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	EAX	Bates	42 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Missouri, 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.