Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 19, NWS Hastings, NE

August 21, 1997Osborne County, Kansas

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at Aug 21, 1997, 9:17 PM CDT for Osborne County, Kansas. It was in force for 43 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 21, 1997, 9:17 PM CDT (02:17 UTC)
Expired
Aug 21, 1997, 10:00 PM CDT
In force
43 min
Issued by
NWS Hastings, NE
Area
Whole counties

County Osborne County, KS

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 111 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:18 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 21, 9:45 PM CDTHail 1Osborne, 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 00:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 201 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 00:00Z on 1997-08-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3676 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 1997-08-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 151 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
3676 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-35 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1196 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
151 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
246 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
4.0
Supercell composite
21.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

790 
WFUS1 KGRI 220219 RRA
TORGRI
KSC141-220300-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
917 PM CDT THU AUG 21 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS NE  HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS
 
   ...SOUTHERN OSBORNE COUNTY
 
AT 915 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO 13 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF OSBORNE OR 35 MILES NORTHEAST OF HAYS. MOVEMENT WAS
SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH. THIS STORM SHOULD MOVE ALONG AND WEST OF
HIGHWAY 281 DURING THE NEXT HALF HOUR.
 
PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN OSBORNE COUNTY SHOULD TAKE SHELTER NOW.
 
 
 
PERSONS IN THE WARNED AREA SHOULD TAKE SHELTER IN A BASEMENT IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR.  CARS AND MOBILE HOMES SHOULD BE ABANDONED.
 
GURNEY

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Aug 21, 2:39 PM CDT, 6 hours 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 21, 2:39 PM CDT, 6 hours 38 minutes before
CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
238 PM CDT THU AUG 21 1997

THUNDERSTORMS MAIN CONCERN AGAIN THIS PACKAGE IN NW FLOW ALOFT.

WILL BEGIN FORECAST DISCUSSION WITH YESTERDAYS MODEL RUNS.  THEY INDCTD
IMPRESSIVE ISENT LIFT OVER SW FA BY THU MORNING.  1.25 IN PCPTBL H2O
VALUES WERE LIFTED TO SATURATION ALONG FAVORED 570 THICKNESS CONTOUR
WHICH RUNS RIGHT THROUGH SVR WX AREA THIS MORNING AS PER K0K.

ON GOING ELEVATED CONVECTION ATTM ALSO NEAR 570 TKNS CONTOUR AS PER K1K
AS 1.25 IN CONTS TO BE LIFTED AS PER P03.  ALSO COMING INTO PLAY TAFTN
IS A JET MAX RIDING NW-SE ACROSS MN/IA AD H7 S/W BOTH PER 12Z UA/PROFS.
THESE FEATURES HARD TO DISCERN ON WV IMGRY.  THESE STORMS SHOULD CONT
INTO EARLY EVENING GRADUALLY SINKING SWD.

WHAT IS MORE EVIDENT ON SATELLITE ARE OUTFLOW BNDRIES FROM MORNING TRWS
AND NW NEBR S/W WITH IMPRESSIVE DRYING AS PER GLD AFD.  THESE SHUD
COMBINE WITH MST/UNSTABLE AIR FOR TSTMS THIS EVENING NEBR AND INTO THE
NIGHT KS.  ALTHOUGH CELL MOVEMENTS QUICK...SOME TRAINING AS OCCURRED
THIS MORNING...COULD PRODUCE HEAVY AMOUNTS AND WILL MENTION IN KS TNGT.
WILL ALSO MENTION PSBLTY OF SVR WX OVER WRN SECTIONS OF FA CLOSER
WHERE SHEAR PROFILES AND HIGHER INSTABILITIES WARRANT HIGHER SVR WX
THREAT.

MODELS HAVE A TOUGH TIME WITH THIS NW FLOW SO CANT SAY THAT ANY DO A
FANTASTIC JOB.  NGM DID INITIALIZE VVEL FAIRLY WELL THIS MORNING.
WILL GO WITH TYPICAL BLEND OF MODELS USING WV IMGRY EXTRAPOLATION TO
GET SOME SEMBLANCE OF TIMING OF PSBL TSTMS FOR OUT PDS.

IT APPEARS THAT AFTER TNGT...NEXT CHC COMES AGAIN FRI AND INTO THE
EVENING AS A PORTION OF IGNACIO COMES DOWN FRONT SIDE OF UPPER RIDGE.
NGM HINTS AT THE RESULTING PRECIP BEST BUT MAY BE A LITTLE SLOW WITH
TIMING.  WILL GO WITH SMALL POPS FRI/FRI NGT AND LEAVE SAT DRY ATTM
AS THERE SHOULD BE SOME BREAK BETWEEN WAVES AFTER TROP SYS REMNANT
PASSES.

TEMPS FRIDAY PROBABLY A TAD WARMER THAN TODAY WITH ERLY AM TSTMS NOT
FCST.  SATURDAY REMAINS UP IN THE AIR BUT WILL GO EVEN A LITTLE MORE
WARMER AS UPPER RIDGE BUILDS/SHIFTS SLGTLY EWD.  FWC/FAN BLEND RSNBL
EXCEPT THAT MINS ARE A LITTLE ON THE COOL SIDE GIVEN CURRENT DEW POINTS.
.
GRI BB 064/082/064/085 4331
ODX BB 061/083/063/085 3331
LXN BB 063/084/062/086 4331
HBR BB 065/083/065/085 4331
BEL BB 067/084/066/086 5331

DROZD

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 21, 3:41 PM CDT, 5 hours 36 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  HASTINGS NE
341 PM CDT THU AUG 21 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0237 PM    FORT HARTSUFF             NE   1.50 INCH HAIL
08/21/97   VALLEY

KD

The office that day

Everything else NWS Hastings, NE issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 21, 8:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDOsborne44 min
Aug 21, 9:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDPhillips, Rooks54 min
Aug 21, 9:11 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDRooks49 min
Aug 21, 9:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDPhillips44 min
Aug 21, 9:59 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDRooks46 min
Aug 21, 10:51 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningGIDOsborne, Rooks4 hr
Aug 21, 11:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDJewell49 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.