Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 176, NWS Goodland, KS

July 15, 1997Wichita County, Kansas

NWS Goodland, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 15, 1997, 7:35 PM CDT for Wichita County, Kansas. It was in force for 65 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
Jul 15, 1997, 7:35 PM CDT (00:35 UTC)
Expired
Jul 15, 1997, 8:40 PM CDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS Goodland, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Wichita County, KS

The radar

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 103 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:37 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
Jul 15, 7:52 PM CDTHail 0.88Leoti, 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 15, 3:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 149 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 1997-07-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2705 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 1997-07-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 97 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
2705 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-70 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2311 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
97 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
199 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
7.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KGLD 160036 RRA
SVRGLD
KSC203-160140-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
635 PM MDT (735 PM CDT) TUE JUL 15 1997

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  WICHITA COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 840 PM CDT (740 PM MDT)
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
  HWY 25...8 MILES NORTH OF LEOTI         AROUND 735 PM CDT
  LEOTI                                   AROUND 800 PM CDT
  MARIENTHAL                              AROUND 810 PM CDT
  HWY 25...8 MILES SOUTH OF LEOTI         AROUND 820 PM CDT

* AT 733 PM CDT...GOODLAND DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 9 MILES NORTH OF LEOTI MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

GO INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS! A TORNADO
WATCH IS IN EFFECT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES.

MAS/KPL

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 Goodland, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 15, 2:03 PM CDT, 5 hours 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 15, 2:03 PM CDT, 5 hours 32 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
101 PM MDT (201 PM CDT) TUE JUL 15 1997

MAIN PROBLEM TODAY IS EVENING POPS AND THEN HOW WARM WILL IT GET.

WAVE EVIDENT ON WATER VAPOR IMAGERY MOVING SOUTHEAST ACROSS EASTERN
CO HAS DEVELOPED A BROKEN LINE OF STORMS. ALREADY SOME SMALL HAIL
HAS BEEN REPORTED IN YUMA. THE INTERACTION OF THIS WAVE WITH THE DRY
LINE HAS FIRED THIS ACTIVITY. AS THE WAVE MOVES ACROSS FA...IT
SHOULD MOVE INTO HIGHER LOW LEVEL MOISTURE. QUESTION IS WHETHER
THERE WILL BE A BOUNDARY IN PLACE TO FOCUS THE MOISTURE ENOUGH TO
BREAK THROUGH WARMING 700 MB TEMPS. ETA AND NGM FORECAST SPEED OF
WAVE SUGGESTS THAT ANY ACTIVITY SHOULD BE CONFINED TO SERN FA BY 00Z
VALID TIME. WILL MONITOR CLOSELY AS TO WHETHER POPS WILL BE REQUIRED
FURTHER NORTHWEST.

ALL THREE MODELS BRING WAVE EAST OF FA THIS EVENING AND CLEARING
LOOKS TO A GOOD BET. ON WEDNESDAY...DECENT NVA AND 15C-17C 700 MB
TEMPS WILL INHIBIT ACTIVITY. ONLY FLY IN OINTMENT WILL BE THE
POSSIBILITY OF TAPING INTO DEEPER TRPOICAL MOISTURE EVIDENT THIS
AFTERNOON OVER NEW MEXICO. FOR NOW...SAT LOOPS SUGGEST MOISTURE WILL
BE SHUNTED SOUTH OF FA AND WILL KEEP FA MOSTLY SUNNY TO SUNNY WITH
VERY WARM TEMPS FOR WEDNESDAY.

INCREASING HIGH CLOUDS FROM THE SOUTHWEST LOOK LIKELY ON WEDNESDAY
NIGHT AND THURSDAY AS HEIGHTS DROP A BIT AND 300 MB RELATIVE
HUMIDITY JUMP OVER WRN FA. CLOUDS MAY KEEP TEMPS DOWN A BIT ON
THURSDAY COMPARED TO WEDNESDAY...BUT 850 AND 700 MB TEMPS ARE
FORECAST TO CHANGE LITTLE FROM 00Z THU TO 00Z FRI...SO WILL ONLY
LOWER ONE CATAGORY.

BARKER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 15, 2:54 PM CDT, 4 hours 41 minutes before
COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-160200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
154 PM MDT (254 PM CDT) TUE JUL 15 1997

...HOT AND MUGGY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE TRI-STATE REGION
THROUGH THURSDAY...

TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO APPROACH 100 DEGREES OVER MOST OF THE
REGION TOMORROW AND THURSDAY AFTERNOONS. THIS HEAT COMBINED WITH DEW
POINT TEMPERATURES IN THE 60S WILL PRODUCE HEAT INDEX VALUES RANGING
FROM NEAR 100 IN NORTHEAST COLORADO TO AROUND 108 ACROSS EASTERN
PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST KANSAS.

CLEAR SKIES ARE EXPECTED ON WEDNESDAY. AN INCREASE IN CLOUDS SHOULD
OCCUR FROM WEST TO EAST LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. THESE
CLOUDS COULD KEEP TEMPERATURES FROM RISING QUITE AS HIGH ON THURSDAY
COMPARED TO TOMORROW...BUT HUMIDITY WILL REMAIN HIGH.

PERSONS THAT MUST BE OUTSIDE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND THURSDAY
AFTERNOON SHOULD LESSEN THEIR ACTIVITY...DRINK PLENTY OF
LIQUIDS...TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS AND WEAR LIGHT COLORED CLOTHING.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TV STATION
OR CABLE TELEVISION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

BARKER
Special weather statement, Jul 15, 3:32 PM CDT, 4 hours 3 minutes before
COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-160300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
232 PM MDT (332 PM CDT) TUE JUL 15 1997

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM MDT (10 PM
CDT) FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN COLORADO AND ALL OF NORTHWEST KANSAS...

A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING EAST ACROSS EXTREME EASTERN COLORADO
WILL COMBINE WITH AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVING ACROSS THE
REGION TO BRING A POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER TO PORTIONS OF
EASTERN COLORADO AND NORTHWEST KANSAS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS
EVENING. THEREFORE...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR THIS AREA UNTIL 9 PM MDT (10 PM CDT).

IN COLORADO THIS WATCH INCLUDES SOUTHERN YUMA COUNTY...AS WELL AS...
ALL OF KIT CARSON AND CHEYENNE COUNTIES. IN KANSAS THE COUNTIES
WITHIN THE WATCH INCLUDE...CHEYENNE...RAWLINS...DECATUR...NORTON...
SHERMAN...THOMAS...SHERIDAN...GRAHAM...WALLACE...LOGAN...GOVE...
GREELEY...AND WICHITA COUNTIES.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE
POSSIBLE IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA.  PERSONS SHOULD WATCH FOR
THREATENING WEATHER AND LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO... COMMERCIAL
RADIO OR TELEVISION FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TV STATION
OR CABLE TELEVISION FOR LATER STATEMENTS OR WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS
SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION.

BARKER

Nearby

Severe 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.