Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 196, NWS Goodland, KS
NWS Goodland, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 21, 1997, 9:14 PM CDT for Decatur County, Rawlins County, Kansas. It was in force for 61 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
- Aug 21, 1997, 9:14 PM CDT (02:14 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 21, 1997, 10:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 61 min
- Issued by
- NWS Goodland, KS
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Decatur County, KS, Rawlins County, KS
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 21, 9:15 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 52 | Atwood, KS | Spotter estimated 60 mph winds. |
| Aug 21, 9:30 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 52 | Oberlin, KS | Spotter estimated 60 mph winds. |
| Aug 21, 10:00 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 87 | Dresden, KS | Wind blew out windows, uprooted trees, knocked down signs and antennas. At least 4 roofs were blown off; a storage building and a mobile home was destroyed. A leg on a grain elevator was bent. At Leoville, spotter estimated 60 mph winds. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 21, 7:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 00:00Z, 2.2 hours before the alert went out and 150 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
- 2266 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -22 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1174 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 49 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 113 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 301 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 3.0
- Supercell composite
- 15.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KGLD 220214 RRA SVRGLD KSC039-153-220315- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 814 PM MDT (914 PM CDT) THU AUG 21 1997 * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR DECATUR COUNTY IN NORTHWESTERN KANSAS RAWLINS COUNTY IN NORTHWESTERN KANSAS * UNTIL 1015 PM CDT (915 PM MDT) * SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED LUDELL AROUND 915 PM CDT ATWOOD AROUND 920 PM CDT HWY 25...9 MILES SOUTH OF ATWOOD AROUND 940 PM CDT * AT 910 PM CDT...GOODLAND DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES NORTH OF ATWOOD OR 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF LUDELL MOVING SOUTH AT 30 MPH. GOODLAND DOPPLER RADAR ALSO INDICATED ANOTHER SEVERE THUNDERSTORM MOVING SOUTHWARD INTO DECATUR COUNTY. LOCATIONS AFFECTED CEDAR BLUFFS AROUND 917 PM CDT TRAER AROUND 920 PM CDT GO INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS! A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES. VJN
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 Aug 21, 1:44 PM CDT, 7 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 21, 1:44 PM CDT, 7 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 1244 PM MDT (144 PM CDT) THU AUG 21 1997 BIGGEST CHALLENGE TODAY IS ONCE AGAIN POPS FOR THE FIRST PERIOD. 18Z ADAP DATA SHOWS NO CAP...LI OF -11...AND STRONG MOISTURE CONVERGENCE ALONG AN IML-DDC LINE. THIS BOUNDARY WAS PRODUCED BY SEVERE STORMS OVER CENTRAL NEBRASKA EARLY THIS MORNING. WILL EXPECT TS TO START DEVELOPING FAIRLY EARLY ON THIS AFTERNOON NEAR THIS BOUNDARY. ANOTHER BOUNDARY EXTENDS FROM IML SOUTHWESTWARD TO NEAR LHX...BUT DEW POINTS ARE A BIT LOWER ALONG WESTERN BOUNDARY AND IT MAY TAKE AN ADDITIONAL SOURCE OF LIFT TO BREAK CAP ACROSS WRN ZNS. OTHER KEY PLAYER IS SHORT WAVE OVER NWRN NEBRASKA. MODELS CONSISTENT IN MOVING WAVE SOUTHEAST INTO NERN FA BY LATE AFTERNOON. DRYING BEHIND THIS FEATURE IS QUITE IMPRESSIVE ON WATER VAPOR IMAGERY...WHILE ETA PROGS PW VALUES OF OVER 1.5 INCHES OVER SERN FA BY 00Z THIS EVENING. FFG IS RELATIVELY LOW OVER ERN ZNS...BUT NOT YET CONFIDENT ON POTENTIAL COVERAGE SO WILL NOT FAVOR FFA AT THIS TIME...BUT EVENING SHIFT WILL NEED TO WATCH CLOSELY. FAIRLY STRONG MID-LEVEL NORTHWEST WINDS REMAIN IN PLACE AND WIND SHEAR MAY ADD TO SEVERE POTENTIAL. TOMORROW AND TOMORROW EVENING...ETA FORECAST CAPES ARE ONCE AGAIN QUITE INPRESSIVE ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN FA. LITTLE EASTWARD PROGRESS OF MAIN TROUGH CURRENTLY OVER REGION SHOULD LEAD TO THE BEST CHANCES OF PRECIP IN CENTRAL FA...THOUGH LESS TODAY GIVEN THE LACK OF DYNAMICS. WILL RETAIN SLIGHT CHANCE POPS ON SATURDAY AS ETA FORECAST LAPSE RATES DECREASE SLIGHTLY AS LOWER LEVELS WARM. TIMING OF FAST MOVING NORTHWEST FLOW SHORTWAVES AND POSSIBLE MODEL UNDERESTIMATION OF MONSOON MOISTURE TO OUR WEST MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO ELIMINATE AFTERNOON POPS ANYWHERE IN FA. .GLD...NONE. BARKER
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 21, 7:06 PM CDT, 2 hours 8 minutes before
COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-220600- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 607 PM MDT (707 PM CDT) THU AUG 21 1997 ...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT MDT (1 AM CDT) FOR EXTREME EASTERN COLORADO...NORTHWEST KANSAS AND SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA... COUNTIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH ARE AS FOLLOWS: IN EXTREME EASTERN COLORADO...YUMA...KIT CARSON AND CHEYENNE IN EXTREME SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA...DUNDY...HITCHCOCK AND RED WILLOW IN NORTHWEST KANSAS...CHEYENNE...RAWLINS...DECATUR...NORTON...SHERMAN ...THOMAS...SHERIDAN...GRAHAM...WALLACE...LOGAN...GOVE...GREELEY AND WICHITA. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE IS EXPECTED TO MOVE OUT OF WYOMING INTO NORTHEAST COLORADO...WESTERN NEBRASKA AND NORTHWEST KANSAS THIS EVENING. HIGH SURFACE DEWPOINTS WILL COMBINE WITH THE UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE TO AID IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS. FURTHERMORE ...WIND PROFILES IN THE ATMOSPHERE ARE TURNING WITH HEIGHT WHICH MEANS SOME STORMS WILL HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO PRODUCE TORNADOES. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA BETWEEN IMPERIAL AND NORTH PLATTE NEBRASKA AND ARE MOVING SOUTH AT 25 MPH. THESE STORMS ALREADY HAVE A HISTORY OF LARGE HAIL. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN COVERAGE AS THE EVENING PROGRESSES. A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. ALWAYS GO TO A BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR IS A TORNADO THREATENS YOUR AREA. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...RADIO...CABLE TELEVISION...OR TELEVISION FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION. MARTELLO &
Special weather statement, Aug 21, 8:35 PM CDT, 39 minutes before
COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-220440- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 735 PM MDT (835 PM CDT) THU AUG 21 1997 ...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT MDT (1 AM CDT)... A WARM AND HUMID AIRMASS REMAINS OVER THE AREA THIS EVENING. CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...AND TORNADOES. A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT MDT (1 AM CDT) FOR YUMA...CHEYENNE AND DUNDY COUNTIES IN EXTREME EASTERN COLORADO... DUNDY...HITCHCOCK AND RED WILLOW COUNTIES IN EXTREME SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA... CHEYENNE...RAWLINS...DECATUR...NORTON...SHERMAN...THOMAS... SHERIDAN...GRAHAM...WALLACE...LOGAN...GOVE...GREELEY AND WICHITA COUNTIES OF NORTHWEST KANSAS. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS MAY ALSO OCCUR. BE READY TO MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR STORM CELLAR IF A WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...RADIO...CABLE TELEVISION...OR TELEVISION FOR THE LATEST UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION. TURNER
Special weather statement, Aug 21, 8:43 PM CDT, 31 minutes before
COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-220440- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 735 PM MDT (835 PM CDT) THU AUG 21 1997 ...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT MDT (1 AM CDT)... A WARM AND HUMID AIRMASS REMAINS OVER THE AREA THIS EVENING. CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...AND TORNADOES. A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT MDT (1 AM CDT) FOR YUMA...CHEYENNE AND KIT CARSON COUNTIES IN EXTREME EASTERN COLORADO... DUNDY...HITCHCOCK AND RED WILLOW COUNTIES IN EXTREME SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA... CHEYENNE...RAWLINS...DECATUR...NORTON...SHERMAN...THOMAS... SHERIDAN...GRAHAM...WALLACE...LOGAN...GOVE...GREELEY AND WICHITA COUNTIES OF NORTHWEST KANSAS. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS MAY ALSO OCCUR. BE READY TO MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR STORM CELLAR IF A WARNING IS ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...RADIO...CABLE TELEVISION...OR TELEVISION FOR THE LATEST UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS CONCERNING THIS DANGEROUS WEATHER SITUATION. TURNER
The office that day
Everything else NWS Goodland, KS issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 21, 9:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Sheridan | 49 min |
| Aug 21, 10:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Graham | 49 min |
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.