Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 41, NWS Goodland, KS

May 26, 1997Rawlins County, Kansas

NWS Goodland, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 26, 1997, 2:12 PM CDT for Rawlins County, Kansas. It was in force for 63 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 26, 1997, 2:12 PM CDT (19:12 UTC)
Expired
May 26, 1997, 3:15 PM CDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Goodland, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Rawlins County, KS

The radar

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 71 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:16 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
May 26, 2:30 PM CDTHail 0.75Atwood, 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
May 26, 2:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 12:00Z, 7.2 hours before the alert went out and 155 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 12:00Z on 1997-05-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 12:00Z on 1997-05-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -39 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
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
532 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-39 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-12 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

566 
WUUS1 KGLD 261911 RRA
SVRGLD
KSC153-262015-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
112 PM MDT MON MAY 26 1997

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  RAWLINS COUNTY IN NORTHWESTERN KANSAS

* UNTIL 315 PM CDT (215 PM MDT)
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
  HWY 25...9 MILES SOUTH OF ATWOOD        AROUND 232 PM CDT
  13 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ATWOOD            AROUND 249 PM CDT

* AT 210 PM CDT...GOODLAND DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 14 MILES WEST OF ATWOOD OR 4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
  MCDONALD MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF LARGE HAIL. GO INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING
AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

MARTELLO

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 May 26, 11:04 AM CDT, 3 hours 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 26, 11:04 AM CDT, 3 hours 8 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
1003 AM MDT (1103 AM CDT) MON MAY 26 1997

UPDATED FOR VARIOUS ELEMENTS. FIRST PRIORITY WILL BE POP CHCS. WITH
COOL STABLE LAYER SLOWLY WARMING IN A NNELY FLOW ALONG THE KANSAS
BORDER...EXPECTING SUNSHINE TO PERIODICALLY DEVELOP SHALLOW SC OUT
AHEAD OF H7/H5 LOW AND COLD POOL CURRENTLY OVER NRN COLORADO. RUC
12Z SHOWS H5 TEMPS TO BE M18-M21C ACROSS AREA BY 00Z. CURRENT
SATELLITE AND RADAR SHOW ECHOES DRIFTING ENEWD WITH TCU SLOWLY
BUILDING TO THE SW OF THE MAIN ENERGY. I MENTIONED SEVERE TSRA
MAINLY FOR A GRADUAL LOWERING OF THE WET BULB ZEROS. 12Z UA DATA
SHOWS H7 TEMPS 0 TO -5C OVER NERN UTAH/NWRN COLORADO AND 12Z RUC
SHOWS THIS COOLER AIR AT H7 ALONG CO/KS BORDER BY 21Z. THOUGHT
HAIL COULD OCCUR IN CO ZNS 91/92 BY THEN...AND WITH TEMPS WARMING
EAST OF A MCK/CBK/TRB LINE THIS AFTERNOON...INCREASING INSTABILITY
LIKELY. WIND PROFILES LOOK LAME...BUT STILL...CONVECTION SHOULD
BREAK OUT IN STEEPENING LAPSE RATES AND STRONGER WEST WINDS ALOFT.

TEMPS... LEFT TEMPS AS THEY ARE WEST OF A MCK/TRB LINE BUT RAISED
THEN TO NEAR 70 AT HLC. A NWLY SFC FLO HAS SET UP TEMPORARILY AND
SEEMS TO BE ALLOWING A WARMER DOWNSLOPE FLOW TO DEVELOP. A SLIVER OF
LOW CLOUDS CONTINUE TO STREAM OVER HLC AREA BUT TEMPS CONTINUE TO
WARM BELOW THIS SC DECK. IF IT DOESNT RAIN...TEMPS MAY REACH 70 TO
75 RANGE BEFORE SURFACE WAVE EXITS FORECAST AREA AND WINDS RECOVER
TO A LGT NLY FLOW. HOPEFULLY...THIS WONT HAPPEN...16Z SFC OB MAY
INDICATE THAT THINGS HAVE STABILIZED TEMPWISE. OTHERWISE SURFACE
LAYER WILL BE PRIMED FOR CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY AS UPPER SYSTEM EJECTS
A PRETTY STRONG WAVE THIS EVENING ACROSS THAT AREA.

VOJTESAK

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 26, 11:18 AM CDT, 2 hours 54 minutes before
COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-270600-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
1018 AM MDT MON MAY 26 1997

THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES

CHEYENNE CO   CHEYENNE KS   DECATUR KS     DUNDY NE        GOVE KS
GRAHAM KS     GREELEY KS    HITCHCOCK NE   KIT CARSON CO   LOGAN KS
NORTON KS     RAWLINS KS    RED WILLOW NE  SHERIDAN KS     SHERMAN KS
THOMAS KS     WALLACE KS    WICHITA KS     YUMA CO

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING
ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA.

SYNOPSIS: ANOTHER FAST-MOVING WAVE OF UPPER-LEVEL ENERGY WILL PASS
OVER THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. UNUSUALLY COLD AIR
ALOFT FOR THIS TIME OF THE YEAR WILL ALLOW CONVECTION TO DEVELOP
ABOVE WHAT IS EXPECTED TO BE A MARGINALLY UNSTABLE SURFACE LAYER
LATER TODAY.

WITH SURFACE DEW POINT TEMPERATURES IN THE 50S FOR THE MOST PART...
POCKETS OF STRONG SUNSHINE WILL ONLY ENHANCE THE INSTABILITY NEAR
THE SURFACE. THE ONLY SNAG IN THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SCENARIO WILL
BE THE INCREASING NORTH SURFACE FLOW ENTERING THE REGION FROM
CENTRAL NEBRASKA. TEMPERATURES MAY BREAK OUT INTO THE UPPER 60S IN
SOME LOCATIONS...PARTICULARLY EAST OF A MCCOOK NEBRASKA RUSSELL
SPRINGS KANSAS LINE.

NEVERTHELESS...VERY COLD TEMPERATURES ALOFT WILL ALLOW FOR SOME
DEEP CONVECTION. THE MAIN CONCERN THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING
WILL BE LARGE HAIL.

VOJTESAK
Special weather statement, May 26, 11:19 AM CDT, 2 hours 53 minutes before
COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-270600-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
1018 AM MDT MON MAY 26 1997

THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES

CHEYENNE CO   CHEYENNE KS   DECATUR KS     DUNDY NE        GOVE KS
GRAHAM KS     GREELEY KS    HITCHCOCK NE   KIT CARSON CO   LOGAN KS
NORTON KS     RAWLINS KS    RED WILLOW NE  SHERIDAN KS     SHERMAN KS
THOMAS KS     WALLACE KS    WICHITA KS     YUMA CO

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING
ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA.

SYNOPSIS: ANOTHER FAST-MOVING WAVE OF UPPER-LEVEL ENERGY WILL PASS
OVER THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. UNUSUALLY COLD AIR
ALOFT FOR THIS TIME OF THE YEAR WILL ALLOW CONVECTION TO DEVELOP
ABOVE WHAT IS EXPECTED TO BE A MARGINALLY UNSTABLE SURFACE LAYER
LATER TODAY.

WITH SURFACE DEW POINT TEMPERATURES IN THE 50S FOR THE MOST PART...
POCKETS OF STRONG SUNSHINE WILL ONLY ENHANCE THE INSTABILITY NEAR
THE SURFACE. THE ONLY SNAG IN THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SCENARIO WILL
BE THE INCREASING NORTH SURFACE FLOW ENTERING THE REGION FROM
CENTRAL NEBRASKA. TEMPERATURES MAY BREAK OUT INTO THE UPPER 60S IN
SOME LOCATIONS...PARTICULARLY EAST OF A MCCOOK NEBRASKA RUSSELL
SPRINGS KANSAS LINE.

NEVERTHELESS...VERY COLD TEMPERATURES ALOFT WILL ALLOW FOR SOME
DEEP CONVECTION. THE MAIN CONCERN THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING
WILL BE LARGE HAIL.

VOJTESAK
Special weather statement, May 26, 2:04 PM CDT, 8 minutes before
KSZ002>004-014>016-028-029-042-NEZ080-081-270110-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
104 PM MDT MON MAY 26 1997

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT...

A POTENT UPPER LEVEL STORM WILL PASS ACROSS THE REGION THIS
AFTERNOON AND THE POSSIBILITY EXISTS FOR LARGE HAIL...TORRENTIAL
RAINFALL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

THE WATCH AREA INCLUDES HITCHCOCK AND RED WILLOW COUNTIES OF
SOUTHWESTERN NEBRASKA...AND MUCH OF NORTHWEST KANSAS.

THE KANSAS COUNTIES NOT INCLUDED IN THIS THUNDERSTORM WATCH ARE:

CHEYENNE...SHERMAN...WALLACE AND GREELEY.

THEREFORE THE WATCH WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT...ALONG AND EAST
OF A LINE FROM SWANSON RESERVOIR IN HITCHCOCK COUNTY NEBRASKA TO
SELKIRK KANSAS IN WESTERN WICHITA COUNTY KANSAS.

AT SIGNS OF AN IMPENDING STORM...TOWERING THUNDERHEADS...DARKENING
SKIES...LIGHTNING AND INCREASING WINDS...MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY.
TUNE IN NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TV STATION FOR
THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...RADIO...CABLE TELEVISION...OR
TELEVISION FOR THE LATEST UPDATES CONCERNING THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER
SITUATION.

VOJTESAK
Special weather statement, May 26, 2:05 PM CDT, 7 minutes before
KSZ002>004-014>016-028-029-042-NEZ080-081-270110-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
104 PM MDT MON MAY 26 1997

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT...

A POTENT UPPER LEVEL STORM WILL PASS ACROSS THE REGION THIS
AFTERNOON AND THE POSSIBILITY EXISTS FOR LARGE HAIL...TORRENTIAL
RAINFALL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

THE WATCH AREA INCLUDES HITCHCOCK AND RED WILLOW COUNTIES OF
SOUTHWESTERN NEBRASKA...AND MUCH OF NORTHWEST KANSAS.

THE KANSAS COUNTIES NOT INCLUDED IN THIS THUNDERSTORM WATCH ARE:

CHEYENNE...SHERMAN...WALLACE AND GREELEY.

THEREFORE THE WATCH WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT...ALONG AND EAST
OF A LINE FROM SWANSON RESERVOIR IN HITCHCOCK COUNTY NEBRASKA TO
SELKIRK KANSAS IN WESTERN WICHITA COUNTY KANSAS.

AT SIGNS OF AN IMPENDING STORM...TOWERING THUNDERHEADS...DARKENING
SKIES...LIGHTNING AND INCREASING WINDS...MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY.
TUNE IN NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR 6LOCAL RADIO OR TV STATION FOR
THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...RADIO...CABLE TELEVISION...OR
TELEVISION FOR THE LATEST UPDATES CONCERNING THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER
SITUATION.

VOJTESAK
Local storm report, May 26, 2:08 PM CDT, 4 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
110 PM MDT (220 PM CDT) MON MAY 26 1997

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

1253 PM    BIRD CITY                 KS      .75 INCH HAIL
05/26/97   CHEYENNE
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KWIATKOWSKI

The office that day

Everything else NWS Goodland, KS issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 26, 1:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDCheyenne66 min
May 26, 2:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDThomas64 min
May 26, 3:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDLogan62 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.