Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 19, NWS Goodland, KS
NWS Goodland, KS issued this tornado warning at Aug 21, 1997, 7:13 PM MDT for Dundy County, Hitchcock County, Nebraska. It was in force for 47 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, 7:13 PM MDT (01:13 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 21, 1997, 8:00 PM MDT
- In force
- 47 min
- Issued by
- NWS Goodland, KS
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Dundy County, NE, Hitchcock County, NE
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 21, 7:25 PM MDT | Tornado F1 | Benkelman, NE | Weak tornado moving south southeast blew out windows and tore down tree branches. One inch hail was observed 2 miles east of tornado. |
| Aug 21, 7:45 PM MDT | Hail 4 | Benkelman, NE | Hail up to grapefruit size damaged vehicles, roofs, and siding and destroyed windows and windshields. The hail was accompanied by strong winds. At 1840 MST, 1.25 inch diameter hail was reported 16 miles north of Benkelman and winds broke 4 branches up to 3 i |
| Aug 21, 8:00 PM MDT | Thunderstorm Wind 61 | Max, NE | Tree branches up to 8 inches in diameter downed. Hail up to 2 inches in diameter fell at Max between 1848 and 1853 MST. |
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, 6:00 PM MDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 00:00Z, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 124 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 220114 RRA TORGLD NEC057-087-220200- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 713 PM MDT (813 PM CDT) THU AUG 21 1997 * TORNADO WARNING FOR EASTERN DUNDY COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN NEBRASKA WESTERN HITCHCOCK COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN NEBRASKA * UNTIL 800 PM MDT (900 PM CDT) * SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED 9 MILES NORTH OF MAX AROUND 720 PM MDT MAX AROUND 740 PM MDT STRATTON AROUND 840 PM CDT 8 MILES SOUTH OF STRATTON AROUND 855 PM CDT * AT 711 PM MDT (811 PM CDT)...GOODLAND DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO 17 MILES SOUTHEAST OF IMPERIAL OR 614 MILES NORTH OF MAX MOVING SOUTH AT 30 MPH. GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR! VJN
The office that day
Everything else NWS Goodland, KS issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 21, 7:46 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Red Willow | 49 min |
| Aug 21, 7:57 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Dundy, Hitchcock | 48 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Nebraska, 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.