Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 27, NWS Wichita, KS

June 29, 1997Sumner County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this tornado warning at Jun 29, 1997, 5:57 PM CDT for Sumner County, Kansas. It was in force for 63 min. 2 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
Jun 29, 1997, 5:57 PM CDT (22:57 UTC)
Expired
Jun 29, 1997, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Wichita, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Sumner County, KS

The radar

The Wichita radar (KICT), 47 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:56 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
Jun 29, 6:16 PM CDTTornado F0Argonia, KSONE LARGE BARN DESTROYED ALONG WITH SOME FARM EQUIPMENT.
Jun 29, 7:04 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 78Geuda Spgs, KSGRAIN BIN BLOWN OVER, ROOFS TORN FROM BARNS & HOUSES, TOPPLED POWER POLES & OVERTURNED CAMPERS.

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
Jun 29, 5:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 222 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 12:00Z on 1997-06-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1693 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 1997-06-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 281 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
1693 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-206 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1053 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
281 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
306 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
5.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

337 
WFUS1 KICT 292259
TORICT
KSC191-300000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
557 PM CDT SUN JUN 29 1997

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  SUMNER COUNTY - SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 700 PM CDT
 
* SOME TOWNS AFFECTED
    ARGONIA
    MILAN
    MAYFIELD
    WELLINGTON LAKE

* AT 555 PM RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CONWAY
  SPRINGS OR 25 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WICHITA MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A STAIRWELL OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF
NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS
A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...OR CUSHIONS
TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

RENO

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 29, 4:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTKingman64 min
Jun 29, 5:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTHarper, Sumner64 min
Jun 29, 5:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTMcPherson59 min
Jun 29, 5:32 PM CDTTornado WarningICTMcPherson63 min
Jun 29, 6:07 PM CDTTornado WarningICTHarper63 min
Jun 29, 6:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTHarvey61 min
Jun 29, 6:19 PM CDTTornado WarningICTButler, Greenwood66 min
Jun 29, 6:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTButler, Sedgwick60 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.