Alert archive / Nebraska / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 259, NWS North Platte, NE
NWS North Platte, NE issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Oct 11, 1997, 8:50 PM MDT for Arthur County, Grant County, Nebraska. It was in force for 60 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Oct 11, 1997, 8:50 PM MDT (02:50 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 11, 1997, 9:50 PM MDT
- In force
- 60 min
- Issued by
- NWS North Platte, NE
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Arthur County, NE, Grant County, NE
The radar
The North Platte radar (KLNX), 98 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:54 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.
The watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 5:30 PM MDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 00:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 115 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
- 990 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -87 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1102 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 46 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 247 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 328 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.9
- Supercell composite
- 3.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KLBF 120251 RRA SVRLBF NEC005-075-120350- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 950 PM CDT (850 PM MDT) SAT OCT 11 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTH PLATTE NE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 950 PM MDT (1050 PM CDT) FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN WEST CENTRAL NEBRASKA ...ARTHUR COUNTY ...GRANT COUNTY AT 848 PM MDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED BY NORTH PLATTE DOPPLER RADAR 41 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF MULLEN OR 24 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF WHITMAN MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. DAMAGING HAIL AND/OR DESTRUCTIVE WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED NEAR... WHITMAN BY 930 PM MDT ARTHUR BY 910 PM MDT A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES. THIS WARNING REPLACES THE WARNING THAT WAS IN EFFECT UNTIL 850 PM MDT FOR ARTHUR AND GRANT COUNTIES. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH... DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS. MICHELS/SPRINGER
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 North Platte, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Oct 11, 1:51 PM MDT, 6 hours 59 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Oct 11, 1:51 PM MDT, 6 hours 59 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE 250 PM CDT SAT OCT 11 1997 ...FORECAST CHALLENGE THIS CYCLE...THUNDERSTORMS AND THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE WEATHER TONIGHT...TIMING OF FRONT AND TEMPERATURES FALLS PRESENTS THE MAIN CHALLENGE IN LATER PERIODS... ADAP INDICATES MAIN SURFACE MOISTURE CONVERGENCE ALONG SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN NEBRASKA BORDERS AND IN NORTHEAST COLORADO WITH THE STRONGEST IN SOUTH DAKOTA. CAP STRENGTH IS ALSO WEAKEST ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER. FOR THE LACK OF ANY OTHER INDICATORS...WOULD EXPECT THE PRIMARY STORM DEVELOPMENT TO BEGIN IN WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA AND ALONG THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA LINE OR NORTHEAST COLORADO. SPECIAL SOUNDING FROM LBF MODIFIED WITH SURFACE TEMPERATURE OF 84 PRODUCES CAPE OF 2278J/KG BUT CAP STRENGTH IS 1.8C. THE WIND PROFILE HAS BROAD VEERING ARC TO 6KM... THEN SHARP BACKING (INDICATING COLD ADVECTION)...SO WOULD EXPECT DESTABILIZATION AND FAIRLY STRONG HELICITY. SO...AT LEAST FOR THE LBF AREA AND DOWNSTREAM...SPC MODERATE RISK LOOKS LIKE A GOOD BET. ETA, NGM, AVN AGREE THAT TEMPERATURES WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY COLDER BY MONDAY MORNING WITH THE AVN COLDER THAN THE NGM OR THE ETA BY MORE THAN A COUPLE OF DEGREES. THE 1000-500MB THICKNESS PROGS HAVE VALUES OF 5460M, 5430M, 5400M IN NEBRASKA FOR THE ETA, NGM, AVN RESPECTIVELY. IF AVN CAN BE BELIEVED, A HARD FREEZE IS ON TAP FOR AT LEAST THE WESTERN HALF OF THE LBF UPDATE AREA. WITH THE ETA FORECAST OF ZERO TO -5C GIVEN BY THE ETA AT 850MB... THE HARD FREEZE SCENARIO COULD BE A REASONABLE FORECAST. HOWEVER...THE ETA AND THE NGM KEEP A TIGHT GRADIENT WITH THE FLOW IN PHASE. SO THE WIND WILL PROBABLY NOT DECOUPLE COMPLETELY. THAT WOULD KEEP TEMPERATURES UP A FEW DEGREES. HOWEVER...WITH THE MAGNITUDE OF THE COLD ADVECTION...TEMPERATURES WILL PROBABLY STILL RANGE FROM THE UPPER 20S IN THE PANHANDLE TO THE UPPER 30S IN THE ONL AREA. WIND SHOULD DROP BELOW ADVISORY CRITERIA TONIGHT...BUT BREEZY CONDITIONS WILL PROBABLY PERSIST INTO MONDAY. SUGGESTED FORECAST... NEZ006>010-026>029-120915- KEYA PAHA-BOYD-BROWN-ROCK-HOLT-BLAINE-LOUP-GARFIELD-WHEELER- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF AINSWORTH...O NEILL...BURWELL 400 PM CDT SAT OCT 11 1997 ...WIND ADVISORY THIS EVENING... .TONIGHT...A 60 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. LOW IN THE MID 50S. SOUTH WIND 30 TO 40 MPH...DECREASING TO 20 TO 30 MPH. .SUNDAY...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 60S AROUND MIDDAY...THEN STEADY OR FALLING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. SOUTH WIND 15 TO 25 MPH...BECOMING NORTH BY EARLY AFTERNOON AND INCREASING TO 25 TO 35 MPH. .SUNDAY NIGHT...CLEARING LATE. LOW IN THE LOWER 30S. .MONDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH AROUND 60. NEZ022-035>038-057>059-069>071-120915- GARDEN-ARTHUR-MCPHERSON-LOGAN-CUSTER-KEITH-PERKINS-LINCOLN-CHASE-HAYES- FRONTIER- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF BROKEN BOW...OGALLALA...NORTH PLATTE...IMPERIAL 400 PM CDT SAT OCT 11 1997 ...WIND ADVISORY THIS EVENING... .TONIGHT...A 60 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. LOW IN THE UPPER 50S. SOUTH WIND 30 TO 40 DECREASING TO 20 TO 30 MPH. .SUNDAY...A 60 PERCENT CHANCE OF SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH IN THE LOWER 60S DURING THE MORNING...THEN STEADY OR FALLING THE REST OF THE DAY. SOUTH WIND 15 TO 25 MPH...BECOMING NORTH BY LATE MORNING AND INCREASING TO 25 TO 35 MPH. .SUNDAY NIGHT...CLEARING. LOW AROUND 30. .MONDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 60S. NEZ004-005-023>025-120915- SHERIDAN-CHERRY-GRANT-HOOKER-THOMAS- INCLUDING THE COMMUNITIES OF VALENTINE...MULLEN 400 PM CDT SAT OCT 11 1997 ...WIND ADVISORY THIS EVENING... .TONIGHT...A 60 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. LOW IN THE MID 50S. SOUTH WIND 30 TO 40 MPH...DECREASING TO 20 TO 30 MPH. .SUNDAY...A 60 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH IN THE UPPER 50S DURING THE MORNING THEN STEADY OR FALLING TEMPERATURES. WIND BECOMING NORTH 25 TO 35 MPH. .SUNDAY NIGHT...CLEARING EARLY. LOW 25 TO 30. .MONDAY...SUNNY. HIGH AROUND 60. LBF NU 057/062 030/062 029 49660 VTN NU 055/059 028/060 027 49660 OGA NU 058/062 030/062 029 49660 IML NU 059/063 031/063 030 49660 BBW NU 058/062 032/063 031 49660 ANW NU 056/062 032/063 031 49660 ONL NU 056/062 033/063 032 49660 SPRINGER
The office that day
Everything else NWS North Platte, NE issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 7:30 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Deuel, Garden | 60 min |
| Oct 11, 7:46 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Arthur, Garden, Grant | 64 min |
| Oct 11, 8:02 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Deuel, Garden, Keith | 63 min |
| Oct 11, 9:52 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Arthur | 48 min |
| Oct 11, 10:50 PM MDT | Flash Flood Warning | LBF | Deuel | 3 hr |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Nebraska, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.