Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 36, NWS North Platte, NE

August 28, 1997Keith County, Nebraska

NWS North Platte, NE issued this tornado warning at Aug 28, 1997, 4:58 PM MDT for Keith County, Nebraska. It was in force for 47 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
Aug 28, 1997, 4:58 PM MDT (22:58 UTC)
Expired
Aug 28, 1997, 5:45 PM MDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS North Platte, NE
Area
Whole counties

County Keith County, NE

The radar

The North Platte radar (KLNX), 124 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:00 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
Aug 28, 5:15 PM MDTHail 0.88Ogallala, NE

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 nearest sounding before it

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 89 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 1997-08-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1148 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 1997-08-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -69 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
1148 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-231 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1252 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-69 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
90 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KLBF 282258 RRA
TORLBF
NEC101-282345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
558 PM CDT (458 PM MDT) THU AUG 28 1997

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTH PLATTE NE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 545 PM MDT (645 PM CDT)
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN SOUTHWESTERN NEBRASKA

   ...SOUTH CENTRAL KEITH COUNTY
 
AT 457 PM MDT...A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY NORTH PLATTE
DOPPLER RADAR 5 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF OGALLALA MOVING EAST
SOUTHEAST AT 5 MPH.

THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN IN RURAL AREAS.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
THE SAFEST PLACE IN A HOME OR BUSINESS IS AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. AVOID WINDOWS.

The office that day

Everything else NWS North Platte, NE issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 28, 3:55 PM MDTTornado WarningLBFDeuel, Garden, Keith50 min
Aug 28, 4:44 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFKeith66 min
Aug 28, 5:09 PM MDTTornado WarningLBFPerkins66 min
Aug 28, 5:44 PM MDTTornado WarningLBFPerkins61 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.