Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Omaha, NE

July 7, 1997Stanton County, Nebraska

NWS Omaha, NE issued this tornado warning at Jul 7, 1997, 7:15 PM CDT for Stanton County, Nebraska. It was in force for 45 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
Jul 7, 1997, 7:15 PM CDT (00:15 UTC)
Expired
Jul 7, 1997, 8:00 PM CDT
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Omaha, NE
Area
Whole counties

County Stanton County, NE

The radar

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 96 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:14 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
Jul 7, 7:37 PM CDTHail 0.75Stanton, NE
Jul 7, 7:37 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 56Stanton, NE
Jul 7, 7:53 PM CDTHail 1.75Stanton, NEHail damaged or destroyed 2500 acres of corn, soybreans, and alfalfa.

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

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 95 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1997-07-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1901 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1997-07-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 154 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
1901 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1492 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
154 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
328 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.0
Supercell composite
13.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KOMA 080015 RRA
TOROMA
NEC167-080100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
715 PM CDT MON JUL 7 1997

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  STANTON COUNTY - IN NORTHEASTERN NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 800 PM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
  THE HIGHWAY 32/57 JUNCTION   NOW
  RURAL AREAS OF STANTON COUNTY ALONG HIGHWAY 32

* AT 715 PM CDT...A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY DOPPLER RADAR
  15 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF NORFOLK OR 2 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF
  THE HIGHWAY 32/57 JUNCTION MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.
 
  ANOTHER POSSIBLE TORNADO IS LOCATED ABOUT 7 MILES SOUTH OF PILGER
MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST ABOUT 15 MPH. 

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE OPEN...TRY TO HIDE IN A DEPRRESSION SUCH AS
A DITCH OR CULVERT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO OUTRUN THE TORNADO BY AUTO.

THIS STORM IS ALSO PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL.  WATCH OUT FOR
WATER FLOWING OVER THE ROAD

POWERS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 7, 7:01 PM CDTTornado WarningOAXMadison29 min
Jul 7, 7:23 PM CDTTornado WarningOAXCuming47 min
Jul 7, 7:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXPlatte65 min
Jul 7, 7:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXColfax62 min
Jul 7, 7:55 PM CDTTornado WarningOAXColfax50 min
Jul 7, 8:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXDodge64 min
Jul 7, 8:59 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningOAXColfax, Dodge6 hr
Jul 7, 9:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXButler62 min
Jul 7, 9:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXSaunders62 min
Jul 7, 10:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXDouglas, Sarpy48 min
Jul 7, 10:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXCass, Sarpy50 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.