Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Watches in 1997
Tornado Watch 322
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 25, 1997, 10:00 PM CDT for 5 counties in Kansas; 22 counties in Missouri. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 25, 1997, 10:00 PM CDT (03:00 UTC)
- Expired
- May 26, 1997, 2:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 27 counties
Bourbon County, KS, Johnson County, KS, Linn County, KS, Miami County, KS, Wyandotte County, KS, Bates County, MO, Benton County, MO, Buchanan County, MO, Carroll County, MO, Cass County, MO, Cedar County, MO, Chariton County, MO, Clay County, MO, Clinton County, MO, Dallas County, MO, Henry County, MO, Hickory County, MO, Jackson County, MO, Johnson County, MO, Lafayette County, MO, Pettis County, MO, Platte County, MO, Polk County, MO, Ray County, MO, Saline County, MO, St. Clair County, MO, Vernon County, MO
The radar
The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 11 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:01 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.
Warnings issued inside it
14 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 10:02 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Bates | 43 min |
| May 25, 10:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Benton, Hickory, St. Clair | 50 min |
| May 25, 10:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Cass | 42 min |
| May 25, 10:44 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | SGF | Benton | 36 min |
| May 25, 11:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Vernon | 32 min |
| May 25, 11:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Bates | 54 min |
| May 25, 11:35 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Miami | 25 min |
| May 26, 12:03 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Bourbon, Crawford | 62 min |
| May 26, 12:08 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | SGF | St. Clair | 52 min |
| May 26, 12:13 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | SGF | Bourbon | 47 min |
| May 26, 12:18 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Bates | 42 min |
| May 26, 12:58 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | SGF | St. Clair | 47 min |
| May 26, 1:14 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | SGF | Benton, Hickory | 51 min |
| May 26, 1:39 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | SGF | Benton, St. Clair | 3 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 131 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
- 982 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -15 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1108 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 36 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 36 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 183 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.3
- Supercell composite
- 1.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
627 WWUS9 KMKC 260227 SEL2 MKC WW 260227 KSZ000-MOZ000-260700- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 322 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 927 PM CDT SUN MAY 25 1997 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF EXTREME EASTERN KANSAS WESTERN MISSOURI EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING FROM 1000 PM UNTIL 200 AM CDT. TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 75 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES SOUTHWEST OF OLATHE KANSAS TO 35 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF KNOB NOSTER MISSOURI. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. OTHER WATCH INFORMATION... CONTINUE...WW 320...WW 321... DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AND INTENSIFY ALONG OUTFLOW BOUNDARY FROM EAST CENTRAL KANSAS INTO WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI. THESE STORMS ARE DEVELOPING IN LEFT EXIT REGION OF MID AND UPPER LEVEL JET WHERE DYNAMIC FORCING IS MOST FAVORABLE. STRONGEST STORMS ARE OCCURING NEAR INTERSECTION OF OUTFLOW BOUNDARY AND NORTH/SOUTH LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO EASTERN KANSAS. VAD AND PROFILER WINDS SHOW VEERING FLOW WITH HEIGHT...ESPECIALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF OUTFLOW BOUNDARY...SUGGESTING POTENTIAL FOR ROTATING STORMS TO DEVLOP. AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 65 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26025. ...WEISS 394,0945 393,0925 373,0925 374,0945
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 8:30 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Allen, Anderson, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Clay and 31 more | 6 hr |
| May 26, 2:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Clark, Comanche, Decatur, Edwards, Ellis, Finney and 29 more | 6 hr |
| May 26, 6:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Allen, Bourbon, Butler, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cowley and 10 more | 6 hr |
| May 26, 12:30 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Barry, Barton, Bates, Benton, Camden, Cass and 33 more | 5 hr |
| May 26, 3:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Barry, Barton, Bates, Bollinger, Butler, Camden and 42 more | 6 hr |
| May 26, 4:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Mississippi, Scott | 6 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Missouri, 1997Tornado Watches in Kansas, 1997Every tornado watch 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.