Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 581

July 7, 199715 counties in Iowa; Atchison County, Missouri; 43 counties in Nebraska

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 7, 1997, 5:45 PM CDT for 15 counties in Iowa; Atchison County, Missouri; 43 counties in Nebraska. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 7, 1997, 5:45 PM CDT (22:45 UTC)
Expired
Jul 8, 1997, 12:00 AM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 59 counties

Adair County, IA, Adams County, IA, Audubon County, IA, Cass County, IA, Dallas County, IA, Fremont County, IA, Guthrie County, IA, Harrison County, IA, Madison County, IA, Mills County, IA, Montgomery County, IA, Page County, IA, Polk County, IA, Pottawattamie County, IA, Shelby County, IA, Atchison County, MO, Adams County, NE, Boone County, NE, Buffalo County, NE, Burt County, NE, Butler County, NE, Cass County, NE, Clay County, NE, Colfax County, NE, Dodge County, NE, Douglas County, NE, Fillmore County, NE, Franklin County, NE, Furnas County, NE, Gage County, NE, Gosper County, NE, Greeley County, NE, Hall County, NE, Hamilton County, NE, Harlan County, NE, Howard County, NE, Jefferson County, NE, Johnson County, NE, Kearney County, NE, Lancaster County, NE, Merrick County, NE, Nance County, NE, Nemaha County, NE, Nuckolls County, NE, Otoe County, NE, Pawnee County, NE, Phelps County, NE, Platte County, NE, Polk County, NE, Richardson County, NE, Saline County, NE, Sarpy County, NE, Saunders County, NE, Seward County, NE, Sherman County, NE, Thayer County, NE, Washington County, NE, Webster County, NE, York County, NE

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 88 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:47 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

22 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 7, 6:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDGreeley, Nance49 min
Jul 7, 7:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXPlatte65 min
Jul 7, 7:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDNance44 min
Jul 7, 7:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXColfax62 min
Jul 7, 7:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDHoward, Merrick52 min
Jul 7, 7:55 PM CDTTornado WarningOAXColfax50 min
Jul 7, 8:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDHall, Howard50 min
Jul 7, 8:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXDodge64 min
Jul 7, 8:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDHamilton, Merrick46 min
Jul 7, 8:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDBuffalo, Hall48 min
Jul 7, 8:59 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningOAXColfax, Dodge6 hr
Jul 7, 9:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXButler62 min
Jul 7, 9:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDHarlan, Phelps55 min
Jul 7, 9:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDAdams, Clay47 min
Jul 7, 9:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXSaunders62 min
Jul 7, 10:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDKearney41 min
Jul 7, 10:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXDouglas, Sarpy48 min
Jul 7, 10:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXCass, Sarpy50 min
Jul 7, 10:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDAdams44 min
Jul 7, 10:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDClay, Nuckolls, Webster51 min
Jul 7, 10:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDKearney43 min
Jul 7, 11:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDFranklin, Webster35 min

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 119 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 12:00Z on 1997-07-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 12:00Z on 1997-07-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 73 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
929 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
73 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
92 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

999 
WWUS9 KMKC 072217
SEL1  
MKC WW 072217
NEZ000-IAZ000-080500-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 581
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
517 PM CDT MON JUL 7 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA                        
   SOUTHWESTERN AND SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA                            
  

EFFECTIVE THIS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING FROM 545 PM UNTIL
MIDNIGHT CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 130 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF HASTINGS NEBRASKA TO 45
MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF OMAHA NEBRASKA.

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 579...WW 580...

DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE ALONG SURFACE
TROF/CONVERGENCE LINE APPROACHING WATCH AREA. AIR MASS VERY
UNSTABLE WITH CAPES ABOVE 3000 J/KG. VEERING WIND PROFILE AND DRY
AIR ALOFT INDICATES THREAT OF DAMAGING WINDS AND A FEW TORNADOES. 

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25030.


...ROGASH

400,1003 415,0980 415,0930 400,0954

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 7, 4:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCBoone, Buena Vista, Calhoun, Carroll, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee and 28 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Nebraska, 1997Tornado Watches in Iowa, 1997Tornado Watches in Missouri, 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.