Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 741

October 8, 199734 counties in Kansas; Andrew County, Buchanan County, Platte County, Missouri

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Oct 8, 1997, 5:30 PM CDT for 34 counties in Kansas; Andrew County, Buchanan County, Platte County, Missouri. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Oct 8, 1997, 5:30 PM CDT (22:30 UTC)
Expired
Oct 8, 1997, 11:00 PM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 37 counties

Allen County, KS, Anderson County, KS, Atchison County, KS, Brown County, KS, Butler County, KS, Chase County, KS, Chautauqua County, KS, Coffey County, KS, Cowley County, KS, Doniphan County, KS, Douglas County, KS, Elk County, KS, Franklin County, KS, Geary County, KS, Greenwood County, KS, Jackson County, KS, Jefferson County, KS, Leavenworth County, KS, Lyon County, KS, Marion County, KS, Marshall County, KS, Montgomery County, KS, Morris County, KS, Nemaha County, KS, Neosho County, KS, Osage County, KS, Pottawatomie County, KS, Riley County, KS, Sedgwick County, KS, Shawnee County, KS, Sumner County, KS, Wabaunsee County, KS, Wilson County, KS, Woodson County, KS, Andrew County, MO, Buchanan County, MO, Platte County, MO

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 91 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:29 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 8, 5:44 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPGeary, Morris, Wabaunsee46 min
Oct 8, 5:51 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPPottawatomie49 min
Oct 8, 6:08 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPJackson47 min
Oct 8, 6:15 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPWabaunsee30 min
Oct 8, 6:30 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPJackson, Shawnee50 min
Oct 8, 6:55 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPJackson35 min
Oct 8, 7:01 PM CDTTornado WarningEAXAtchison44 min
Oct 8, 7:07 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPJefferson, Shawnee48 min
Oct 8, 7:14 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPBrown46 min
Oct 8, 7:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEAXAtchison, Doniphan53 min

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 113 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, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 1997-10-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 540 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, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 1997-10-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 166 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
540 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
624 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
166 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
184 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
1.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

554 
WWUS9 KMKC 082205
SEL1  
MKC WW 082205
KSZ000-MOZ000-090400-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 741
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
505 PM CDT WED OCT 8 1997

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

   EASTERN KANSAS                             
   NORTHWEST MISSOURI                           

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 530 PM UNTIL
1100 PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 3/4 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES SOUTHEAST OF WICHITA KANSAS TO 40 MILES
WEST NORTHWEST OF SAINT JOSEPH 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 740...

DISCUSSION...STRONG WIND FIELDS COUPLED WITH VERY MOIST AND
MODERATLEY UNSTABLE AIRMASS AHEAD OF STRONG UPPER TROUGH.  WIND
PROFILES FAVORABLE FORL SUPERCELLS AND TORNADOS IN LINE OF
DEVELOPING SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CENTRAL KS.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 3/4 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
500.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22035.


...HALES

365,0974 395,0964 395,0942 365,0953

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Kansas, 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.