Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 17, NWS Topeka, KS

July 1, 1997Brown County, Nemaha County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this tornado warning at Jul 1, 1997, 5:15 AM CDT for Brown County, Nemaha County, Kansas. It was in force for 30 min. 9 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 1, 1997, 5:15 AM CDT (10:15 UTC)
Expired
Jul 1, 1997, 5:45 AM CDT
In force
30 min
Issued by
NWS Topeka, KS
Area
Whole counties

Counties Brown County, KS, Nemaha County, KS

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 1, 5:15 AM CDTHail 4Woodlawn, KS
Jul 1, 5:15 AM CDTTornado F1Woodlawn, KS
Jul 1, 5:20 AM CDTHail 0.75Woodlawn, KS
Jul 1, 5:25 AM CDTHail 1.75Woodlawn, KS
Jul 1, 5:25 AM CDTHail 4Fairview, KS
Jul 1, 5:40 AM CDTHail 1.75Horton, KS
Jul 1, 5:40 AM CDTThunderstorm Wind 61Horton, KS
Jul 1, 5:40 AM CDTThunderstorm Wind 52Hiawatha, KS
Jul 1, 5:40 AM CDTHail 2.75Hiawatha, KS

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

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 90 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 00:00Z on 1997-07-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2402 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 00:00Z on 1997-07-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -5 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
2402 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-61 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1238 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
2 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTOP 011015 RRA
TORTOP
KSC013-131-011045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
515 AM CDT TUE JUL 1 1997

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
     WESTERN BROWN COUNTY - NORTHEAST KANSAS
     EASTERN NEMAHA COUNTY - NORTHEAST KANSAS

* UNTIL 545 AM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
     WOODLAWN
     FAIRVIEW
     GRANADA
     POWHATTAN

* AT 515 AM CDT RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 15 MILES WEST
OF HIAWATHA NEAR WOODLAWN MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IN A HOME OR
BUSINESS IS AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID
WINDOWS.

PB

The office that day

Everything else NWS Topeka, KS issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 1, 4:55 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPNemaha50 min
Jul 1, 5:37 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPJackson33 min
Jul 1, 5:45 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPBrown30 min
Jul 1, 6:23 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPJefferson57 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 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.