Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Topeka, KS

August 16, 1997Washington County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this tornado warning at Aug 16, 1997, 8:16 PM CDT for Washington County, Kansas. It was in force for 49 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 16, 1997, 8:16 PM CDT (01:16 UTC)
Expired
Aug 16, 1997, 9:05 PM CDT
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Topeka, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Washington County, KS

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 16, 7:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 152 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 1997-08-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 4616 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 1997-08-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 32 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
4616 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-28 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1262 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
12 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
32 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
107 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 170116 RRA
TORTOP
KSC201-170205-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
816 PM CDT SAT AUG 16 1997

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
     EASTERN WASHINGTON COUNTY - NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 905 PM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
     GREENLEAF
     WASHINGTON
     HANOVER
     BARNES

* AT AT 815 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 20 MILES
  SOUTHWEST OF MARYSVILLE...OR NEAR GREENLEAF MOVING NORTHEAST AT
  10 MPH.

* REPORTS
     SEVERAL FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS STORM
     IN THE GREENLEAF AREA
 
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.

&

SW/PB

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 16, 7:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPClay, Washington45 min
Aug 16, 7:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPClay33 min
Aug 16, 7:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPNemaha34 min
Aug 16, 8:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPMarshall43 min
Aug 16, 8:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPClay43 min
Aug 16, 8:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPNemaha48 min
Aug 16, 8:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPDickinson47 min
Aug 16, 8:42 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningTOPClay3 hr
Aug 16, 8:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPOttawa58 min
Aug 16, 9:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPClay45 min
Aug 16, 9:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPJackson, Pottawatomie48 min
Aug 16, 9:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPDickinson63 min
Aug 16, 9:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPBrown48 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.