Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Topeka, KS

May 7, 1997Lyon County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this tornado warning at May 7, 1997, 7:26 PM CDT for Lyon County, Kansas. It was in force for 44 min. 2 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
May 7, 1997, 7:26 PM CDT (00:26 UTC)
Expired
May 7, 1997, 8:10 PM CDT
In force
44 min
Issued by
NWS Topeka, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Lyon County, KS

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 7, 8:00 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 52Admire, KS
May 7, 8:17 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 52Reading, 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 watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 7, 4:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr
May 7, 6:45 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 75 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 1997-05-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1465 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 1997-05-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 208 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
1465 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
785 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
208 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
298 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.9
Supercell composite
9.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KTOP 080028
TORTOP
KSC111-080110-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
726 PM CDT WED MAY 7 1997

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
     NORTHERN LYON COUNTY - EAST CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 810 PM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
     ADMIRE
     AMERICUS
     BUSHONG

* AT 726PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 20 NORTHWEST 
  OF EMPORIA NORTHWEST OF BUSHONG MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE STORM WILL BE NEAR
     BUSHONG AROUND 735PM
     AMERICUS ABOUT 740PM
     ADMIRE AROUND 750PM

* REPORTS
     BRIEF TORNADO TOUCHDOWNS REPORTED IN MORRIS COUNTY NEAR
     COUNCIL GROVE
 
ABANDON MOBILE HOMES!  GO IN A NEARBY STURDY BUILDING!  AS A LAST
RESORT LIE FLAT IN A DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD!

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 7, 7:15 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPMorris30 min
May 7, 8:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPCoffey, Lyon, Osage48 min
May 7, 8:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPAnderson, Coffey42 min
May 7, 9:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPAnderson33 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.