Alert archive / Nebraska / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 44, NWS Cheyenne, WY

May 20, 1998Morrill County, Nebraska

NWS Cheyenne, WY issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 20, 1998, 6:10 PM MDT for Morrill County, Nebraska. It was in force for 30 min. 1 report 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 20, 1998, 6:10 PM MDT (00:10 UTC)
Expired: May 20, 1998, 6:40 PM MDT
In force: 30 min
Issued by: NWS Cheyenne, WY
Area: Whole counties

County Morrill County, NE

The radar

The Cheyenne radar (KCYS), 162 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:13 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 20, 6:45 PM MDT	Hail 2.75	Redington, NE	A storm produced golf ball to baseball size hail in the Redington area.

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 20, 1:30 PM MDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 00:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 206 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 87 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -39 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 3075 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -42 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 46 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.

449 
WUUS1 KCYS 210011 RRA
SVRCYS
NEC123-210040-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
610 PM MDT WED MAY 20 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHEYENNE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN MORRILL COUNTY IN WESTERN NEBRASKA PANHANDLE

* UNTIL 640 PM MDT

* AT 607 PM MDT...AREA LAW ENFORCEMENT INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
  10 WEST OF BRIDGEPORT... MOVING EAST AT 10 MPH.  LARGE MARBLE SIZE
  HAIL WAS REPORTED WITH THIS STORM.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  BRIDGEPORT AT 630 PM

GO INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS A TORNADO
WATCH IS IN EFFECT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO
PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.


SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...
DESTRUCTIVE HAIL... DEADLY LIGHTNING... AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. FOR
YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF
YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS. HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO DONT
DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

PAL
&

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 20, 12:30 PM MDT, 5 hours 40 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  CHEYENNE WY
1230 PM MDT WED MAY 20 1998

TIME(MDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0402 PM    3 NE BURNS                WY   TORNADO
05/19/98   LARAMIE                        TOUCHED DOWN BRIEFLY THEN
                                          DISSIPATED

0432 PM    5 SSE PINE BLUFFS         NE   TORNADO
05/19/98   KIMBALL                        ON GROUND LESS THAN A
                                          MINUTE

END

Local storm report, May 20, 12:30 PM MDT, 5 hours 40 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  CHEYENNE WY
1230 PM MDT WED MAY 20 1998

TIME(MDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0402 PM    3 NE BURNS                WY   TORNADO
05/19/98   LARAMIE                        TOUCHED DOWN BRIEFLY THEN
                                          DISSIPATED

0432 PM    5 SSE PINE BLUFFS         NE   TORNADO
05/19/98   KIMBALL                        ON GROUND LESS THAN A
                                          MINUTE

END

Special weather statement, May 20, 1:50 PM MDT, 4 hours 20 minutes before

NEZ001>003-019>021-054-055-WYZ059-060-067-068-070-210100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
150 PM MDT WED MAY 20 1998

...A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MUCH OF EASTERN WYOMING UNTIL 7
PM MDT...

THE STORM PREDICTIONS CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR MUCH OF
EASTERN WYOMING AND THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE UNTIL 7 PM MDT.

AT 145 PM MDT...DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM NEAR DOUGLAS TO JUST EAST OF WHEATLAND TO
NEAR CHEYENNE.  THE STRONGEST STORM WAS LOCATED 12 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
WHEATLAND.  ANOTHER STRONG STORM WAS LOCATED 20 MILES NORTH OF
CHEYENNE.  THESE STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF STRONG GUSTY WINDS...SMALL
HAIL...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

A WATCH MEANS THAT WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE FORMATION
OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND NEAR THAT AREA. STEPS SHOULD BE TAKEN TO
FIND THE SAFEST AREA IN YOUR LOCATION.

PEOPLE IN EASTERN WYOMING AND THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE SHOULD BE ALERT FOR
THUNDERSTORMS.  IF A STORM APPROACHES YOUR AREA MOVE TO A SAFE SHELTER
UNTIL IT PASSES.

WCJIN-WYNE-WYSE
LRE

Special weather statement, May 20, 1:50 PM MDT, 4 hours 20 minutes before

NEZ001>003-019>021-054-055-WYZ059-060-067-068-070-210100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
150 PM MDT WED MAY 20 1998

...A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MUCH OF EASTERN WYOMING UNTIL 7
PM MDT...

THE STORM PREDICTIONS CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR MUCH OF
EASTERN WYOMING AND THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE UNTIL 7 PM MDT.

AT 145 PM MDT...DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM NEAR DOUGLAS TO JUST EAST OF WHEATLAND TO
NEAR CHEYENNE.  THE STRONGEST STORM WAS LOCATED 12 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
WHEATLAND.  ANOTHER STRONG STORM WAS LOCATED 20 MILES NORTH OF
CHEYENNE.  THESE STORMS ARE CAPABLE OF STRONG GUSTY WINDS...SMALL
HAIL...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

A WATCH MEANS THAT WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE FORMATION
OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND NEAR THAT AREA. STEPS SHOULD BE TAKEN TO
FIND THE SAFEST AREA IN YOUR LOCATION.

PEOPLE IN EASTERN WYOMING AND THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE SHOULD BE ALERT FOR
THUNDERSTORMS.  IF A STORM APPROACHES YOUR AREA MOVE TO A SAFE SHELTER
UNTIL IT PASSES.

WCJIN-WYNE-WYSE
LRE

Special weather statement, May 20, 2:59 PM MDT, 3 hours 11 minutes before

NEZ001>003-019>021-054-055-WYZ059-060-067-068-070-202155-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
259 PM MDT WED MAY 20 1998

...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING
AND THE WESTERN NEBRASKA PANHANDLE...

AT 255 PM MDT DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR INDICATED SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS OVER MAINLY SOUTHEAST WYOMING.  THE STRONGEST
THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 10 MILES WEST OF TORRINGTON WYOMING. THE
STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.  ANOTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORM
WAS LOCATED JUST SOUTH OF HARRRISON NEBRASKA.  THESE STORMS ARE
CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SMALL HAIL... STRONG GUSTY WINDS...AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THESE TFHUNDERSTORMS TAKE SHELTER IN A
STURDY BUILDING UNTIL THE STORM PASSES.

LRE
WCJIN-WYSE-WYNE

Local storm report, May 20, 5:46 PM MDT, 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  CHEYENNE WY
546 PM MDT WED MAY 20 1998

TIME(MDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0540 PM    BAYARD                    NE   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/20/98   MORRILL

DAUGHERTY

The office that day

Everything else NWS Cheyenne, WY issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 20, 6:29 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	CYS	Morrill	31 min
May 20, 6:59 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	CYS	Morrill	31 min
May 20, 7:39 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CYS	Cheyenne	31 min
May 20, 7:54 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	CYS	Cheyenne	31 min
May 20, 8:49 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CYS	Cheyenne	31 min
May 21, 4:57 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CYS	Box Butte	48 min
May 21, 5:48 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CYS	Box Butte	37 min
May 21, 10:55 AM MDT	Tornado Warning	CYS	Scotts Bluff, Sioux	30 min
May 21, 11:30 AM MDT	Tornado Warning	CYS	Scotts Bluff	35 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Nebraska, 1998 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1998

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.