Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 1998
Tornado Warning 6, NWS Cheyenne, WY
NWS Cheyenne, WY issued this tornado warning at May 20, 1998, 7:54 PM MDT for Cheyenne County, Nebraska. It was in force for 31 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, 7:54 PM MDT (01:54 UTC)
- Expired
- May 20, 1998, 8:25 PM MDT
- In force
- 31 min
- Issued by
- NWS Cheyenne, WY
- Area
- Whole counties
County Cheyenne County, NE
The radar
The Cheyenne radar (KCYS), 152 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:58 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, 8:00 PM MDT | Hail 1 | Dalton, NE | A storm produced quarter size hail 6 miles east of Dalton. The hail fell for 50 minutes and caused considerable crop damage. |
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
Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 151 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.
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
996 WFUS1 KCYS 210155 RRA TORCYS NEC033-210225- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 754 PM MDT WED MAY 20 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHEYENNE HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... NORTHERN CHEYENNE COUNTY IN WESTERN NEBRASKA PANHANDLE * UNTIL 825 PM MDT * AT 752 PM MDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO 8 MILES EAST OF DALTON... MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 10 MPH. * THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN... OPEN COUNTRY IF YOU ARE IN A CAR...GO IN A NEARBY STURDY BUILDING AS A LAST RESORT LIE FLAT IN A DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD. DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO OUTRUN A TORNADO. CARS ARE EASILY TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADIC WINDS. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO... LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING. IF NO STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...SEEK SAFETY IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT. BE MINDFUL OF RISING WATERS. PAL
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 20, 2:59 PM MDT, 4 hours 55 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, 2 hours 8 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
DAUGHERTYSpecial weather statement, May 20, 7:25 PM MDT, 29 minutes before
NEZ001>003-019-WYZ059-060-067-068-070-210140- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 725 PM MDT WED MAY 20 1998 ...THE TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 8 PM FOR BANNER... MORRILL... KIMBALL AND CHEYENE COUNTIES NEBRASKA. THE TORNADO WATCH EXPIRED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE...SIOUX...DAWS...SCOTTS BLUFF AND BOX BUTTE. THE TORNADO WATCH EXPIRED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN EASTERN WYOMING...CONVERSE...NIOBRARA...PLATTE...GOSHEN...AND EASTERN LARAMIE. PAL
Special weather statement, May 20, 7:25 PM MDT, 29 minutes before
NEZ001>003-019-WYZ059-060-067-068-070-210140- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 725 PM MDT WED MAY 20 1998 ...THE TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 8 PM FOR BANNER... MORRILL... KIMBALL AND CHEYENE COUNTIES NEBRASKA. THE TORNADO WATCH EXPIRED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE...SIOUX...DAWS...SCOTTS BLUFF AND BOX BUTTE. THE TORNADO WATCH EXPIRED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN EASTERN WYOMING...CONVERSE...NIOBRARA...PLATTE...GOSHEN...AND EASTERN LARAMIE. PAL
The office that day
Everything else NWS Cheyenne, WY issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 6:10 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Morrill | 30 min |
| 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, 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
Tornado Warnings in Nebraska, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes 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.