Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 2, NWS Hastings, NE

March 29, 1998Mitchell County, Kansas

NWS Hastings, NE issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 29, 1998, 10:51 PM CST for Mitchell County, Kansas. It was in force for 39 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
Mar 29, 1998, 10:51 PM CST (04:51 UTC)
Expired
Mar 29, 1998, 11:30 PM CST
In force
39 min
Issued by
NWS Hastings, NE
Area
Whole counties

County Mitchell County, KS

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 105 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:54 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Mar 29, 11:08 PM CSTHail 0.75Glen Elder, 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
Mar 29, 7:15 PM CSTTornado WatchSPC6 hr
Mar 29, 10:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 4.9 hours before the alert went out and 226 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 1998-03-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 803 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 1998-03-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 175 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
803 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1435 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
68 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
175 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
144 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.5
Supercell composite
4.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

004 
WUUS1 KGRI 300452 RRA
SVRGRI
KSC123-300530-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
1051 PM CST SUN MAR 29 1998
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS NE  HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1130 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS
 
   ...MITCHELL COUNTY
 
AT 1048 PM CST...HASTINGS RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 45 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF CONCORDIA...OR 10 SOUTHWEST OF CAWKER CITY...MOVING TO THE
NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. PEOPLE IN CAWKER CITY...BELOIT AND GLEN ELDER
SHOULD TAKE SHELTER NOW.
 
PEOPLE IN THE WARNED AREA SHOULD GET INTO A REINFORCED SHELTER FOR
PROTECTION FROM DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN...AND
DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.
 
PURDY

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.

NWS Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Mar 29, 3:58 PM CST, 6 hours 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 29, 3:58 PM CST, 6 hours 53 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
358 PM CST SUN MAR 29 1998

SHORT TERM FCST CONCERN CENTERS ON ADVANCE OF COLD AIR MASS OVER
WRN NEB INTO GID CWA.

DRY LN JUST E OF GID CWA AT 20Z MARKS WRN XTNT OF LO LVL MSTR AND
XPCTD CONVN.  18Z SFC ANLYS HD ELONGATED LO NE CO TO NE NEB AND PRES
TRND IN PAST 2 HRS SHOWS INTENSIFICATION OVR NERN NEB.  PRESENT TRND
CLOSEST TO NGM/AVN FCST WHILE ETA HOLDS SFC LO FURTHER W.  SATL
SHOWS LO CLD MASS AND CD AMS N OF SNY-LBF-YNK LN WTH NO INDCN OF
SRLY DRIFT ATTM.  APRS LO CLDS AND CD ADVN WL RCH NWRN 1/2 OF CWA
BY DAWN AND IT WL SPREAD THRUT CWA BY NOON MON.

PREFER NGM SFC FCST IN SHT TERM SINCE IT HS HNDLD THE NE NEB LO THE
BEST.  AVN APRS RSNBL AS WELL.  NGM PCPN PTRN LOOKS MUCH TOO WK
CONSIDERING STRENGTH AND SLO DRIFT OF GRT BASIN UPR SYS. XPCT PCPN
TO CHG TO SNOW IN NW CWA AT TIMES MON...AND THRUT CWA MON NGT.

ALL MDLS TAKE A SIMILAR TRACK WTH SYS BUT STGR NGM/AVN SOLN PREFERRED.
MOST OF CWA IN FOR SOLID CLD CVR AND SHWRS SPAWNED BY UPR SYS INTO
MON NGT AND BACKWASH TUE. SEEMS PRUDENT TO AIM TWD HIGHER FAN POPS
AND TRIM DAYTIME TEMPS AT LEAST 5 DEGS.

CORRECTED
GRI RS 039/045/032/042 -474
ODX SS 034/039/030/042 3573
LXN RS 035/040/030/043 3573
HBR RW 040/047/034/043 0475
BEL WW 042/050/035/043 0475

SCHURR

The office that day

Everything else NWS Hastings, NE issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 29, 10:26 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDOsborne49 min
Mar 29, 10:56 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDJewell49 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 1998Every 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.