Alert archive / Nebraska / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 39, NWS Hastings, NE

May 15, 1998Sherman County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 15, 1998, 2:43 AM CDT for Sherman County, Nebraska. It was in force for 47 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 15, 1998, 2:43 AM CDT (07:43 UTC)
Expired
May 15, 1998, 3:30 AM CDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Hastings, NE
Area
Whole counties

County Sherman County, NE

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 110 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:45 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
May 15, 3:10 AM CDTHail 0.75Loup City, NE

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

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 00:00Z, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 136 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 00:00Z on 1998-05-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 887 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 00:00Z on 1998-05-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 48 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
887 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2036 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
48 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
144 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

182 
WUUS1 KGRI 150745 RRA
SVRGRI
NEC163-150830-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
243 AM CDT FRI MAY 15 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR PEOPLE IN...
  SHERMAN COUNTY IN CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 330 AM CDT

* AT 240 AM CDT... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORMS 25 MILES NORTHWEST OF KEARNEY OR ABOUT 5 MILES WEST
  OF PLEASANTON MOVING RAPIDLY NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT...HAZARD...LITCHFIELD AND LOUP
CITY THROUGH 330 AM

DAMAGING WINDS UP TO 70 MPH AND LARGE HAIL ARE LIKELY. GO INSIDE A
STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

JAB

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 May 15, 1:20 AM CDT, 1 hour 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 15, 1:20 AM CDT, 1 hour 23 minutes before
CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
120 AM CDT FRI MAY 15 1998

...TROUBLE CONFINED TO THE 1ST 12 HRS OF FCST W/ TSRA CHCS AS RATHER
   IMPRESSIVE TROF SWINGS OUT OVER AREA TODAY...

WILL KEEP THIS BRIEF W/ THREAT FOR CONVECTION INCREASING ACROSS SRN
PARTS OF THE CWA ATT. SAT PIX EARLY THIS AM HAD MAIN SPIN LOCATED OVER
NRN NM. ONE AREA OF SHRA/TSRA WORKING THRU CNTRL KS. ECHOES NOT ALL
THAT IMPRESSIVE LOOKING...BUT ICT HAVING FUN W/ 70+ MPH WINDS OUT OF
THEM. NEXT ROUND OF STORMS FIRING IN TX PNDHL IN ASSOC W/ MAIN SYS.
SFC CHART SHOWED COLD FRONT FROM AROUND ANW SOUTH TO MCK/GLD AND ON
SW INTO SRN CO. GOOD NW FLOW BEHIND IT INDICATING A GOOD PUSH IN THIS
DIRECTION OCCURING. DRY LINE EXTENDS SOUTH FROM MCK TO THE WEST OF GCK.
IT HAS BACKED TO THE WEST...BUT WILL ROAR EASTWARD AGAIN AS SYS COMES
OUT OVER NEXT 12 HRS.

WILL KEEP THIS EVENING UPDATED FCST BASICALLY INTACT...FOCUSING MAIN
STORM THREAT THRU 18Z...AT WHICH TIME...AXIS OF TROF SHOULD BE SWEEPING
THRU. WILL GIVE SE 1/2 OF CWA THE BEST CHC...AND HOLD PRECIP CHCS INTO
THE EARLY AFTN...OUT WEST...SCT POPS IN AM...P SUNNY DURING THE AFTN.
WINDY THIS AM W/ SOUTH WINDS 20/30...BECMG NW 15/25 MIDDAY. TEMPS WILL
BE HELD DOWN SOME BY CLDS TODAY...GENERALLY THE MID 70S.

TONITE...WILL GO CLEAR WITH TEMPS FROM THE MID 40S WEST TO AROUND 50
EAST.

TOMR...M SUNNY. HIGH 80 EAST TO LOWER 80S WEST...MAYBE EVEN MID 80S IN
WRN KS COUNTIES.

GRI TU 077/050/081 600
HBR TU 076/051/080 600
ODX TU 077/046/082 400
BLT TU 077/053/083 600
LXN TU 078/045/083 400

GURNEY

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 14, 9:20 PM CDT, 5 hours 23 minutes before
KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-150500-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
920 PM CDT THU MAY 14 1998

...SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND PART OF
   NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS...

SPOTTER ACTION...SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY AFTER MIDNIGHT.

SYNOPSIS...

THE INGREDIENTS FOR SEVERE WEATHER ARE COMING TOGETHER SLOWER THAN
PREVIOUSLY ANTICIPATED. AS A RESULT THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS NOT
EXPECTED TO OCCUR ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL
KANSAS UNTIL AFTER MIDNIGHT.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS EVENING ACROSS WESTERN
SECTIONS OF NEBRASKA AND KANSAS AND SPREAD EASTWARD DURING THE EARLY
MORNING HOURS. THE ATMOSPHERE WILL REMAIN QUITE UNSTABLE...THUS SEVERE
WEATHER REMAINS A POSSIBILITY WITH THE MAIN THREAT BEING DAMAGING
WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER SOURCES OF WEATHER
INFORMATION FOR LATER UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WATCHES AND WARNINGS.

BARRITT
Special weather statement, May 14, 9:20 PM CDT, 5 hours 23 minutes before
KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-150500-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
920 PM CDT THU MAY 14 1998

...SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND PART OF
   NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS...

SPOTTER ACTION...SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY AFTER MIDNIGHT.

SYNOPSIS...

THE INGREDIENTS FOR SEVERE WEATHER ARE COMING TOGETHER SLOWER THAN
PREVIOUSLY ANTICIPATED. AS A RESULT THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IS NOT
EXPECTED TO OCCUR ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL
KANSAS UNTIL AFTER MIDNIGHT.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS EVENING ACROSS WESTERN
SECTIONS OF NEBRASKA AND KANSAS AND SPREAD EASTWARD DURING THE EARLY
MORNING HOURS. THE ATMOSPHERE WILL REMAIN QUITE UNSTABLE...THUS SEVERE
WEATHER REMAINS A POSSIBILITY WITH THE MAIN THREAT BEING DAMAGING
WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER SOURCES OF WEATHER
INFORMATION FOR LATER UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WATCHES AND WARNINGS.

BARRITT

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 2:32 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDBuffalo, Furnas, Gosper, Phelps48 min
May 15, 3:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDValley45 min
May 15, 3:17 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDGreeley48 min
May 15, 11:47 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDFillmore43 min
May 15, 11:56 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDYork49 min
May 15, 12:03 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDFillmore, York62 min
May 15, 12:32 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDPolk43 min
May 15, 12:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDHamilton37 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Nebraska, 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.