Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Hastings, NE

May 21, 1998Dawson County, Gosper County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at May 21, 1998, 8:40 AM CDT for Dawson County, Gosper County, Nebraska. It was in force for 60 min. 6 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 21, 1998, 8:40 AM CDT (13:40 UTC)
Expired
May 21, 1998, 9:40 AM CDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Hastings, NE
Area
Whole counties

Counties Dawson County, NE, Gosper County, NE

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 21, 8:45 AM CDTHail 1.75Johnson Res, NE
May 21, 9:04 AM CDTHail 1.75Lexington, NE
May 21, 9:14 AM CDTHail 1.75Overton, NE
May 21, 9:30 AM CDTHail 1Elwood, NE
May 21, 9:35 AM CDTHail 2.75Overton, NE
May 21, 9:50 AM CDTHail 1.75Overton, 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 12:00Z, 1.7 hours before the alert went out and 81 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 12:00Z on 1998-05-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 379 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 12:00Z on 1998-05-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -32 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
379 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-274 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
943 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-32 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
128 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

244 
WFUS1 KGRI 211343 RRA
TORGRI
NEC047-073-211440-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
840 AM CDT THU MAY 21 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR PEOPLE IN...
  DAWSON COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA
  NORTHERN GOSPER COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 940 AM CDT

* AT 935 AM... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 15 MILES SOUTHWEST OF LEXINGTON... MOVING NORTH NORTHEAST
  AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  ELWOOD BY 840 AM
  JOHNSON LAKE BY 850 AM
  LEXINGTON BY 905 AM

TAKE SHELTER IN A BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

GRIFFITH

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.

NWS Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at May 21, 2:35 AM CDT, 6 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 21, 2:35 AM CDT, 6 hours 5 minutes before
CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
235 AM CDT THU MAY 21 1998

...MAIN CONCERN WILL BE TIMING PERIODS OF CONVECTION OVER THE NEXT FEW
   DAYS...

00Z UAA CONTD TO HAVE UPPER RIDGE FROM THE GULF COAST ON INTO THE NRN
PLAINS. NO BIG SIGNS OF WEAKENING YET...ASIDE FROM SOME HGHT FALLS
INTO SRN CA/AZ AS UPPER LO ON OR COAST DROPS SE. THIS LOW FCST TO
EDGE TO THE EAST OVER NEXT FEW DAYS WHICH WILL PUSH RIDGE AXIS
SLIGHTLY TO THE EAST. THIS WILL MEAN BETTER DYNAMICS OVERALL FOR US
AS TIME GOES ON. OTHERWISE...H85 FRONT REMAINS DRAPED OVER AREA FROM
LOW PRES IN WY SE TO NE/KS BORDER AND DUE EAST FROM THERE. GOOD
MOISTURE POOLING FROM WRN MO INTO ERN KS...BUT LLJ IS PRETTY WK
TONIGHT.

06Z SFC CHART HAD FRONT DRAPED FROM CNTRL MO ACROSS CNTRL KS TO WK
LO IN SW KS THEN ON NW INTO SE WY/NRN UT AREA. HI PRES ENCOMPASSED
MUCH OF THE UPPER MIDWEST. LL MOISTURE STILL ABUNDANT WITH DWPTS IN
THE MID 60S TO LOWER 60S FROM JUST NORTH OF SFC FRONT SOUTH.

MDLS LIFT DECENT VORT OUT OVER AREA TODAY. THIS WAVE SHOWS UP ON SAT
PIX BUT DOESNT EXACTLY STAND OUT. ETA/NGM CONSISTENT IN FIRING MORE
STORMS ACROSS NRN AND EVENTUALLY ERN AREAS ABOUT DAYBREAK WITH THIS
WAVE & ITS INTERACTION WITH CONVECTIVE REMAINS CURRENTLY SKIRTING THE
AREA. HENCE...WILL LEAVE 30% POPS IN FCST THIS MORNING...AT LEAST FOR
A BULK OF CWA.

NEXT WAVE BEHIND IT IS MUCH STRONGER AND IS PROGGED TO AFFECT AREA
LATE TODAY AND TONIGHT. GIVEN LOCATION OF SFC FRONT AND MOISTURE
POOL IN PLACE...ADD THE DYNAMICS WITH THIS STRONG WAVE...AND YOU GET
SPCS MODERATE RISK OVER WRN NEB. WILL BUMP POPS UP TO LIKELY
OVERNIGHT...AND 30% POPS IN FCST FRI AM SEEM REASONABLE WITH SOME
LEFTOVER ACTIVITY.

BASICALLY LOOKS ACTIVE LATE FRIDAY (INTO THE EVENING) AS WELL AS SFC
LO IN ERN CO WINDS UP AND DRY SLOT PUNCHES NE INTO CWA. WILL FOCUS
LATE DAY CONVECTION IN THE ERN AND NRN CWA.

AS FOR TEMPS...NEXT FEW DAYS SHOULDNT BE TOO BAD AS WE REMAIN JUST
NORTH OF FRONT. WILL RANGE TEMPS FROM THE UPPER 70S NE TO LOWER 80S
SW. NRN KS WILL BE WARMER RIGHT AT FRONTAL BOUNDARY AND HAVE NO QUALMS
GOING 85 TO 90. POPS THRU KS WILL BE LOWER WITH NOTURNAL CONVECTION
LIKELY FOCUSING NORTH OF FRONT. WILL LEAVE 20S AND 30S IN FOR POPS
THO.

GRI BB 080/58/81 363
HEB BB 081/60/82 363
ODX BB 078/56/79 363
LXN BB 082/57/82 263
BEL BB 086/64/84 232

GURNEY

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 21, 8:06 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDDawson64 min
May 21, 8:24 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDGosper46 min
May 21, 8:30 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDDawson65 min
May 21, 9:20 AM CDTTornado WarningGIDGosper60 min
May 21, 9:27 AM CDTTornado WarningGIDBuffalo63 min
May 21, 9:42 AM CDTTornado WarningGIDDawson33 min
May 21, 10:02 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDPhelps48 min
May 21, 10:32 AM CDTTornado WarningGIDBuffalo63 min
May 21, 11:03 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDKearney32 min
May 21, 11:32 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDAdams, Hall58 min
May 21, 11:38 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDKearney32 min
May 21, 12:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDHamilton65 min
May 21, 12:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDClay63 min
May 21, 1:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDFillmore, York61 min
May 21, 6:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDGosper, Phelps33 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.