Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Hastings, NE

May 11, 1998Sherman County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at May 11, 1998, 6:03 PM CDT for Sherman County, Nebraska. It was in force for 42 min. 2 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 11, 1998, 6:03 PM CDT (23:03 UTC)
Expired
May 11, 1998, 6:45 PM CDT
In force
42 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 23:02 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 11, 6:03 PM CDTHail 1.75Hazard, NE
May 11, 6:18 PM CDTHail 0.75Rockville, 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 11, 5:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 12:00Z, 11.1 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 12:00Z on 1998-05-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 163 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 1998-05-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 55 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
163 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-101 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
620 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
55 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
56 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.

858 
WFUS1 KGRI 112308 RRA
TORGRI
NEC163-112345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
603 PM CDT MON MAY 11 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS NE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR PEOPLE IN...
  SHERMAN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 645 PM CDT

* AT 602 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
  A POSSIBLE TORNADO 27 MILES NORTH OF KEARNEY...OR 2 MILES SOUTH
  OF HAZARD...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES PER HOUR. GOLFBALL HAIL
  WAS REPORTED NEAR HAZARD AROUND 6 PM.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  HAZARD AT 610 PM CDT
  LOUP CITY AT 625 PM CDT
  ASHTON AT 630 PM CDT
  
TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IN A BASEMENT. IF A BASEMENT IS NOT
AVAILABLE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. STAY
AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

STAY TUNED TO LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE
LATEST SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER...HAVE THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN HASTINGS
NE.

DEG

&

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 11, 2:00 PM CDT, 4 hours 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 11, 2:00 PM CDT, 4 hours 3 minutes before
CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
200 PM CDT MON MAY 11 1998

...SVR WEATHER THIS EVENING THEN TURNING QUIET FOR OUTPERIODS...

EARLY ISSUANCE TODAY IN ANTICIPATION OF SEVERE WEATHER DEVELOPING THIS
AFTERNOON.  18Z SFC ANALYSIS SHOWED FRONTAL BNDRY NC NEBR TO NW KS WITH
LOW PRESSURE BTWN MCK-GLD.  PSBL WARM FRONTOGENESIS OCCURRING NEAR
KS/NEB BORDER.  VSBL SATELLITE SHOWS CLEAR AREA FROM HLC-MCK WITH 62
DEW POINT AT HLC.  WV IMGRY SHOWS NEXT S/W OVER ERN COLO.

12Z MODEL RUNS CONTINUE TO INDICATE STRONG LIFT OF UNSTABLE AIR THIS
EVENING AND SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL REMAINS.  GOING FCST LOOKS GOOD
AND CANNOT FIND MUCH REASON TO MAKE MAJOR CHANGES.  ONLY FLY IN THE
OINTMENT SO FAR HAS BEEN EXTENSIVE LOW/MID LVL CLOUDS WHICH HAVE
LIMITED HEATING THUS FAR.  HOWEVER AS TSTMS FIRE IN AFOREMENTIONED
CLEAR AREA...CHAIN OF EVENTS WILL BE SET IN MOTION.

IN GENERAL HAVE PREFERRED ETA MODEL FOR THIS PACKAGE.  IF SQUALL
LINE SETS UP AS PER SWODY1 INDICATES...ETA DOES SHOW QUITE A BIT OF
SUBSIDENCE SETTING UP BEHIND IT OVER SC NEBR 06-12Z.  THIS MAY
CREATE STRONGER WINDS OVER THE AREA TONIGHT THAN PRVS FCST...AND
KEEP TEMPS A LITTLE WARMER OVERNIGHT.

POST CONVECTION ENVIRONMENT BEHIND FRONT TUE LIKELY TO BE FAVORABLE
FOR AT LEAST SOME CU WITH TEMPS PROBABLY NOT REACHING GUID OR PRVS
FCST LEVELS.  FRONT SHOULD BE DRIVEN FAR ENOUGH SOUTH BY CONVECTION
TNGT TO KEEP CHANCES FOR RETURN FLOW TSTMS OUT OF FCST UNTIL WED NGT
AS PER ETA/NGM INDICATIONS.  FAN POPS TOO HIGH AT THIS POINT TUE NGT.

TEMPS SHOULD WARM BACK UP WEDNESDAY WITH GUIDANCE IN BALL PARK.

GRI BB 053/076/053/080 6000
ODX BB 050/074/050/080 6000
LXN BB 050/075/051/081 6000
HBR BB 054/076/053/081 6000
BEL BB 056/078/054/083 6000

KD

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 11, 5:42 PM CDT, 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  HASTINGS NE
542 PM CDT MON MAY 11 1998

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

0529 PM    MILLER                    NE   0.75 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   BUFFALO

DEG
Local storm report, May 11, 5:42 PM CDT, 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  HASTINGS NE
542 PM CDT MON MAY 11 1998

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

0529 PM    MILLER                    NE   0.75 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   BUFFALO

DEG

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 11, 5:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDBuffalo, Dawson, Sherman58 min
May 11, 6:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDValley67 min
May 11, 6:26 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDHoward64 min
May 11, 6:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDBuffalo, Hall40 min
May 11, 6:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDSherman48 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.