Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 50, NWS Hastings, NE

September 29, 1998Mitchell County, Kansas

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at Sep 29, 1998, 3:32 PM CDT for Mitchell County, Kansas. It was in force for 43 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Sep 29, 1998, 3:32 PM CDT (20:32 UTC)
Expired
Sep 29, 1998, 4:15 PM CDT
In force
43 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 20:35 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 8.5 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 12:00Z on 1998-09-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 407 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 12:00Z on 1998-09-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 328 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
407 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-374 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1305 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
328 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
350 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

231 
WFUS1 KGRI 292035 RRA
TORGRI
KSC123-292115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
332 PM CDT TUE SEP 29 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR PEOPLE IN...
  MITCHELL COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 415 PM CDT

* AT 331 PM CDT... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO 27
MILES WEST OF CONCORDIA OR 5 MILES WEST OF BELOIT MOVING EAST AT
30 MPH.

* TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  BELOIT AT 340 PM CDT
  ASHERVILLE AT 350 PM CDT

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 Sep 29, 2:55 PM CDT, 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 29, 2:55 PM CDT, 37 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
255 PM CDT TUE SEP 29 1998

THUNDERSTORMS AND AMOUNT OF COOL DOWN ARE MAIN CHALLENGES.

THUNDERSTORMS INITIATED BY 700 MB SHORT WAVE THIS MORNING HAVE BEEN
FOCUSED NEAR SURFACE BOUNDARY AND HAVE REGENERATED AS A RESULT OF
CONTINUED 850 MB THETA ADVECTION ON WEST SIDE OF ONGOING MCS.
ETA INDICATED PLENTY OF ISENT LIFT ON 315K SURFACE AS WELL.  THIS IS
FORECAST TO SHIFT EWD THIS EVENING...BUT LOW LVL MOISTURE
CONVERGENCE IS PROGGED TO CONTINUE OVER AREA TONIGHT.  SHORT WAVE
TIMING WOULD SUGGEST THAT THERE COULD BE A BREAK FROM TSTMS LATE
THIS EVENING THEN MORE TO FIRE LATER TONIGHT AS NEXT SYSTEM EJECTS
OUT OF SRN ROCKIES.  OUTFLOW BOUNDARY OVER CENTRAL KANSAS COULD
FOCUS STORMS FARTHER SOUTH LATER TONIGHT THOUGH.
THEREFORE...SOUTHERN CWA IS MOST FAVORED FOR TSTMS.  HOWEVER EASTERN
PART OF AREA BEST IN LINE FOR ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINS THIS EVENING AS
PWS WILL BE GREATEST THERE.

FLASH FLOOD GUIDANCE GENERALLY QUITE HIGH WITH 6 HOUR TOTALS FROM
3-4 INCHES MOST AREAS...SO WILL HOLD OFF ON FFA.   WILL ATTEMPT
TIMING WITH CATEGORICAL PCPN THIS EVENING WHERE OCCURRING THEN PLACE
A POP OVERNIGHT.

COOL FRONT IS SHOWN BY MODELS TO MOVE THROUGH THE CWA DURING THE DAY
ON WEDNESDAY...FOLLOWED BY A STRONG AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE.  FRONT
COULD TRIGGER THUNDERSTORMS ONCE AGAIN AS IT PASSES.  TEMPERATURES
SHOULD CLIMB IN MIXING WITH FRONT AND PARTIAL SUNSHINE...THEN LEVEL
OFF OR EVEN DROP SOME IN GOOD CAA TO END THE MONTH.  FEEL CURRENT
WORDING IS A LITTLE STRONG WITH COOLING AND WILL EASE OFF A BIT.
GUIDANCE NOT BAD FOR INITIAL MAX TEMP.

WILL KEEP AN EVENING POP OVER KANSAS AS 850 MB FRONT MAY STILL HAVE
ENOUGH MOISTURE TO WORK WITH AS IT PLOUGHS SOUTH.  LATER HOWEVER...
EXPECT SOME CLEARING TO OCCUR OVERNIGHT AS HIGH BUILDS IN.  THIS
WILL MAKE FOR A COOL NIGHT.  NORTHEAST SHOULD BE COLDEST WITH BEST
CHANCE OF CLEARING.  WINDS SHOULD STAY UP ENOUGH TO KEEP TEMPS FROM
FALLING BLO CUIDANCE.  EVEN THOUGH AREA IS PROGGED TO BE IN
DIVERGENT RRQ OF POLAR JET...BELIEVE MODEL QPFS WED NIGHT/THU SHOULD
BE PUSHED FARTHER SOUTH WITH BUILDING HIGH.

ON THURSDAY...TEMPS WILL BE DEPENDENT ON HOW MUCH CLOUD COVER WORKS
EAST INTO AREA AS UPPER LOW APPROACHES.  AS CLOSED LOWS ARE USUALLY
EJECTED TOO QUICKLY WILL DELAY CLOUDS AND ALLOW TEMPS TO
RECOVER...CLOSER TO THE WARMER FWC TEMPS...AND dWARMER THAN GOING
FCST.

.GID...NONE.

DROZD

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Sep 29, 11:35 AM CDT, 3 hours 57 minutes before
KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-301200-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
1135 AM CDT TUE SEP 29 1998

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

SPOTTER ACTIVATION....SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING ACROSS PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL
KANSAS.

SYNOPSIS...

A FRONTAL BOUNDARY MOVING ACROSS THE REGION WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR
THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SOME OF THESE
STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE. THE MAIN CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS THIS
AFTERNOON WILL MAINLY BE JUST SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80...WHILE THE
CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE NORTH WILL INCREASE TOWARDS THIS EVENING.
THE MAIN THREAT ACCOMPANYING ANY THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND
DAMAGING WINDS.

DEE
Special weather statement, Sep 29, 11:35 AM CDT, 3 hours 57 minutes before
KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-301200-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
1135 AM CDT TUE SEP 29 1998

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

SPOTTER ACTIVATION....SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING ACROSS PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL
KANSAS.

SYNOPSIS...

A FRONTAL BOUNDARY MOVING ACROSS THE REGION WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR
THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SOME OF THESE
STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE. THE MAIN CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS THIS
AFTERNOON WILL MAINLY BE JUST SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80...WHILE THE
CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE NORTH WILL INCREASE TOWARDS THIS EVENING.
THE MAIN THREAT ACCOMPANYING ANY THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND
DAMAGING WINDS.

DEE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 29, 8:19 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDRooks56 min
Sep 29, 8:35 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDPhillips55 min
Sep 29, 9:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDOsborne55 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.