Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 57, NWS Hastings, NE

October 16, 1998Buffalo County, Dawson County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at Oct 16, 1998, 6:37 PM CDT for Buffalo County, Dawson County, Nebraska. It was in force for 38 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
Oct 16, 1998, 6:37 PM CDT (23:37 UTC)
Expired
Oct 16, 1998, 7:15 PM CDT
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS Hastings, NE
Area
Whole counties

Counties Buffalo County, NE, Dawson County, NE

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Oct 16, 6:48 PM CDTTornado F1Elm Creek, NE
Oct 16, 6:55 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 60Overton, 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
Oct 16, 3:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 12:00Z, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 101 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 1998-10-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 658 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 1998-10-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 250 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
658 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-50 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1017 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
67 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
250 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
246 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

697 
WFUS1 KGRI 162338 RRA
TORGRI
NEC019-047-170015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
637 PM CDT FRI OCT 16 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR PEOPLE IN...
  WESTERN BUFFALO IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA
  SOUTHEASTERN DAWSON IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 715 PM CDT

* AT 635 PM CDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A TORNADO 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF HOLDREGE OR 8 MILES SOUTHWEST ELM
  CREEK... MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  ELM CREEK BY 645 PM CDT.

IF YOU ARE IN A MULTIPLE STORY BUILDING...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR
ROOM AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

KD/LEW

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 Oct 16, 2:15 PM CDT, 4 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 16, 2:15 PM CDT, 4 hours 22 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
215 PM CDT FRI OCT 16 1998

MIDDAY SFC CHART HAS DEEPENING LOW IN COLO WITH AN INVERTED TROF/WARM
FRONT FROM SE SD INTO THE COLO LOW. 60+ DEW POINTS TO THE SOUTH OF THE
BOUNDRY.  UEX 88D SHOWING TRW DEVELOPING AND TO THE WEST GLD/LBF ARE
ALREADY ISSUING WARNINGS. UA ANAL HAS CLOSED LOW AT 5H NEAR SLC VERY
CLOSE TO WHERE THE ETA HAS ADVERTISED THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS. 7H LOW
IN SW WY. 85H HAS DEW POINTS >+10 FROM MN TO TX.

OBVIOUS FCST PROBLEMS ARE CHANCES OF SVR WX THIS EVENING AND TIMING
AND MOVEMENT OF THE UPPER LOW AND SFC FRONT. ALTHOUGH MODELS ARE IN
FAIR AGREEMENT WITH THE OVERALL PATTERN THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENCES
WITH THE FINER DETAILS. THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS THE ETA MOVING THE SFC
LOW QUICKLY OFF TO THE NE ON SATURDAY.  THE NGM/AVN ARE SLOWER AND AS
A RESULT SUGGEST PRECIPITATION LINGERING LONGER ACROSS THE CWA ON
SATURDAY.  ALL MODELS INDICATE DRYING ON SUNDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE AND
CAA SETTLE IN.  LOOKS LIKE IT WILL GO FROM WINDY FROM THE SOUTH TO
WINDY FROM THE NORTH.

THERE WILL BE WEAK ISENTROPIC LIFT AND 3H DIVERGENCE OVER PORTIONS OF
THE CWA UNTIL AROUND MIDNjIGHT SO WITH ALL THE ELEMENTS IN PLACE
CANNOT RULE OUT CHANCE OF SEVERE. TEND TO THINK WE WILL HAVE SOME SHOWERS
FOR AT LEAST SOME OF SATURDAY SO WILL HAVE POPS AGAIN.

.GID...NONE.

GRIFFITH

In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 16, 5:19 PM CDT, 1 hour 18 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  HASTINGS NE
519 PM CDT FRI OCT 16 1998

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

0500 PM    4 S WILSONVILLE           NE   0.75 INCH HAIL
10/16/98   FURNAS

KD
Local storm report, Oct 16, 5:19 PM CDT, 1 hour 18 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  HASTINGS NE
519 PM CDT FRI OCT 16 1998

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

0500 PM    4 S WILSONVILLE           NE   0.75 INCH HAIL
10/16/98   FURNAS

KD

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 16, 4:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDDawson39 min
Oct 16, 4:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDDawson57 min
Oct 16, 4:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDFurnas37 min
Oct 16, 5:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDFurnas, Gosper, Phelps59 min
Oct 16, 5:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDDawson30 min
Oct 16, 6:15 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDPhelps30 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.