Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Goodland, KS

May 11, 1998Kit Carson County, Colorado

NWS Goodland, KS issued this tornado warning at May 11, 1998, 5:09 PM MDT for Kit Carson County, Colorado. It was in force for 46 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 11, 1998, 5:09 PM MDT (23:09 UTC)
Expired
May 11, 1998, 5:55 PM MDT
In force
46 min
Issued by
NWS Goodland, KS
Area
Whole counties

County Kit Carson County, CO

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 11, 5:55 PM MDTHail 0.75Seibert, CO

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

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 83 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, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 1998-05-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 602 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 1998-05-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 22 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
602 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-42 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
578 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
22 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
25 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

877 
WFUS1 KGLD 112310 RRA
TORGLD
COC063-112355-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
509 PM MDT MON MAY 11 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GOODLAND HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  WESTERN KIT CARSON COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL COLORADO

* UNTIL 555 PM MDT

* AT 507 PM MDT... GOODLAND DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING
  TORNADO 31 MILES EAST OF LIMON OR 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF FLAGLER
  MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  HWY 59...10 MILES SOUTH OF SEIBERT      AROUND 520 PM MDT
  9 MILES SOUTH OF VONA                   AROUND 535 PM MDT

GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR

VOJTESAK

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 Goodland, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at May 11, 12:15 PM MDT, 4 hours 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 11, 12:15 PM MDT, 4 hours 54 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
1215 PM MDT (115 PM CDT) MON MAY 11 1998

...EVE TSTM CHCS AND THEN TEMPS ALL PDS MN CONCERNS THIS FCST
PCKG...

PREFER ETA LLVL FEATURES SINCE ETA BL DEWPOINTS THROUGH THIS EVE
MATCHES CLOSELY TOO CURRENT SFC DEPOINT DISTRIBUTION...BUT PREFER
TIMING OF UPR IMPULSES BY NGM. MODELS IN GEN AGRMNT WITH OPENING H5
LOW OVR THE GREAT BASIN AS IT SLIDES ENE INTO THE NRN PLNS.  A LEAD
IMPULSE SLIDES ACROSS THE NRN CWFA THIS AFT AND EVE...AND THIS WILL
BE THE TRIGGER FOR TSTMS OVR ERN COUNTIES THIS EVE.  NGM IS SLOWEST
WITH THIS FEATURE AND THIS SEEMS REASONABLE GIVEN LATEST SAT IMAGERY.
ATTM...THE FNT IS JUST WEST OF HLC.

SVR TSTMS ARE POSSIBLE AHEAD OF THE FNT WHERE DWPNTS ARE NR 60 DEG
F.  MODIFIED SHARP SOUNDINGS INDC CAPES IN THE 2500-3000 J/KG AREA
WITH UNSTBL AIR.  HODOGRAPH WILL LKLY MODIFY CONSIDERABLY BY EVE AS
LLVL JET PASSES WELL E...CAUSING A FLATTENING OF THE SHEAR VECTORS
IN THE 0-3KM AGL LAYER FM THIS MORNS DDC SOUNDING.  THIS REDUCES
SUPERCELL PONTENTIAL SOME...BUT 0-6KM HELICITY OF 150-200 WITH
MODIFIED SOUNDING CAPES STILL IN RANGE OF SUPERCELLS WITH AN EHI NR
3.00.  WILL KEEP 30 POPS FOR NERN COUNTIES THIS EVE AND WILL MENTION
A FEW POSSIBLY SVR.  ELSEHERE...POPS WILL BE TAPERED W IN THE COOLER
AIR.

BOTH THE ETA AND NGM INDC UPR DYNAMICS MOVE PROGESSIVELY OUT OF OUR
CWFA BY LT TNGT...SO XPC ANY TSTMS TO MOVE E OUT OF THE AREA.  ETA
BL AND H85 MOISTURE INDCS MARGINAL LOW LVL MOISTURE WRAPPING BACK IN
FM THE N LT TNGT...SO WILL KEEP PC SKIES...ALTHOUGH COMPLETE CLRG IS
A POSSIBILITY...SPCLY S.  OTRW...TUE AND WED MNLY LOOK DRY WITH WRMR
TEMPS ON WED.  IN THE EXTENDED...KEPT MENTION OF TSTMS IN WED NGT
AND THU PDS.

FWC LOWS LOOK RSNBLE...BUT WENT SLIGHTLY BELOW HIGHS TUE GVN PAST
FWC WRM BAIS LAST TWO DAYS LKLY RESULTING FM ABV NORMAL BL MOISTURE
FM RNFL LT LAST WEEK.  OVRALL FST CONFIDENCE WITH THIS PCKG IS RATED
AVG.

.GLD...NONE.

VJN

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 11, 4:48 PM MDT, 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED TO MDT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KANSAS
448 PM MDT MON MAY 11 1998

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

0410 PM    12 SSW CHEYENNE WELLS     CO   .88 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   CHEYENNE

0420 PM    4 S TRIBUNE               KS   1 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   GREELEY

0420 PM    5 S TRIBUNE               KS   1 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   GREELEY                        PENNY TO QUARTER HAIL
                                          COVERING GROUND

0432 PM    4 SE SELKIRK              KS   1.5 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   WICHITA

0441 PM    LEOTI                     KS   .75 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   WICHITA

ENTWISTLE
Local storm report, May 11, 4:48 PM MDT, 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KANSAS
348 PM MST MON MAY 11 1998

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

0310 PM    12 SSW CHEYENNE WELLS     CO   .88 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   CHEYENNE

0320 PM    4 S TRIBUNE               KS   1 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   GREELEY

0320 PM    5 S TRIBUNE               KS   1 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   GREELEY                        PENNY TO QUARTER HAIL
                                          COVERING GROUND

0332 PM    4 SE SELKIRK              KS   1.5 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   WICHITA

0341 PM    LEOTI                     KS   .75 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   WICHITA

ENTWISTLE
Local storm report, May 11, 4:48 PM MDT, 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED TO MDT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KANSAS
448 PM MDT MON MAY 11 1998

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

0410 PM    12 SSW CHEYENNE WELLS     CO   .88 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   CHEYENNE

0420 PM    4 S TRIBUNE               KS   1 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   GREELEY

0420 PM    5 S TRIBUNE               KS   1 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   GREELEY                        PENNY TO QUARTER HAIL
                                          COVERING GROUND

0432 PM    4 SE SELKIRK              KS   1.5 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   WICHITA

0441 PM    LEOTI                     KS   .75 INCH HAIL
05/11/98   WICHITA

ENTWISTLE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Goodland, KS issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 11, 3:46 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDKit Carson64 min
May 11, 5:53 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDKit Carson62 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 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.