Alert archive / Nebraska / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 65, NWS North Platte, NE

May 21, 1998Grant County, Hooker County, Nebraska

NWS North Platte, NE issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 21, 1998, 1:33 PM MDT for Grant County, Hooker County, Nebraska. It was in force for 62 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 21, 1998, 1:33 PM MDT (19:33 UTC)
Expired: May 21, 1998, 2:35 PM MDT
In force: 62 min
Issued by: NWS North Platte, NE
Area: Whole counties

Counties Grant County, NE, Hooker County, NE

The radar

The North Platte radar (KLNX), 71 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:34 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 21, 2:30 PM MDT	Thunderstorm Wind 60	Mullen, NE	Thunderstorm winds broke a large tree limb.

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, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 112 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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.

000 
TTAA00 KLBF 211930 RRA
SVRLBF
NEC075-091-212035-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
233 PM CDT (133 PM MDT) THU MAY 21 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTH PLATTE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN GRANT COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL NEBRASKA
  SOUTHWESTERN HOOKER COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 235 PM MDT (335 PM CDT)

* AT 132 PM MDT... NORTH PLATTE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORM 28 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MULLEN OR 19 MILES SOUTH OF
  WHITMAN MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH.

* THIS STORM IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN IN RURAL AREAS SOUTHWEST OF
  MULLEN.

DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE LIKELY. GO INSIDE A STURDY
BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS!

MTM

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS North Platte, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 21, 1:15 PM MDT, 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 21, 1:15 PM MDT, 18 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
215 PM CDT THU MAY 21 1998

CHANCES FOR SVR TSRA AND THEN TEMPS ARE STILL THE MAIN CONCERNS...

WILL AGAIN KEEP THIS SHORT WITH ANTICIPATION OF CONVECTION IN THE CWA.

SFC MAP AT 18Z SHOWING FRONT INTO NC KS INTO XTREME NERN CO AND THEN
NWD INTO ERN WY. ADAP SMC SHOWING BEST MOISTURE CONVERGENCE IN THE
TRI-STATE AREA OF NEB/WY/SD AND INTO NW KS. DRAMATIC TEMPERATURE
GRADIENT ACROSS THE BOUNDARY WITH NEAR 90 DEGREES AT GLD TO 68 AT IML.

MODELS ARE SOMEWHAT VARIED IN THEIR SOLUTIONS...WITH NGM BEING THE
QUICKEST AT MOVING THE UPPER LONG WAVE TROF INTO THE ROCKIES...THE ETA
THE SLOWEST. BASED ON PREVIOUS OCCASIONS...LIKE THE SLOWEST SOLUTION
(ETA). ETA ALSO HANDLES NEXT WAVE TO MOVE INTO THE NERN CO AREA BY THIS
EVENING BETTER BASED ON WATER VAPOR IMAGERY. THIS ALL POINTS TO
POSSIBLE MCS DEVELOPMENT AGAIN TONIGHT SOMEWHERE FROM THE SRN PANHANDLE
INTO SW NEBR. BIG QUESTION IS WHETHER RAIN COOLED AIRMASS IN THE SWRN
PART OF THE STATE WILL INHIBIT OR REDUCE CONVECTION. LOOKING AT WATER
VAPOR IMAGERY AND COLD AIR ADVCETION ALOFT FURTHER SW...EXPECT THAT
CONVECTION SHOULD GET GOING WITHOUT TOO MUCH PROBLEM. WILL LIKELY GO
WITH CATEGORICAL PRECIP WORDING.

FOR TOMORROW...BOUNDARY BECOMES A LITTLE MORE DIFFUSE ON THE NWRN SIDE
AS NEW STRONGER LOW SETS UP IN NERN CO. WITH SUBSEQUENT WAVES COMING
OUT OF MAIN UPPER LOW...TSRA CHANCES TO CONTINUE. WILL GO WITH LOWER
DIURNAL RANGE OF TEMPS BASED ON CLOUD COVER AND WITH NEBR ON NERN SIDE
OF FRONT...DONT SSE THE NGM SOLUTION OF DRYING LOW LEVELS OUT BY 30-36
HRS.

PRELIMINARY GUIDANCE FOR COORDINATION ONLY. OFFICIAL FORECASTS ARE
CONTAINED WITHIN PRODUCT OMAZFPNE...

CCF
LBF EE 058/070 054/067 050 +36
OGA EE 058/071 056/069 052 +36
ONL EE 061/070 057/067 054 +46
VTN EE 056/068 051/063 050 +35

STOPPKOTTE

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 21, 9:57 AM MDT, 3 hours 36 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  NORTH PLATTE NE
1057 AM CDT THU MAY 21 1998

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

0730 AM    16 NW HAYES CENTER        NE   1.00 INCH HAIL
05/21/98   HAYES

M. MUTCHLER

Local storm report, May 21, 9:57 AM MDT, 3 hours 36 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  NORTH PLATTE NE
1057 AM CDT THU MAY 21 1998

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

0730 AM    16 NW HAYES CENTER        NE   1.00 INCH HAIL
05/21/98   HAYES

M. MUTCHLER

Local storm report, May 21, 10:10 AM MDT, 3 hours 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  NORTH PLATTE NE
1110 AM CDT THU MAY 21 1998

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

1000 PM    10 NE CHAPPELL            NE   0.75 INCH HAIL
05/20/99   DEUEL

0540 AM    2 E VENANGO               NE   WIND DAMAGE
05/21/98   PERKINS                        LARGE TREE LIMBS DOWN

BOWMAN

Local storm report, May 21, 10:10 AM MDT, 3 hours 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  NORTH PLATTE NE
1110 AM CDT THU MAY 21 1998

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

1000 PM    10 NE CHAPPELL            NE   0.75 INCH HAIL
05/20/99   DEUEL

0540 AM    2 E VENANGO               NE   WIND DAMAGE
05/21/98   PERKINS                        LARGE TREE LIMBS DOWN

BOWMAN

Special weather statement, May 21, 10:11 AM MDT, 3 hours 22 minutes before

NEZ004>010-022>029-035>038-056>059-069>071-221200-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
1110 AM CDT (1010 AM MDT) THU MAY 21 1998

THIS OUTLOOK PERTAINS TO THE FOLLOWING NEBRASKA COUNTIES...

ARTHUR     BLAINE     BOYD       BROWN      CHASE      CHERRY
CUSTER     DEUEL      FRONTIER   GARDEN     GARFIELD   GRANT
HAYES      HOLT       HOOKER     KEITH      KEYA PAHA  LINCOLN
LOGAN      LOUP       MCPHERSON  PERKINS    ROCK       SHERIDAN
THOMAS     WHEELER

...STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT ACROSS MOST OF WESTERN AND NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA...

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND TONIGHT SOUTH AND WEST OF A LINE FROM RUSHVILLE TO BROKEN BOW. A
SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE
OUTLOOK AREA.

A STATIONARY FRONT WILL REMAIN ALONG THE KANSAS AND NEBRASKA BORDER
THROUGH TONIGHT. ALONG AND NORTH OF THIS FRONT...MOISTURE WILL BE
PLENTIFUL IN THE LOW LEVELS AND WITH ADEQUATE AFTERNOON HEATING
EXPECTED...CONDITIONS WILL BECOME FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
THUNDERSTORMS BY LATE AFTERNOON WEST OF A LINE FROM RUSHVILLE TO HAYES
CENTER. AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVES OVER THE AREA THIS
EVENING...ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO
BECOME SEVERE RAPIDLY...ESPECIALLY IN THE MODERATE RISK AREA.

THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING
WINDS...HOWEVER WIND PROFILES THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BECOME
CONDUCIVE FOR DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORNADOES BY
LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING IN THE MODERATE RISK AREA. PERSONS PLANNING
ANY OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES THIS AFTERNOON ADN TONIGHT SHOULD MONITOR NOAA
WEATHER RADIO AND LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
THROUGHOUT THE DAY.

STOPPKOTTE

Local storm report, May 21, 10:16 AM MDT, 3 hours 17 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  NORTH PLATTE NE
1116 AM CDT THU MAY 21 1998

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

1000 PM    12 S OSHKOSH              NE   0.75 INCH HAIL
05/20/99   GARDEN                         HAIL DRIFTED AGAINST
                                          BUILDINGS

SPRINGER

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 20, 8:11 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	LBF	Deuel, Garden	64 min
May 20, 9:14 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Garden	61 min
May 20, 9:28 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Cherry	62 min
May 20, 9:52 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Deuel	63 min
May 21, 4:26 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Chase	64 min
May 21, 4:33 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Perkins	62 min
May 21, 5:36 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Perkins	64 min
May 21, 6:15 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Hayes	50 min
May 21, 6:29 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Keith	46 min
May 21, 6:36 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Lincoln	64 min
May 21, 6:40 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Perkins	50 min
May 21, 6:44 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Frontier	66 min
May 21, 7:27 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Frontier	63 min
May 21, 7:38 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Lincoln	62 min
May 21, 8:28 AM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Frontier	32 min
May 21, 1:19 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Arthur	66 min
May 21, 2:09 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	McPherson	66 min
May 21, 2:57 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Hooker, McPherson, Thomas	63 min
May 21, 3:03 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Keith, Lincoln	62 min
May 21, 5:38 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Frontier	62 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Nebraska, 1998 Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.