Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 90, NWS Topeka, KS

June 20, 1998Douglas County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 20, 1998, 8:24 PM CDT for Douglas County, Kansas. It was in force for 31 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: Jun 20, 1998, 8:24 PM CDT (01:24 UTC)
Expired: Jun 20, 1998, 8:55 PM CDT
In force: 31 min
Issued by: NWS Topeka, KS
Area: Whole counties

County Douglas County, KS

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jun 20, 8:35 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Lecompton, KS

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jun 20, 3:15 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr
Jun 20, 7:15 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 1.4 hours before the alert went out and 33 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: 4942 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -46 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1090 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 337 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 629 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 13.7
Supercell composite: 52.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

571 
WUUS1 KTOP 210126 RRA
SVRTOP
KSC045-210155-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
824 PM CDT SAT JUN 20 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  DOUGLAS COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 855 PM CDT

* AT 822 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF LAWRENCE...MOVING EAST AT
  30 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED...
  LAWRENCE
  EUDORA
  LECOMPTON
  CLINTON LAKE


A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT.  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN
PRODUCE TORNADOES.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH...
DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.  FOR YOUR
PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR
HOME OR BUSINESS.

JW/SK

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 Topeka, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jun 20, 3:13 PM CDT, 5 hours 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 20, 3:13 PM CDT, 5 hours 11 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
313 PM CDT SAT JUN 20 1998

...LINGERING CONCERN FOR THUNDERSTORM CHANCES THIS FORECAST...

WILL FOLLOW ETA FORECAST THIS CYCLE. WITH CONVECTION THIS EVENING
AND FRONTAL BOUNDARY PUSHED/MOVING TO THE SOUTH OF OUR CWA LATER
TONIGHT AND SUNDAY...PREFER TO DROP TSTM CHCS ON SUNDAY EXCEPT
PERHAPS ALONG SOUTHERN COUNTIES. ETA HAS BOUNDARY TO THE SOUTH OF
OUR AREA DURING SUNDAY BUT THETA-E ADVECTION AND VERTICAL MOTION
SUPPORT ANOTHER ROUND OF CONVECTION SUNDAY NIGHT. EXACT PLACEMENT
WILL DEPEND ON HOW MUCH PUSH FRONT GETS FROM EVENING CONVECTION.

TEMPERATURES PRETTY MUCH LIKE MOS GUIDANCE THROUGH TIME. CAN'T SEE
MUCH TO CHANGE IN THAT REGARD.

IN THE SHORT TERM...LOW AND SFC BNDRY EXPECTED TO PUSH THROUGH AREA
WITH ASSOCIATED CONVECTION EARLY IN FORECAST PERIOD. CAP RATHER
STRONG BUT EXPECTED TO BREAK SOON WITH EXCESSIVE AND RECORD BREAKING
HEAT INTO AREA. OUTFLOW BOUNDARY ENHANCING MOISTURE CONVERGENCE OUR
AREA TOO. NOTE ON MOISTURE CHANNEL A SUBTLE TWIST INTO FRONT RANGE
OF THE ROCKIES AT EARLY AFTERNOON. THIS WAVE SHOULD MOVE OVER AREA
THIS EVENING PROVIDING FORECAST COOLING ALFT.

.TOP...NONE

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 20, 7:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Jackson, Jefferson	48 min
Jun 20, 8:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Jefferson	32 min
Jun 20, 8:38 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Jefferson	32 min
Jun 20, 8:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Coffey	29 min
Jun 20, 9:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Jefferson	35 min
Jun 20, 9:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Jefferson	45 min
Jun 21, 6:19 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Lyon, Morris	31 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 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.