Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Topeka, KS

May 20, 1998Pottawatomie County, Riley County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this tornado warning at May 20, 1998, 6:44 PM CDT for Pottawatomie County, Riley 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: May 20, 1998, 6:44 PM CDT (23:44 UTC)
Expired: May 20, 1998, 7:15 PM CDT
In force: 31 min
Issued by: NWS Topeka, KS
Area: Whole counties

Counties Pottawatomie County, KS, Riley County, KS

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 46 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:48 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 20, 6:50 PM CDT	Hail 1.75	Westmoreland, 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 nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 86 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: 3880 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -84 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 780 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 6 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 81 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 3.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

318 
WFUS1 KTOP 202345 RRA
TORTOP
KSC149-161-210015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
644 PM CDT WED MAY 20 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA KS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
     WESTERN POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY IN NORTHEAST KANSAS
     CENTRAL RILEY COUNTY IN NORTHEAST KANSAS

* UNTIL 715 PM CDT

* AT 642 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 17 MILES NORTHEAST OF
  MANHATTAN...OR OVER WESTMORELAND...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 10 MILES PER
  HOUR.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED...
     TUTTLE CREEK LAKE
     BLAINE
     OLSBURG
     WESTMORELAND

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

STAY TUNED TO WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR THE LATEST
SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 20, 6:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Pottawatomie	46 min
May 20, 6:21 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Jackson	49 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 1998 Every tornado warning in 1998 Tornadoes 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.