Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 28, NWS Hastings, NE

May 22, 1999Smith County, Kansas; Franklin County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at May 22, 1999, 8:09 PM CDT for Smith County, Kansas; Franklin County, Nebraska. It was in force for 66 min. 8 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
May 22, 1999, 8:09 PM CDT (01:09 UTC)
Expired
May 22, 1999, 9:15 PM CDT
In force
66 min
Issued by
NWS Hastings, NE
Area
Whole counties

Counties Smith County, KS, Franklin County, NE

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 22, 8:10 PM CDTHail 0.75Franklin, NE
May 22, 8:30 PM CDTHail 0.75Thornburg, KS
May 22, 8:35 PM CDTHail 0.75Reamsville, KS
May 22, 8:42 PM CDTHail 0.75Bloomington, NE
May 22, 8:45 PM CDTHail 3Cora, KS
May 22, 9:00 PM CDTHail 1.75Lebanon, KS
May 22, 9:15 PM CDTHail 0.88Thornburg, KS
May 22, 9:15 PM CDTHail 1.75Lebanon, 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 22, 4:15 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 00:00Z, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 194 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 00:00Z on 1999-05-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 169 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 00:00Z on 1999-05-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 77 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
169 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-350 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1220 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
77 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
227 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.

999 
WFUS1 KGRI 230110 RRA
TORGRI
KSC183-NEC061-230215-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
809 PM CDT SAT MAY 22 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR PEOPLE IN...
  SOUTHEASTERN FRANKLIN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA
  SMITH COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 915 PM CDT

* AT 809 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO 31 MILES NORTHEAST OF PHILLIPSBURG...OR 7 MILES
  WEST OF RIVERTON...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  ATHOL AT 815 PM 
  BELLAIRE AT 830 PM 
  HARLAN AT 845 PM 

TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IN A BASEMENT OR GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM
ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. GET UNDER A STURDY PIECE OF FURNITURE AND COVER
YOUR HEAD WITH A BLANKET OR PILLOW. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

$$

LAT...LON 3959 9852 3997 9851 4001 9872 4022 9878
          4002 9901 3958 9903

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 May 22, 2:35 PM CDT, 5 hours 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 22, 2:35 PM CDT, 5 hours 34 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
235 PM CDT SAT MAY 22 1999

...STRONG CONVECTION THIS EVENING...THEN FAIR WX UNTIL AT LEAST
WED...

FORECAST APPEARS QUITE STRAIGHT FORWARD WITH THE MAIN CHALLENGES THE
TIMING OF THE COLD FRONT PASSAGE TONIGHT AND END OF PRECIPITATION.

SEVERE THREAT DEFINED WELL WITH CAPES GREATER THAN 2000 IN LOW
LEVEL MOISTURE FIELD EAST OF FRONT DEPICTED ON ETA AND WITH SHARP
MODIFIED LBF MORNING SOUNDING. EXPECT WATCHES ALONG ENTIRE LENGTH OF
FRONT ACROSS NEBRASKA AND KANSAS WITH MORE UNSTABLE AIR MASS OVER
KANSAS.

COLD FRONT WAS JUST EAST OF A MHE-ANW-OGA LINE WITH 18Z PRESSURE
RISES OF 2 MB AT RAP AND GCC.  ONLY MINOR DIFFERENCES NOTICED
IN MODELS WITH NW FLOW H5 S/W DRIVING FRONT NW-SE ACRS CWA. PREFER
NGM/S SLIGHTLY STRONGER WIND FIELD ESPECIALLY IN FRONTS WAKE. FRONT
SHOULD CROSS GRI & HSI JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT AND SWEEP THROUGH
KANSAS CWA BEFORE DAWN.  WILL END TSTMS ABOUT AN HOUR AFTER FRONT.

SURFACE HIGH IN FRONT/S WAKE AND SMOOTH NW UPPER FLOW SHOULD KEEP
FAIR WEATHER SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.  MOST EXTENDED MODELS DAMPEN
SW UPPER LOW AND SLIDE IT EAST INTO CENTRAL U.S. WED-THU.  THAT
FEATURE MAY PRODUCE THE NEXT ROUND OF CONVECTION.

.GID...NONE.

SCHURR

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 22, 2:51 PM CDT, 5 hours 18 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  HASTINGS NE
251 PM CDT SAT MAY 22 1999

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

0237 PM    ELYRIA                    NE   0.75 INCH HAIL
05/22/99   VALLEY

MORITZ
Local storm report, May 22, 2:51 PM CDT, 5 hours 18 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE  HASTINGS NE
251 PM CDT SAT MAY 22 1999

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

0237 PM    ELYRIA                    NE   0.75 INCH HAIL
05/22/99   VALLEY

MORITZ
Special weather statement, May 22, 6:30 PM CDT, 1 hour 39 minutes before
NEZ039>041-230100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
630 PM CDT SAT MAY 22 1999

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NO LONGER IN EFFECT...

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 306 HAS BEEN CANCELED FOR PEOPLE IN:

...GREELEY...NANCE AND VALLEY COUNTIES OF CENTRAL NEBRASKA

THUNDERSTORMS HAD MOVED SOUTH AND EAST OF THOSE COUNTIES...AND NO
LONGER POSE A THREAT FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE AREA.

LINGERING SHOWERS ARE FORECAST TO CONTINUE UNTIL ABOUT 9
O/CLOCK...BUT NO ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER IS ANTICIPATED AT THIS
TIME.

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

SCHURR
Special weather statement, May 22, 6:30 PM CDT, 1 hour 39 minutes before
NEZ039>041-230100-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
630 PM CDT SAT MAY 22 1999

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NO LONGER IN EFFECT...

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 306 HAS BEEN CANCELED FOR PEOPLE IN:

...GREELEY...NANCE AND VALLEY COUNTIES OF CENTRAL NEBRASKA

THUNDERSTORMS HAD MOVED SOUTH AND EAST OF THOSE COUNTIES...AND NO
LONGER POSE A THREAT FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE AREA.

LINGERING SHOWERS ARE FORECAST TO CONTINUE UNTIL ABOUT 9
O/CLOCK...BUT NO ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER IS ANTICIPATED AT THIS
TIME.

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

SCHURR
Special weather statement, May 22, 7:33 PM CDT, 36 minutes before
NEZ046>049-060>064-230130-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
733 PM CDT SAT MAY 22 1999

...PART OF TORNADO WATCH CANCELLED...

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 308 HAS BEEN CANCELED FOR PEOPLE IN:

...HAMILTON...HOWARD...BUFFALO...HALL...SHERMAN...POLK...DAWSON...
YORK AND MERRICK COUNTIES IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA

THUNDERSTORMS HAD MOVED SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80...AND THEY NO LONGER
POSE A THREAT TO THE PEOPLE ALONG AND NORTH OF THE INTERSTATE.

STORMS CONTINUE STRONG SOUTH OF THE INTERSTATE...AND THE TORNADO
WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THERE.

SCHURR
Special weather statement, May 22, 7:33 PM CDT, 36 minutes before
NEZ046>049-060>064-230130-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
733 PM CDT SAT MAY 22 1999

...PART OF TORNADO WATCH CANCELLED...

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 308 HAS BEEN CANCELED FOR PEOPLE IN:

...HAMILTON...HOWARD...BUFFALO...HALL...SHERMAN...POLK...DAWSON...
YORK AND MERRICK COUNTIES IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA

THUNDERSTORMS HAD MOVED SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80...AND THEY NO LONGER
POSE A THREAT TO THE PEOPLE ALONG AND NORTH OF THE INTERSTATE.

STORMS CONTINUE STRONG SOUTH OF THE INTERSTATE...AND THE TORNADO
WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THERE.

SCHURR

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 22, 8:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDJewell56 min
May 22, 8:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDOsborne53 min
May 22, 9:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDSmith32 min
May 22, 9:25 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDOsborne35 min
May 22, 9:36 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDMitchell54 min
May 22, 7:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDAdams42 min
May 22, 7:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDFranklin58 min
May 22, 7:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDClay, Nuckolls63 min
May 22, 7:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDWebster55 min
May 22, 8:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDThayer62 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 1999Tornado Warnings in Nebraska, 1999Every tornado warning in 1999Tornadoes in 1999

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.