Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 33, NWS Hastings, NE

May 30, 1999Clay County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at May 30, 1999, 7:55 PM CDT for Clay County, Nebraska. It was in force for 35 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 30, 1999, 7:55 PM CDT (00:55 UTC)
Expired
May 30, 1999, 8:30 PM CDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Hastings, NE
Area
Whole counties

County Clay County, NE

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 40 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:57 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 30, 8:15 PM CDTHail 1.5Clay Center, NE

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

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 0.9 hours before the alert went out and 167 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1999-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 12 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1999-05-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 35 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
12 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-206 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1203 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
35 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-18 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

999 
WFUS1 KGRI 310056 RRA
TORGRI
NEC035-310130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
755 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR PEOPLE IN...
  NORTHWESTERN CLAY COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 830 PM CDT

* AT 755 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO 13 MILES NORTHEAST OF HASTINGS...OR 9 MILES
  NORTH OF INLAND...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

* TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  INLAND AT 815 PM 
  HARVARD AT 830 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.

$$
09

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 30, 1:27 PM CDT, 6 hours 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 30, 1:27 PM CDT, 6 hours 28 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
127 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 1999

...MCS TRACKS/FRONTAL POSITION MAIN QUESTION...

MORNING TSTORMS RESULTED IN TEMPORARY MESO-HIGH OVER THE CWA THIS
AFTERNOON. HOWEVER RESULTING BOUNDARIES ALL OVER THE PLACE WILL ADD
TO DIFFICULTLY IN PRECIP PLACEMENT LATER TODAY AS STORMS REFIRE ALONG
FRONT AND DRY LINE TO WEST.  WAA AND MOISTURE ADVECTION ALREADY
OCCURRING AND CAPES UP TO 2400 INPLACE IN NORTHERN KANSAS. STRONG
GRADIENT EXISTS BETWEEN COOLER TEMPS AND WARM AIR TO THE SOUTH ALONG
THE NE/KS BORDER.  ATMOSPHERE SHOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM DESTABILIZING
THE ENTIRE CWA LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

MODELS/QPF DISCUSSIONS HAVE GOOD HANDLE ON DEVELOPING MCS THIS
EVENING IN WESTERN NEBRASKA AND DRIVING IT ESE INTO SOUTH CENTRAL
NEBRASKA OVERNIGHT. IF OUTFLOW IS STRONG ENOUGH COLD FRONT WILL
LIKELY BE PUSHED SOUTH OF THE BORDER BY MIDDAY TOMORROW BUT STALL
SOMEWHERE IN NORTHERN OR CENTRAL KANSAS.  QUESTION WILL BE HOW FAR
SOUTH IT ENDS UP AND THE TRACK NEXT SHORTWAVE MONDAY NIGHT TAKES.
ETA/NGM FAIRLY CLOSE ON MCS DEVELOPMENT BUT NOT RAIN COVERAGE TONIGHT
AND TOMORROW NIGHT WITH NGM A LITTLE FARTHER NORTH AND AHEAD OF ETA.
LOOKS LIKE FRONT WILL ACTUALLY MAKES IT TO AT LEAST NORTHERN KANSAS
BEFORE QUICKLY REBOUNDING BY MONDAY EVENING AS NEXT MCS ROLLS
THROUGH. PREMARD DISCUSSION SEEMS TO AGREE WITH DUAL MCS ACTIVITY AND
TIMING. BOTTOM LINE IS PRECIP CHANCES GOOD THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING
WHEN LAST OF SERIES OF WAVES PUSHES THROUGH.

AS FAR AS THE FORECAST WORDING GOES WILL COVER THE CWA TONIGHT AND
TOMORROW NIGHT WITH LIKELY WORDING BUT KEEP POPS DURING MONDAY AT
LEAST 50/50 FOR NOW WITH CHANCES TUESDAY MORNING AS WELL.  ATTM HEAVY
RAIN SEEMS TO BE MAIN THREAT WITH PW 1 TO 1.5 INCHES AND WEAK WINDS
ALOFT THROUGH THE PERIOD.  WITH MORNING STABILIZATION THINK MAIN
CHANCES FOR DAMAGING HAIL AND STRONG WINDS WILL BE ON PERIPHERY OF
MESO-HIGH TO THE WEST AND SOUTH.  BEST POSSIBILITIES FOR HAIL AND
DAMAGING WINDS RESIDE WITH ROGUE STORMS PRECEDING THE MCS THIS LATER
THIS AFTERNOON.

FWC PROBABLY TO WARM IN NORTHERN KANSAS TOMORROW AS FRONT SHOULD GET
THROUGH THERE AT LEAST.  WILL STICK CLOSER TO FAN GUIDANCE FOR THE
MOMENT AS FWC TO EXTREME.

IN EXTENDED...AFTER TUESDAY MORNING...SOME DRYING IS POSSIBLE BUT
WITH TROUGH WEST IT IS HARD TO TAKE OUT CHANCES COMPLETELY...THUS
WILL KEEP CHANCES IN THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.  LOOKS WARMER THROUGH
LATTER PART OF THE WEEK.

.GID...NONE.

10

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 30, 7:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDDawson39 min
May 30, 7:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDHamilton51 min
May 30, 7:40 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDHamilton35 min
May 30, 7:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDDawson, Gosper, Phelps47 min
May 30, 8:00 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDPhelps30 min
May 30, 8:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDHoward, Sherman51 min
May 30, 8:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDThayer47 min
May 30, 8:26 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDHarlan, Phelps34 min
May 30, 8:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDHarlan49 min
May 30, 8:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDThayer62 min
May 30, 9:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDHall, Howard40 min
May 30, 9:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDFranklin46 min

Nearby

Tornado 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.