Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Wichita, KS

April 5, 1999Sedgwick County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this tornado warning at Apr 5, 1999, 7:45 AM CDT for Sedgwick County, Kansas. It was in force for 30 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: Apr 5, 1999, 7:45 AM CDT (12:45 UTC)
Expired: Apr 5, 1999, 8:15 AM CDT
In force: 30 min
Issued by: NWS Wichita, KS
Area: Whole counties

County Sedgwick County, KS

The radar

The Wichita radar (KICT), 4 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:47 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
Apr 5, 7:55 AM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Derby, KS	Occurred at St. Mary's Elementary.

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
Apr 5, 3:45 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr
Apr 5, 3:45 AM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lamont, OK (KLMN), launched 12:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 118 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: 1211 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 593 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 139 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 1513 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 1962 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 14.2
Supercell composite: 52.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

999 
WFUS1 KICT 051247 RRA
TORICT
KSC173-051315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
745 AM CDT MON APR 5 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN SEDGWICK COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 815 AM CDT

* AT 745 AM CDT A TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED A TORNADO KELLOGG
  AND OLIVER IN WICHITA MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO INCLUDE...
  MCCONNELL AFB
  
THIS WARNING REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING PREVIOUSLY
ISSUED FOR THE WARNED AREA.

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.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

HYSELL

&

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 5, 3:54 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Harper	51 min
Apr 5, 4:36 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	ICT	Harper	39 min
Apr 5, 4:44 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Kingman	46 min
Apr 5, 5:28 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Harper	47 min
Apr 5, 6:35 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Sumner	55 min
Apr 5, 7:15 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Sedgwick	60 min
Apr 5, 7:39 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Butler	66 min
Apr 5, 8:21 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Cowley	39 min
Apr 5, 8:40 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Butler	65 min
Apr 5, 9:01 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Chase	59 min

Nearby

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