Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Topeka, KS

May 4, 1999Brown County, Jackson County, Nemaha County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this tornado warning at May 4, 1999, 8:08 PM CDT for Brown County, Jackson County, Nemaha County, Kansas. It was in force for 42 min. 2 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 4, 1999, 8:08 PM CDT (01:08 UTC)
Expired: May 4, 1999, 8:50 PM CDT
In force: 42 min
Issued by: NWS Topeka, KS
Area: Whole counties

Counties Brown County, KS, Jackson County, KS, Nemaha County, KS

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 85 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:11 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 4, 8:25 PM CDT	Hail 1	Wetmore, KS
May 4, 8:58 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Hiawatha, 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 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 76 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: 489 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -53 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 851 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 64 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 187 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 211 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.4
Supercell composite: 3.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

999 
WFUS1 KTOP 050110 RRA
TORTOP
KSC013-085-131-050145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
808 PM CDT TUE MAY 4 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHWESTERN BROWN COUNTY IN NORTHEAST KANSAS
  NORTHERN JACKSON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST KANSAS
  EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN NEMAHA COUNTY IN NORTHEAST KANSAS

* UNTIL 850 PM CDT

* AT 806 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 2 MILES WEST OF
  CIRCLEVILLE...OR ABOUT 31 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HIAWATHA...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED...
  CIRCLEVILLE
  POWHATTAN
  WILLIS
  WETMORE
  NETAWAKA

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 NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR THE
LATEST SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION.

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 Topeka, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at May 4, 2:54 PM CDT, 5 hours 14 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 4, 2:54 PM CDT, 5 hours 14 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
254 PM CDT TUE MAY 4 1999

SEVERE THREAT THIS EVENING...THEN FLOOD POTENTIAL MAIN FORECAST
CONCERNS.

TORNADIC THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL KANSAS WERE ROTATING NORTH
AROUND SURFACE LOW CENTERED NORTHWEST OF RUSSELL.  WARM FRONT
EXTENDING THROUGH CENTRAL KANSAS AIDING IN TORNADIC POTENTIAL.
EXPECT THESE STORMS TO CONTINUE ROTATING NORTH INTO NORTH CENTRAL
KANSAS.  AS THE STORMS MOVE FARTHER AWAY FROM THE WARM FRONT EXPECT
TORNADIC POTENTIAL TO DECREASE BUT SEVERE HAIL/WIND STILL POSSIBLE.

FARTHER EAST HEAVY RAIN HAS PUSHED OUT OF EASTERN SECTIONS OF THE
CWA...BUT WIDESPREAD 1 TO 3 INCH RAINFALL AMOUNTS WERE NOTED ON 88D
ESTIMATES AND ASOS OBS...MAINLY EAST OF A HIAWATHA TO COUNCIL GROVE
LINE.  RIVERS LIKELY TO FLOOD IN THESE AREAS...AND WITH ANY FURTHER
RAIN OVERNIGHT...EXPECT FLOODING POTENTIAL TO INCREASE.  THUS WILL
CONTINUE FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT BUT WILL TRIM WESTERN EDGE A BIT.

SURFACE LOW FORECAST TO MOVE NORTHEAST TONIGHT THEN MEANDER AROUND
THE NORTHERN PLAINS AS UPPER LOW GETS BLOCKED UP BY RIDGING TO THE
EAST AND WEST.  COLD FRONT TO MOVE THROUGH THE CWA OVERNIGHT AS LOW
SHIFTS NORTHEAST.  EXPECT ANOTHER SHOT AT CONVECTION AS THIS FEATURE
MOVES THROUGH HOWEVER DEEPER MOISTURE SHIFTS INTO MISSOURI.

AFTER TONIGHT EXPECT CHANCES FOR PRECIP TO BEGIN TO FADE AS
DRIER/COOLER SURFACE AIR SETTLES IN.  BUT CANT RULE OUT SHOWERS...
ESPECIALLY ON WEDNESDAY...AS SHORTWAVES PIVOT AROUND UPPER LOW.
WILL KEEP PRECIP OUT OF THURSDAY FOR NOW.

TEMPERATURES CERTAINLY WILL BE COOLER AS 850 TEMPS DIP TO 4 TO 6C.
FWC/FAN NUMBERS NOT TOO FAR OFF FROM EACH OTHER SO WILL NOT ARGUE
MUCH.

.TOP...FLOOD WATCH NORTHEAST KANSAS ZONES GENERALLY EAST OF A
       SENECA TO COUNCIL GROVE LINE TONIGHT.

SD

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 4, 7:19 PM CDT, 49 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
719 PM CDT TUE MAY 04 1999

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

0630 PM    5 NE BELVUE               KS    TORNADO
05/04/99   POTTAWATOMIE

Local storm report, May 4, 7:20 PM CDT, 48 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTION TO TIME OF TORNADO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
720 PM CDT TUE MAY 04 1999

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

0710 PM    4 NW EMMETT               KS    TORNADO
05/04/99   POTTAWATOMIE

Local storm report, May 4, 7:20 PM CDT, 48 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
720 PM CDT TUE MAY 04 1999

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

0630 PM    4 NW EMMETT               KS    TORNADO
05/04/99   POTTAWATOMIE

Local storm report, May 4, 7:20 PM CDT, 48 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTION TO TIME OF TORNADO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
720 PM CDT TUE MAY 04 1999

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

0710 PM    4 NW EMMETT               KS    TORNADO
05/04/99   POTTAWATOMIE

Local storm report, May 4, 7:45 PM CDT, 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
745 PM CDT TUE MAY 04 1999

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

0737 PM    5 SW SOLDIER              KS    TORNADO
05/04/99   JACKSON

Local storm report, May 4, 8:03 PM CDT, 5 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
803 PM CDT TUE MAY 04 1999

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

0757 PM    1 S BANCROFT              KS    .75 INCH HAIL
05/04/99   NEMAHA

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 4, 7:30 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TOP	Jackson, Nemaha, Pottawatomie	40 min
May 4, 8:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Brown	34 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.