Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 5, NWS North Platte, NE

May 17, 2000Keith County, Nebraska

NWS North Platte, NE issued this tornado warning at May 17, 2000, 3:08 PM MDT for Keith County, Nebraska. It was in force for 52 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
May 17, 2000, 3:08 PM MDT (21:08 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 2000, 4:00 PM MDT
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS North Platte, NE
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Keith County, NE

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 17, 3:15 PM MDTHail 0.75Paxton, NE
May 17, 3:30 PM MDTHail 0.75Paxton, NE
May 17, 3:30 PM MDTHail 0.88Paxton, 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 17, 1:30 PM MDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 12:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 80 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 12:00Z on 2000-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 853 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 12:00Z on 2000-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 51 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
853 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-378 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
860 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
51 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
43 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.

579 
WFUS53 KLBF 172109
TORLBF
NEC101-172200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
308 PM MDT WED MAY 17 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTH PLATTE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN KEITH COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 400 PM MDT

* AT 308 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO 7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  PAXTON...OR ABOUT 15 MILES EAST OF OGALLALA...MOVING NORTH AT 30
  MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE...
  6 MILES WEST OF PAXTON AROUND 315 PM MDT
  7 MILES EAST OF ROSCOE AROUND 320 PM MDT
  13 MILES EAST OF OGALLALA AROUND 325 PM MDT
  5 MILES EAST OF KEYSTONE AROUND 330 PM MDT
  14 MILES EAST OF LEMOYNE AROUND 345 PM MDT

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION. ACT QUICKLY...IT MAY SAVE YOUR
LIFE.

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.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM MDT WEDNESDAY EVENING
FOR WESTERN NEBRASKA.

LAT...LON 4101 10168 4100 10126 4139 10127 4139 10187

JWS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 11:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFSheridan60 min
May 17, 12:12 AM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFSheridan63 min
May 17, 2:06 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFChase, Perkins39 min
May 17, 2:22 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFHayes, Lincoln38 min
May 17, 2:35 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFFrontier55 min
May 17, 2:43 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFKeith, Perkins62 min
May 17, 2:48 PM MDTTornado WarningLBFLincoln, Perkins27 min
May 17, 3:02 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFMcPherson43 min
May 17, 3:12 PM MDTTornado WarningLBFLincoln48 min
May 17, 3:28 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFFrontier47 min
May 17, 3:34 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFCuster56 min
May 17, 3:43 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFHooker, McPherson62 min
May 17, 3:59 PM MDTTornado WarningLBFLincoln61 min
May 17, 4:09 PM MDTTornado WarningLBFCuster51 min
May 17, 4:57 PM MDTTornado WarningLBFKeith, Lincoln48 min
May 17, 4:59 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFCuster, Loup61 min
May 17, 5:04 PM MDTTornado WarningLBFLogan41 min
May 17, 5:39 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFCuster66 min
May 17, 5:46 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFLogan59 min
May 17, 5:56 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFLincoln64 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Nebraska, 2000Every tornado warning in 2000Tornadoes in 2000

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.