Alert archive / Wyoming / Tornado Watches in 2000

Tornado Watch 294

May 16, 20004 counties in Nebraska; 11 counties in Wyoming

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 16, 2000, 5:00 PM MDT for 4 counties in Nebraska; 11 counties in Wyoming. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 16, 2000, 5:00 PM MDT (23:00 UTC)
Expired: May 16, 2000, 10:00 PM MDT
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

Counties Banner County, NE, Kimball County, NE, Scotts Bluff County, NE, Sioux County, NE, Albany County, WY, Campbell County, WY, Converse County, WY, Crook County, WY, Goshen County, WY, Johnson County, WY, Laramie County, WY, Niobrara County, WY, Platte County, WY, Sheridan County, WY, Weston County, WY

The radar

The Rapid City radar (KUDX), 236 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:01 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.

Warnings issued inside it

17 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 16, 5:28 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RIW	Johnson	62 min
May 16, 5:45 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CYS	Platte	45 min
May 16, 6:29 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CYS	Platte	31 min
May 16, 6:30 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RIW	Johnson	50 min
May 16, 6:55 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CYS	Goshen	50 min
May 16, 7:05 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CYS	Platte	40 min
May 16, 7:20 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	RIW	Johnson	60 min
May 16, 7:24 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	UNR	Campbell	61 min
May 16, 7:45 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CYS	Goshen	45 min
May 16, 8:20 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	UNR	Campbell	60 min
May 16, 8:30 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CYS	Goshen	45 min
May 16, 8:38 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CYS	Sioux	52 min
May 16, 9:03 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	CYS	Platte	27 min
May 16, 9:15 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CYS	Goshen	45 min
May 16, 9:20 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	UNR	Campbell	45 min
May 16, 9:34 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CYS	Sioux	56 min
May 16, 10:00 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	CYS	Goshen	45 min

The nearest sounding before it

Riverton, WY (KRIW), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 230 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1548 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 73 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 46 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 253 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.

598 
WWUS9 KMKC 162230
SEL4  

SEL4  
MKC WW 162230
NEZ000-WYZ000-170400-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 294
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
430 PM MDT TUE MAY 16 2000

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   WESTERN NEBRASKA PANHANDLE                          
   EASTERN WYOMING                            

EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 500 PM UNTIL 1000
PM MDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 65 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 50 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF GILLETTE WYOMING TO 20
MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF CHEYENNE WYOMING.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.


DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS ARE BEGINNING TO DEVELOP OVER THE HIGHER
TERRAIN OF ERN WY. ACTIVITY WILL BECOME SEVERE AS IT MOVES ENEWD
INTO MOISTURE/INSTABILITY AXIS. DEEP LAYER SHEAR WILL FAVOR
SUPERCELL STORMS...WITH LARGE HAIL BEING THE MAIN THREAT. ISOLATED
TORNADOES MAY OCCUR OVER SERN WY AND WRN NEB WHERE INSTABILITY IS
GREATEST. 

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25020.

...VESCIO

450,1043 410,1031 410,1054 450,1071

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Wyoming, 2000 Tornado Watches in Nebraska, 2000 Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.