Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Watches in 2000

Tornado Watch 298

May 17, 200040 counties in Kansas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 17, 2000, 4:00 PM CDT for 40 counties in Kansas. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 17, 2000, 4:00 PM CDT (21:00 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 2000, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 40 counties

Barber County, KS, Barton County, KS, Butler County, KS, Chase County, KS, Chautauqua County, KS, Clay County, KS, Cloud County, KS, Cowley County, KS, Dickinson County, KS, Elk County, KS, Ellis County, KS, Ellsworth County, KS, Geary County, KS, Greenwood County, KS, Harper County, KS, Harvey County, KS, Jewell County, KS, Kingman County, KS, Lincoln County, KS, Marion County, KS, McPherson County, KS, Mitchell County, KS, Morris County, KS, Osborne County, KS, Ottawa County, KS, Phillips County, KS, Pratt County, KS, Reno County, KS, Republic County, KS, Rice County, KS, Riley County, KS, Rooks County, KS, Rush County, KS, Russell County, KS, Saline County, KS, Sedgwick County, KS, Smith County, KS, Stafford County, KS, Sumner County, KS, Washington County, KS

The radar

The Wichita radar (KICT), 144 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:02 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 186 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, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 2000-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 844 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, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 2000-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 11 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
844 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-349 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2299 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
11 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
35 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.

318 
WWUS9 KMKC 172017
SEL8  
MKC WW 172017
KSZ000-180200-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 298
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
317 PM CDT WED MAY 17 2000

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

   CENTRAL AND EASTERN KANSAS                             

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 400 PM UNTIL
900 PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 80 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 45 MILES NORTHWEST OF CONCORDIA KANSAS TO 45 MILES
SOUTH OF WICHITA KANSAS.

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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 296...WW 297...

DISCUSSION...CONVECTION IS INCREASING ALONG THE DRY LINE AS IT
SURGES NEWD INTO CENTRAL KS.  AIR MASS AHEAD OF THE DRY LINE
REMAINS MOIST WITH DEW POINTS IN THE MID/UPPER 60S...CONTRIBUTING
TO CAPE OF 2500-3000 J/KG.  THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INTENSIFY
THIS AFTERNOON IN RESPONSE TO MID/UPPER LEVEL JET STREAK MOVING
NEWD ACROSS OK.  VAD/PROFILER DATA SHOW SUFFICIENT SHEAR/HELICITY
FOR SUPERCELL DEVELOPMENT INCLUDING POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED
TORNADOES.

AN ADDITIONAL WATCH MAY BE ISSUED SOON FOR PARTS OF EASTERN NEB/WRN
IOWA.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22035.


...WEISS

395,0964 365,0955 365,0985 395,0994

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Kansas, 2000Every 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.