Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Watches in 2000

Tornado Watch 299

May 17, 20009 counties in Iowa; 35 counties in Nebraska; Clay County, Union County, South Dakota

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 17, 2000, 4:15 PM CDT for 9 counties in Iowa; 35 counties in Nebraska; Clay County, Union County, South Dakota. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 17, 2000, 4:15 PM CDT (21:15 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 2000, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 46 counties

Fremont County, IA, Harrison County, IA, Mills County, IA, Monona County, IA, Montgomery County, IA, Page County, IA, Plymouth County, IA, Pottawattamie County, IA, Woodbury County, IA, Antelope County, NE, Boone County, NE, Burt County, NE, Butler County, NE, Cass County, NE, Cedar County, NE, Colfax County, NE, Cuming County, NE, Dakota County, NE, Dixon County, NE, Dodge County, NE, Douglas County, NE, Fillmore County, NE, Gage County, NE, Jefferson County, NE, Johnson County, NE, Knox County, NE, Lancaster County, NE, Madison County, NE, Merrick County, NE, Nance County, NE, Otoe County, NE, Pierce County, NE, Platte County, NE, Polk County, NE, Saline County, NE, Sarpy County, NE, Saunders County, NE, Seward County, NE, Stanton County, NE, Thurston County, NE, Washington County, NE, Wayne County, NE, Wheeler County, NE, York County, NE, Clay County, SD, Union County, SD

The radar

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 87 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:17 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 17, 4:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXPlatte29 min
May 17, 5:15 PM CDTTornado WarningOAXMadison, Platte, Stanton30 min
May 17, 5:45 PM CDTTornado WarningOAXColfax, Platte, Stanton30 min
May 17, 6:15 PM CDTTornado WarningOAXCuming, Stanton, Wayne45 min
May 17, 6:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDNance33 min
May 17, 6:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDWoodbury29 min
May 17, 6:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXWayne47 min
May 17, 7:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDDixon39 min
May 17, 7:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXBoone, Madison, Platte23 min
May 17, 7:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDDixon46 min
May 17, 7:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDPlymouth29 min
May 17, 7:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXAntelope, Boone44 min
May 17, 8:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDDixon34 min
May 17, 8:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXAntelope, Boone27 min
May 17, 8:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFGarfield, Wheeler41 min
May 17, 8:51 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFSDDixon84 min
May 17, 8:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDDixon16 min
May 17, 8:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXThurston, Wayne31 min

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 12:00Z, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 87 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, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2000-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1753 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, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2000-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 62 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1753 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-269 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
902 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
62 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
123 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

586 
WWUS9 KMKC 172047
SEL9  
MKC WW 172047
IAZ000-NEZ000-SDZ000-180200-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 299
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
347 PM CDT WED MAY 17 2000

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

   WESTERN IOWA                               
   EASTERN NEBRASKA                           
   EXTREME SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA                       

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 415 PM UNTIL
900 PM CDT.

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 70 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF
A LINE FROM 10 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF YANKTON SOUTH DAKOTA TO 30
MILES EAST OF BEATRICE NEBRASKA.

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...WW 298...

DISCUSSION...THUNDERSTORMS HAVE INTENSIFIED OVER EASTERN NEBRASKA
ALONG AND SOUTH OF WELL-DEFINED WARM FRONT EXTENDING FROM NORTHEAST
NEBRASKA INTO NORTHERN IOWA.  AIR MASS IS QUITE UNSTABLE WITH
MUCAPE ABOVE 3000 J/KG.  VERTICAL SHEAR IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE
INTO THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS LOW LEVEL JET INCREASES INTO
EASTERN NEBRASKA...INDICATING POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE STORMS TO
CONTINUE.  A FEW SUPERCELLS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE...PARTICULARLY ALONG
THE WARM FRONT WHERE BACKED LOW LEVEL WINDS ARE ENHANCING SHEAR.


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 23030.


...WEISS

394,0971 422,0984 432,0962 404,0950

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 9:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBox Butte, Dawes, Morrill, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, Sioux4 hr
May 17, 2:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAdams, Arthur, Blaine, Buffalo, Chase, Clay and 32 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Nebraska, 2000Tornado Watches in Iowa, 2000Tornado Watches in South Dakota, 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.