Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Watches in 2000

Tornado Watch 300

May 17, 20009 counties in Iowa; Jewell County, Phillips County, Smith County, Kansas; 49 counties in Nebraska

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 17, 2000, 8:00 PM CDT for 9 counties in Iowa; Jewell County, Phillips County, Smith County, Kansas; 49 counties in Nebraska. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 17, 2000, 8:00 PM CDT (01:00 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 2000, 1:00 AM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 61 counties

Fremont County, IA, Harrison County, IA, Mills County, IA, Monona County, IA, Montgomery County, IA, Page County, IA, Pottawattamie County, IA, Shelby County, IA, Woodbury County, IA, Jewell County, KS, Phillips County, KS, Smith County, KS, Adams County, NE, Boone County, NE, Buffalo County, NE, Burt County, NE, Butler County, NE, Cass County, NE, Clay County, NE, Colfax County, NE, Cuming County, NE, Custer County, NE, Dakota County, NE, Dawson County, NE, Dodge County, NE, Douglas County, NE, Fillmore County, NE, Franklin County, NE, Gage County, NE, Gosper County, NE, Greeley County, NE, Hall County, NE, Hamilton County, NE, Harlan County, NE, Howard County, NE, Jefferson County, NE, Johnson County, NE, Kearney County, NE, Lancaster County, NE, Madison County, NE, Merrick County, NE, Nance County, NE, Nuckolls County, NE, Otoe County, NE, Phelps County, NE, Platte County, NE, Polk County, NE, Saline County, NE, Sarpy County, NE, Saunders County, NE, Seward County, NE, Sherman County, NE, Stanton County, NE, Thayer County, NE, Thurston County, NE, Valley County, NE, Washington County, NE, Wayne County, NE, Webster County, NE, Wheeler County, NE, York County, NE

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 96 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:03 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 17, 8:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDDawson34 min
May 17, 8:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDAdams, Hall30 min
May 17, 8:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXAntelope, Boone27 min
May 17, 8:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFGarfield, Wheeler41 min
May 17, 8:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXThurston, Wayne31 min
May 17, 9:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXAntelope, Madison, Pierce33 min
May 17, 9:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXLancaster, Saunders23 min
May 17, 9:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXJohnson, Otoe31 min
May 17, 9:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXBoone33 min
May 17, 10:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXDodge, Saunders37 min
May 17, 10:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXDouglas, Sarpy50 min
May 17, 10:29 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningFSDDakota1 min
May 17, 10:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOAXWashington31 min
May 18, 12:08 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningOAXBoone6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 152 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 00:00Z on 2000-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 837 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 00:00Z on 2000-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 77 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
837 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-162 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1827 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
58 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
77 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
100 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

905 
WWUS9 KMKC 180043
SEL0  

SEL0  
MKC WW 180043
IAZ000-NEZ000-180600-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 300
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
743 PM CDT WED MAY 17 2000

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

   WESTERN IOWA                               
   CENTRAL AND EASTERN NEBRASKA                           

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING FROM 800 PM
UNTIL 100 AM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF
A LINE FROM 55 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF KEARNEY NEBRASKA TO 45 MILES
NORTHEAST OF OMAHA 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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO WATCH
NUMBER 297...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 299.  WATCH NUMBER 297...299 WILL
NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 800 PM CDT.  CONTINUE...WW 298...

DISCUSSION...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE ALONG WARM FRONTAL
BOUNDARY AS NEW ACTIVITY IS DEVELOPING ALONG DRY LINE SE OF SFC
LOW.  ACTIVITY ALONG DRY LINE SHOULD MOVE RAPIDLY NEWD WITH RISK OF
LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES.  ACTIVITY N OF WARM FRONT SHOULD
MOSTLY BE A LARGE HAIL THREAT.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22035.

...JOHNS

412,1002 424,0954 404,0945 392,0993

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 11:30 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCAppanoose, Benton, Boone, Cedar, Clarke, Dallas and 30 more6 hr
May 18, 3:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCScott6 hr

Nearby

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