Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Topeka, KS

May 11, 2000Douglas County, Jefferson County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this tornado warning at May 11, 2000, 9:24 PM CDT for Douglas County, Jefferson County, Kansas. It was in force for 31 min. 5 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 11, 2000, 9:24 PM CDT (02:24 UTC)
Expired: May 11, 2000, 9:55 PM CDT
In force: 31 min
Issued by: NWS Topeka, KS
Area: Whole counties

Counties Douglas County, KS, Jefferson County, KS

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 78 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:23 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 11, 9:27 PM CDT	Tornado F1	Williamstown, KS	A tornado touched down just north of Williamstown and moved east until it crossed into Leavenworth county at 2040 cst. Windows were blown out of a house north of Williamstown. East of Williamstown it struck a farmstead where 2 homes were damaged, 5 pole barns
May 11, 9:27 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 65 E	Williamstown, KS	Windows were blown out of a building near Williamstown.
May 11, 9:38 PM CDT	Hail 2.75	Perry, KS
May 11, 9:40 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 70 E	Buck Creek, KS	Winds near 80 mph overturned a trailer near Buck Creek.
May 11, 9:51 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 75 E	Williamstown, KS	Winds of 85 mph blew large trees over east of Williamstown.

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 11, 7:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 2.4 hours before the alert went out and 27 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: 4491 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -13 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1450 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 181 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 232 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 3.3
Supercell composite: 30.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

396 
WFUS53 KTOP 120224
TORTOP
KSC045-087-120255-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
924 PM CDT THU MAY 11 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EXTREME NORTHWESTERN DOUGLAS COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL KANSAS
  SOUTHERN JEFFERSON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST KANSAS

* UNTIL 955 PM CDT

* AT 920 PM CDT...WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO NEAR PERRY 
LAKE MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.  DOPPLAR RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE 
TORNADO NEAR GRANTVILLE MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED...
  LECOMPTON...PERRY...GRANTVILLE...PERRY LAKE

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR THE
LATEST SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION.

&

The office that day

Everything else NWS Topeka, KS issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 11, 7:04 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Pottawatomie, Shawnee, Wabaunsee	31 min
May 11, 7:35 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Shawnee	40 min
May 11, 8:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Pottawatomie, Shawnee, Wabaunsee	40 min
May 11, 8:47 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TOP	Jefferson, Shawnee	38 min
May 11, 9:38 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Shawnee	32 min
May 11, 9:58 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	TOP	Shawnee, Wabaunsee	62 min
May 11, 10:08 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Jackson, Pottawatomie	42 min
May 11, 10:48 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Jackson, Pottawatomie	47 min
May 12, 1:02 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Brown	18 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 2000 Every tornado warning in 2000 Tornadoes 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.