Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 10, NWS Topeka, KS

April 3, 2001Jefferson County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 3, 2001, 7:50 AM CDT for Jefferson County, Kansas. It was in force for 40 min. 4 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Apr 3, 2001, 7:50 AM CDT (12:50 UTC)
Expired: Apr 3, 2001, 8:30 AM CDT
In force: 40 min
Issued by: NWS Topeka, KS
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Jefferson County, KS

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 75 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:54 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
Apr 3, 7:51 AM CDT	Hail 1.75	Valley Falls, KS
Apr 3, 8:05 AM CDT	Hail 1	Mc Louth, KS
Apr 3, 8:19 AM CDT	Hail 0.75	Oskaloosa, KS
Apr 3, 8:25 AM CDT	Hail 0.88	Valley Falls, KS

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 nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 32 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: 2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 449 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 350 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 443 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 4.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS53 KTOP 031252
SVRTOP
KSC087-031330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
750 AM CDT TUE APR 3 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  JEFFERSON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST KANSAS

* UNTIL 830 AM CDT

* AT 749 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN JEFFERSON COUNTY.  ONE WAS 5 MILES   
  NORTHWEST OF VALLEY FALLS.  A SECOND WAS 3 MILES EAST OF 
  WINCHESTER.  AND A THIRD WAS 3 MILES EAST OF GRANTVILLE.  ALL WERE 
  MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH.  

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED...
  WINCHESTER
  MCLOUTH
  OSKALOOSA
  NORTONVILLE

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

LAT...LON 3941 9558 3907 9557 3907 9540 3903 9519
          3939 9518

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Topeka, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 3, 3:05 AM CDT, 4 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 3, 3:05 AM CDT, 4 hours 45 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
305 AM CDT TUE APR 3 2001

MAIN FORECAST QUESTION IS HOW FAST WILL THE WARM FRONT MOVE
NORTHWARD.

GENERALLY PREFER THE ETA FORECAST AS IT APPEARS TO BEST HANDLE THE
NORTHWARD MOVEMENT OF WARM FRONT.

WOULD EXPECT TODAY TO BE SIMILAR TO MONDAY WITH WARM FRONT LOCATED
ACROSS SOUTHEAST KANSAS...AND MOIST FLOW OVERRUNNING THE BOUNDARY
INTO NORTHEAST KANSAS.  FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOW LITTLE INSTABILITY
SO MAINLY EXPECT JUST SCATTERED SHOWERS TODAY.  CLOUDS AND SCATTERED
PRECIPITATION SHOULD HELP HOLD HIGHS IN THE 60S...PRETTY MUCH IN
LINE WITH GUIDANCE TEMPERATURES.

OVERRUNNING BECOMES STRONGER OVERNIGHT...AS 850 MB FLOW STRENGTHENS
AND LOW LEVEL MOISTURE CONTINUES TO INCREASE.  WILL MENTION THUNDER
OVERNIGHT AS LAPSE RATES CONTINUE TO STEEPEN.

WARM FRONT SHOULD PUSH INTO EAST CENTRAL KANSAS WEDNESDAY...BUT WILL
NOT LIKELY MAKE IT THROUGH NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL KANSAS UNTIL
WEDNESDAY NIGHT.  THIS SHOULD LEAD TO A GOOD TEMPERATURE CONTRAST
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 60S ALONG THE NEBRASKA
BORDER TO AROUND 80 IN EMPORIA.  FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOWING CAPES OF
2000 TO 3000 J/KG DEVELOPING ALONG THE WARM FRONT BY LATE
AFTERNOON.  GOOD DIRECTIONAL SHEAR ALONG THE WARM FRONT...BUT THE
WIND FIELDS ARE FAIRLY WEAK.  WILL CONTINUE CURRENT CHANCE POPS WITH
THE HIGHEST POPS NEAR THE WARM FRONT.

IN THE EXTENDED...MODELS ALL AGREE THURSDAY TO BE WINDY AND WARM AS
WARM FRONT PUSHES NORTH OF THE AREA.  A STRONG WAVE IS FORECAST TO
EJECT OUT ON FRIDAY...WITH QUIETER WEATHER OVER THE WEEKEND.

.TOP...NONE.

58

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 3, 5:10 AM CDT, 2 hours 40 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
510 AM CDT TUE APR 03 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0503 AM    BELLEVILLE                KS    .75 INCH HAIL
04/03/01   REPUBLIC

Local storm report, Apr 3, 5:19 AM CDT, 2 hours 31 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
519 AM CDT TUE APR 03 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....
=
0517 AM    BELLEVILLE                KS    .88 INCH HAIL
04/03/01   REPUBLIC

Local storm report, Apr 3, 5:51 AM CDT, 1 hour 59 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
551 AM CDT TUE APR 03 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....
=
0548 AM    AGENDA                    KS    .75 INCH HAIL
04/03/01   REPUBLIC

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 3, 4:51 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Republic	39 min
Apr 3, 5:32 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Republic, Washington	43 min
Apr 3, 6:16 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Clay, Washington	29 min
Apr 3, 6:46 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Clay, Riley, Washington	29 min
Apr 3, 7:16 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Jackson	29 min
Apr 3, 7:45 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Pottawatomie	30 min
Apr 3, 8:18 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Jackson, Pottawatomie, Shawnee, Wabaunsee	27 min
Apr 3, 8:43 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Jackson, Shawnee	32 min
Apr 3, 9:31 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Jefferson	44 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 2001 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2001

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.