Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 155, NWS Topeka, KS

July 18, 2001Washington County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 18, 2001, 6:54 PM CDT for Washington County, Kansas. It was in force for 51 min. 7 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: Jul 18, 2001, 6:54 PM CDT (23:54 UTC)
Expired: Jul 18, 2001, 7:45 PM CDT
In force: 51 min
Issued by: NWS Topeka, KS
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Washington County, KS

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 119 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:53 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
Jul 18, 7:00 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55 E	Morrowville, KS
Jul 18, 7:12 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52 E	Washington, KS
Jul 18, 7:12 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 61 E	Haddam, KS
Jul 18, 7:15 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55 E	Washington, KS
Jul 18, 7:15 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55 E	Washington, KS
Jul 18, 7:24 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55 E	Washington, KS
Jul 18, 7:40 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Washington, 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jul 18, 4:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 164 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: 1142 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -307 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1738 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 265 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 347 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

799 
WUUS53 KTOP 182354
SVRTOP
KSC201-190045-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
654 PM CDT WED JUL 18 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN WASHINGTON COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 745 PM CDT

* AT 651 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HADDAM...OR ABOUT 19
  MILES NORTHEAST OF CONCORDIA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED...
  HADDAM
  MORROWVILLE
  WASHINGTON
  HOLLENBURG

LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE LIKELY WITH THIS
STORM. TAKE COVER INSIDE A BUILDING.

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

LAT...LON 3998 9736 3964 9735 3984 9689 4000 9687

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 Jul 18, 2:30 PM CDT, 4 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 18, 2:30 PM CDT, 4 hours 24 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
230 PM CDT WED JUL 18 2001

MAIN FORECAST PROBLEMS ARE THE OPPRESSIVE HEAT AND THUNDERSTORMS
CHANCES OVERNIGHT.

TWO AREAS OF CONCERN TONIGHT FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.  FIRST IS
BOUNDARY SEEN ON KTWX RADAR FROM TUTTLE CREEK LAKE TO SOUTH OF
TOPEKA.  DECENT CONVERGENCE IS OCCURRING ALONG THIS BOUNDARY WITH
CAPES APPROACHING 5000 J/KG.  NOT SURE IF CAP WILL ABLE TO BE BROKEN
ALONG THIS BOUNDARY THIS EVENING...BUT IT WILL NEED TO BE MONITORED
FOR EXPLOSIVE DEVELOPMENT.  OTHER AREA OF CONCERN WILL BE AFTER
MIDNIGHT ACROSS THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF KANSAS.  EXPECT A MCS TO
DEVELOP ACROSS EASTERN NEBRASKA...AND THEN SLIDE SOUTH SOUTHEAST PER
CORFIDI VECTORS AFTER MIDNIGHT.  WILL CARRY CHANCE POPS OVER
NORTHEAST KANSAS OVERNIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING TO ADDRESS THIS.

OTHERWISE EXPECT OPPRESSIVE TO HEAT CONTINUE AT LEAST THROUGH
FRIDAY.  ETA 2 METER TEMPERATURES KEEP HIGHS THE 96 TO 103 RANGE
BOTH THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.  DEW POINTS TO REMAIN VERY HIGH AS WELL
ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTHEAST.  DAYTIME HEAT INDICES LOOK TO APPROACH
110F BOTH THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...WITH NIGHTTIME VALUES IN THE LOWER
80S. WILL EXTEND THE HEAT ADVISORY INTO FRIDAY AS NO RELIEF FROM THE
HEAT IS EXPECTED.

MAIN SOURCE OF CLOUDS THE NEXT FEW DAYS LOOKS TO BE CONVECTIVE
DEBRIS FROM MCS CLUSTERS MOVING ACROSS NEBRASKA AND MISSOURI.

PREFER THE ETA 2 METER TEMPERATURES TO THE NGM/FWC AND AVN BASED FAN
AND MAV GUIDANCE FOR TEMPERATURES AS THEY REMAIN TOO COOL.

.TOP...HEAT ADVISORY THROUGH FRIDAY FOR NORTH CENTRAL...NORTHEAST
       AND EAST CENTRAL KS.

58

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 18, 6:10 PM CDT, 44 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
610 PM CDT WED JUL 18 2001

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

0605 PM    4 N SCANDIA               KS    .88 INCH HAIL
07/18/01   REPUBLIC

Local storm report, Jul 18, 6:37 PM CDT, 17 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
637 PM CDT WED JUL 18 2001

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

0635 PM    BELLEVILLE                KS    WIND DAMAGE
07/18/01   REPUBLIC                        POWER LINES, STREET
                                           SIGNS, AND TREES DOWN
                                           IN TOWN.

?

Local storm report, Jul 18, 6:53 PM CDT, 1 minute before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
653 PM CDT WED JUL 18 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....
W
0650 PM    5 S BELLEVILLE            KS    .88 INCH HAIL
07/18/01   REPUBLIC

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 18, 5:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Republic	33 min
Jul 18, 6:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Republic	32 min
Jul 18, 6:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Republic	31 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.