Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 54, NWS Topeka, KS

April 20, 2001Jefferson County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 20, 2001, 6:18 PM CDT for Jefferson County, Kansas. It was in force for 17 min. No storm report in the archive falls 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.

The facts

Issued
Apr 20, 2001, 6:18 PM CDT (23:18 UTC)
Expired
Apr 20, 2001, 6:35 PM CDT
In force
17 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), 83 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:20 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 46 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, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2001-04-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 651 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, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2001-04-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 179 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
651 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-494 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
717 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
179 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
177 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS53 KTOP 202318
SVRTOP
KSC087-202335-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
618 PM CDT FRI APR 20 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 635 PM CDT

* AT 615 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OVER VALLY FALLS ... OR 25 MILES NORTHEAST
  OF TOPEKA MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.   


* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED...
  NORTONVILLE

LARGE HAIL IS LIKELY WITH THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM. IF YOU ARE IN THE
PATH OF THE STORM...MOVE INDOORS.

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

LAT...LON 3940 9549 3929 9541 3941 9523 3941 9536

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 20, 3:00 PM CDT, 3 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 20, 3:00 PM CDT, 3 hours 18 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
3 PM CDT FRI APR 20 2001

THUNDERSTORM CHANCES ARE MAIN FORECAST CONCERN THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

LATEST SATELLITE SHOWING EXTENSIVE MID AND HIGH CLOUDS CONTINUING
ACROSS THE REGION...WHICH MAY THIN OUT LATER...BUT SHOULD PERSIST
THROUGH MUCH OF THE NIGHT. WARM FRONT HAS LIFTED NORTH INTO SOUTHERN
NEBRASKA WITH DRYLINE EXTENDING SOUTHWESTWARD THROUGH WESTCENTRAL
KANSAS.

INITIAL SHORTWAVE MOVING ACROSS THE AREA WILL BE REPLACED BY
STRONGER SHORTWAVE NOW MOVING THROUGH THE CENTRAL ROCKIES. VERY
STRONG CAP IN PLACE ALTHOUGH BETTER POTENTIAL FOR CAP BEING BROKE
LATER IN THE NIGHT AS WAVE LIFTS OUT AND TEMPORARY BACKING FLOW
ALLOWS DEEPER LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TO RETURN. SOME POTENTIAL FOR
CONVECTION TO DEVELOP EARLIER AHEAD OF DRYLINE. WILL KEEP POPS GOING
ALL AREAS WITH HIGHER POPS AND BETTER SEVERE POTENTIAL ACROSS THE
NORTH AND NORTHCENTRAL.

AS SFC LOW MOVES OFF TO THE NORTHEAST EXPECT FRONT TO MOVE INTO THE
CWA FROM WEST OVERNIGHT BUT NOT MAKE IT MUCH FURTHER SOUTHEAST THAN
THE EASTCENTRAL AREAS. WOULD EXPECT THE POSSIBILITY OF MORE
CONVECTION TO REDEVELOP ALONG AND NORTH OF BOUNDARY IN THE AFTERNOON
OVER SOUTHERN 2/3 OF THE CWA WITH A BETTER CHANCE INTO THE NIGHT AS
NEXT SHORTWAVE EMERGES FROM THE HIGH PLAINS. WILL INCREASE POPS
ACROSS THE CWA SATURDAY NIGHT TO AROUND 50 PERCENT.

MAIN UPPER LOW WILL BEGIN TO APPROACH THE AREA SUNDAY INTO SUNDAY
NIGHT. EXTENSIVE CLOUDS AND SOME PRECIP WILL LIKELY HELP TO LIMIT
HIGHS TEMPS. WILL GO WITH COMPROMISE OF COOLER FWC SATURDAY AND
WARMER MAV/FAN FOR SUNDAY. WILL ALSO GO WITH LIKELY POPS SUNDAY
NIGHT AS MAING UPPER LEVEL PUSH ENTERS THE CWA FROM WEST TO EAST.

.TOP...NONE.

63

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 2001Every 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.