Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Topeka, KS

April 21, 2001Ottawa County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this tornado warning at Apr 21, 2001, 11:31 PM CDT for Ottawa County, Kansas. It was in force for 44 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 21, 2001, 11:31 PM CDT (04:31 UTC)
Expired: Apr 22, 2001, 12:15 AM CDT
In force: 44 min
Issued by: NWS Topeka, KS
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Ottawa County, KS

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 137 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:31 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 watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Apr 21, 7:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 188 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: 1607 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 798 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 171 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 307 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 2.4
Supercell composite: 11.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

468 
WFUS53 KTOP 220431
TORTOP
KSC143-220515-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1131 PM CDT SAT APR 21 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  OTTAWA COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 1215 AM CDT

* AT 1128 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 6 MILES WEST OF TESCOTT...OR ABOUT 23 MILES NORTHWEST OF
  SALINA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED...
  TESCOTT
  ADA
  MINNEAPOLIS

THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING DAMAGING TORNADOES.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. IF NO
BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE
BUILDING IN AN INTERIOR HALLWAY OR CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR HEAD AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

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

LAT...LON 3912 9793 3896 9792 3907 9757 3929 9773

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 22, 5:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Dickinson, Geary, Morris	31 min
Apr 22, 5:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Morris, Wabaunsee	45 min
Apr 22, 5:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Pottawatomie, Riley	23 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 2001 Every tornado warning in 2001 Tornadoes 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.