Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Topeka, KS

April 21, 2001Jefferson County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this tornado warning at Apr 21, 2001, 12:08 AM CDT for Jefferson County, Kansas. It was in force for 22 min. 2 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 21, 2001, 12:08 AM CDT (05:08 UTC)
Expired
Apr 21, 2001, 12:30 AM CDT
In force
22 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), 72 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:09 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 21, 12:10 AM CDTHail 1Rock Creek, KS
Apr 21, 12:15 AM CDTHail 1.75Ozawkie, 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 20, 8:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 5.1 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Topeka, KS at 00:00Z on 2001-04-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2129 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 00:00Z on 2001-04-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 204 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
2129 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-27 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1308 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
204 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
175 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.3
Supercell composite
8.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KTOP 210508
TORTOP
KSC087-210530-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1208 AM CDT SAT APR 21 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  JEFFERSON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST KANSAS

* UNTIL 1230 AM CDT

* AT 1204 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 7 MILES SOUTH OF MERIDEN...OR ABOUT 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF
  TOPEKA...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED...
  PERRY LAKE
  OZAWKIE
  OSKALOOSA
  MCLOUTH

THIS REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING ISSUED EARLIER FOR 
JEFFERSON COUNTY.

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 OtUTLETS FOR THE
LATEST SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION.

LAT...LON 3922 9559 3908 9560 3909 9518 3929 9518

58

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 20, 8:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPCloud, Ottawa, Republic47 min
Apr 20, 8:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPWashington51 min
Apr 20, 8:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPClay, Cloud, Ottawa49 min
Apr 20, 9:36 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPDickinson39 min
Apr 20, 10:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPGeary, Riley39 min
Apr 20, 10:12 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPDickinson33 min
Apr 20, 10:36 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPGeary24 min
Apr 20, 10:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPPottawatomie, Wabaunsee37 min
Apr 20, 10:58 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPGeary17 min
Apr 20, 11:08 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPWabaunsee37 min
Apr 20, 11:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPJackson, Shawnee36 min
Apr 20, 11:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPPottawatomie, Riley31 min
Apr 20, 11:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPJefferson40 min
Apr 20, 11:41 PM CDTTornado WarningTOPShawnee34 min
Apr 20, 11:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPClay, Dickinson, Ottawa35 min
Apr 21, 12:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPDickinson, Geary, Riley32 min
Apr 21, 12:34 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPBrown, Nemaha26 min
Apr 21, 1:37 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPShawnee, Wabaunsee23 min
Apr 21, 1:43 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPDickinson, Geary, Morris32 min
Apr 21, 4:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPMorris46 min
Apr 21, 5:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPWabaunsee53 min
Apr 21, 5:27 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPShawnee48 min
Apr 21, 5:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPWabaunsee49 min

Nearby

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