Alert archive / Nebraska / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 211, NWS Hastings, NE

August 16, 2002Hamilton County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 16, 2002, 6:45 AM CDT for Hamilton County, Nebraska. It was in force for 60 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Aug 16, 2002, 6:45 AM CDT (11:45 UTC)
Expired
Aug 16, 2002, 7:45 AM CDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Hastings, NE
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Hamilton County, NE

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 77 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 11:48 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
Aug 16, 6:55 AM CDTHail 1Aurora, NE

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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 147 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 2002-08-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 2002-08-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -3 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1658 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
116 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.

835 
WUUS53 KGID 161145
SVRGRI
NEC081-161245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
644 AM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  HAMILTON COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 745 AM CDT

* AT 642 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF AURORA...OR ABOUT 15 MILES
  EAST OF GRAND ISLAND...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  MARQUETTE AT 700 AM CDT
  HORDVILLE AT 730 AM CDT

PEOPLE IN HAMILTON COUNTY SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE 
AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

LARGE HAIL THE SIZE OF NICKELS AND QUARTERS IS LIKELY.

LAT...LON 4089 9825 4081 9807 4099 9783 4113 9785

NNNN

09

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 Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 16, 2:28 AM CDT, 4 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 16, 2:28 AM CDT, 4 hours 17 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
228 AM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

CHC OF RA WL BE THE CONCERN OF THE DAY WITH STRONG UPR SYS XG SRN BC
THIS MRNG AS PER WATER VAPOR LOOP.  THIS SYS WL X THE NRN PLNS TDA
AND EXERT A HEALTHY DRAW ON MSTR POOLED OVR KS/SRN PLNS.  04Z-06Z
850 MB PROFILERS IND WND HAS ALREADY TRENDED ARND TO THE S AND ARE
CNVRGG MSTR NR THE KS/NEB LINE AS PER LATEST RADAR RTNS.

WL RUN A RA MENTION THRU THIS MRNG FOR ANY SCT SHRA/TSRA WHICH FORM
WITH THE LIFTING WARM FRONT.  OTHERWISE...STRONG WARM ADVCTN IN THE
MID LVLS SHOULD CAP THE CWA BY THIS AFTN...AND INTO THE EVE.  NOT
THE BEST NEWS FOR A DROUGHT STRICKEN AREA...HOWEVER THE HODOGRAPH
EXHIBIT FOR THE REGION IS OF GENEROUS SHEAR...SO ANY STORMS THAT
FORM WOULD HAVE DANGEROUSLY SVR POTENTIAL BY THIS EVE.  CURRENTLY
...THE PRIMARY TARGET AREA LKS TO BE WELL NE OF THE GID CWA AS PER
EXPECTED TRACK OF THE SFC LOW AND WEAKER CAP.

A SLGTLY BETTER RA CHC FOR GID WL COME WITH THE SUPERIOR FORCING
ALNG THE TRAILING CDFNT TNGT.  THE LIMITING FACTOR WL CONT TO BE THE
WARM MID LVLS AS PER MDL SNDINGS...SO POP NMBRS WL NOT BE INCREASED
ABOVE ONGOING SMALL CHC.

OVERALL...MDL SOLNS ARE IN GENL AGRMT WITH PREVIOUS FORECAST...SO
PERSISTENCE WL RULE THIS ISSUANCE.  MINOR ADJUSTMENTS ONLY TO SUN
NGT POPS WHERE PLACEMENT OF FOCUSING BNDRY UNDR ZONAL FLOW RMNS A QN
AS DOES TIMING OF NXT FRONT FOR WED NGT/THU.

GID...NONE.

09

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 16, 4:45 AM CDT, 2 hours before
KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-161200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
445 AM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

...SPOTTER ACTIVATION PROBABLY WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH
TONIGHT...

A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CROSS SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA
COUNTIES THIS MORNING.  AN UNFAVORABLE WIND FIELD AND WARMING
TEMPERATURES ALOFT WILL PREVENT ANY OF THESE STORMS FROM REACHING
SEVERE LEVELS.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE WIND FIELD IN THE ATMOSPHERE WILL IMPROVE AS THE
DAY PROGRESSES...HOWEVER...THE INCREASINGLY WARM TEMPERATURES ALOFT
ARE EXPECTED TO SUPPRESS ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT THIS
AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. SHOULD THIS SITUATION EVOLVE AND STORMS
BREAK OUT THIS EVENING...THEY WILL LIKELY BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE
HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND.  RESIDENTS OF AREAS TO THE NORTH OF
INTERSTATE 80 SHOULD BE ESPECIALLY SENSITIVE TO THIS POSSIBILITY.

FINALLY...THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT LATE
TONIGHT AS A COLD FRONT MOVES OVER SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND INTO
NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY PRODUCE HAIL AND
WIND GUSTS ABOVE SEVERE THRESHOLDS.

RESIDENTS AND EMERGENCY MANAGERS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS...AND
ESPECIALLY SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA SHOULD MONITOR THE SITUATION
THIS AFTERNOON...AND BE PREPARED TO ADAPT SHOULD THE POSSIBILITY
OF SEVERE WEATHER ESCALATE.

09

The office that day

Everything else NWS Hastings, NE issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 16, 7:02 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDMerrick58 min
Aug 16, 7:41 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDNance64 min
Aug 16, 8:44 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDNance16 min
Aug 16, 10:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDPolk, York59 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Nebraska, 2002Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2002

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.