Alert archive / Nebraska / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 212, NWS Hastings, NE
NWS Hastings, NE issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 16, 2002, 7:02 AM CDT for Merrick County, Nebraska. It was in force for 58 min. 2 reports 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, 7:02 AM CDT (12:02 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 16, 2002, 8:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 58 min
- Issued by
- NWS Hastings, NE
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Merrick County, NE
The radar
The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 97 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:05 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 | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 7:05 AM CDT | Hail 1 | Central City, NE | |
| Aug 16, 7:20 AM CDT | Hail 1 | Central City, 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 12:00Z, 0.0 hours before the alert went out and 139 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2380 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -16 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 189 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
730 WUUS53 KGID 161202 SVRGRI NEC121-161300- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 701 AM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... MERRICK COUNTY IN CENTRAL NEBRASKA * UNTIL 800 AM CDT * AT 659 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES SOUTH OF CENTRAL CITY...OR ABOUT 21 MILES NORTHEAST OF GRAND ISLAND...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... CLARKS AT 725 AM CDT PEOPLE IN MERRICK COUNTY SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT IS LARGE HAIL THE SIZE OF NICKELS AND QUARTERS. LAT...LON 4106 9818 4097 9813 4127 9773 4132 9787 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 34 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 16, 2:28 AM CDT, 4 hours 34 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 17 minutes 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
Special weather statement, Aug 16, 6:51 AM CDT, 11 minutes before
KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-171200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 651 AM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002 ...SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TONIGHT... A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CROSS SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA COUNTIES THIS MORNING. A FEW OF THESE MAY BECOME SEVERE NORTH OF A LINE FROM LOUP CITY TO GRAND ISLAND TO GENEVA. LARGE HAIL IS THE PRIMARY SEVERE THREAT. 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 DUE TO HIGH SHEAR IN THE ATMOSPHERIC WIND FIELD. 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 6:45 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Hamilton | 60 min |
| Aug 16, 7:41 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Nance | 64 min |
| Aug 16, 8:44 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Nance | 16 min |
| Aug 16, 10:01 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Polk, York | 59 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.