Alert archive / Nebraska / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 217, NWS Hastings, NE

August 17, 2002Greeley County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 17, 2002, 12:25 AM CDT for Greeley County, Nebraska. It was in force for 65 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 17, 2002, 12:25 AM CDT (05:25 UTC)
Expired
Aug 17, 2002, 1:30 AM CDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS Hastings, NE
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Greeley County, NE

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 149 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:25 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.

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 watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 16, 11:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 00:00Z, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 180 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 00:00Z on 2002-08-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2049 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 00:00Z on 2002-08-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 69 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
2049 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
3249 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
69 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
137 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
6.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

697 
WUUS53 KGID 170525
SVRGRI
NEC077-170630-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
1224 AM CDT SAT AUG 17 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  GREELEY COUNTY IN CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 130 AM CDT

* AT 1219 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM 13 MILES NORTH OF GREELEY TO 12
  MILES WEST OF GREELEY...OR FROM 50 MILES SOUTH OF ONEILL TO
  49 MILES EAST OF BROKEN BOW...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
  GREELEY AT 1230 AM CDT

HAIL TO THE SIZE OF QUARTERS IS LIKELY WITH THIS STORM.

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

LAT...LON 4186 9844 4172 9870 4168 9873 4139 9870
          4145 9833

NNNN

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, 9:57 PM CDT, 2 hours 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 16, 9:57 PM CDT, 2 hours 28 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
957 PM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

JUST A SHORT UPDATE TO THROW OUT A WIND ADVISORY AS BUFFER ZONE FOR
NORTHWEST CWFA. FRONT IS DRIVING ITS WAY TOWARD THE CWFA AND SHOULD
ARRIVE NEAR MIDNIGHT NORTHWEST SECTIONS. STRONG ISALLOBARIC COMPONENT
WITH PRESSURE RISES WILL AID IN HIGHER WIND SPEEDS. ADVISORY
CRITERIA APPEARS AT LEAST A CERTAINTY IN THOSE AREAS FOR 2 TO 5
HOURS MAYBE ACROSS AREAS FURTHER SOUTHEAST.

NO MAJOR CHANGES OTHERWISE. PROVIDED SOME TIMING OF STORMS AS FRONT
IS STILL EXPECT TO OVERCOME STRONG CAP...BUT POSSIBLY JUST A BIT
FURTHER SOUTHEAST.

.GID...WIND ADVISORY FOR THE OVERNIGHT HOURS NORTH OF A HOLDREGE TO
GRAND ISLAND TO POLK LINE.

MORITZ

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 16, 11:42 PM CDT, 43 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
1142 PM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

...SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE REQUIRED TONIGHT OVER SOUTH CENTRAL
NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS...

AS EXPECTED...AN ERUPTION OF THUNDERSTORMS IN CENTRAL NEBRASKA WILL
LEAD TO A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL
NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS OVERNIGHT.

A COLD FRONT PLOWING INTO A VERY UNSTABLE AIRMASS ACROSS THE REGION
WILL MOVE RAPIDLY SOUTHEAST OVERNIGHT. A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS
CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...AND HAIL TO
THE SIZE OF GOLF BALLS...WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA. BETWEEN MIDNIGHT
AND 2 AM...AREAS NORTH OF INTERSTATE 80 IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA
WILL HAVE THE BEST SHOT AT SEVERE WEATHER. BETWEEN 2 AND 5 AM...THE
RISK FOR SEVERE STORMS WILL SPREAD SOUTH TO THE KANSAS BORDER...AND
EVENTUALLY INTO NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS BY DAWN. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA UNTIL 5 AM.

IT IS LIKELY SOME SPOTTER GROUPS WILL NEED TO BE DEPLOYED TONIGHT.
ALL RESIDENTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS...
SHOULD CONTINUE TO REMAIN VIGILANT TO THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE
WEATHER DURING THE NIGHT.

THIS FAST MOVING COLD FRONT WILL EXIT THE REGION EARLY SATURDAY
MORNING...LEAVING A MUCH COOLER AND DRYER AIRMASS IN PLACE.

MORITZ

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 17, 12:01 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDValley59 min
Aug 17, 12:35 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDHoward, Sherman55 min
Aug 17, 12:42 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDDawson63 min
Aug 17, 1:07 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDNance53 min
Aug 17, 1:30 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDBuffalo60 min
Aug 17, 1:32 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDGosper58 min
Aug 17, 2:16 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDFurnas59 min
Aug 17, 2:40 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDHarlan50 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.