Alert archive / Nebraska / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 224, NWS Hastings, NE
NWS Hastings, NE issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 17, 2002, 2:40 AM CDT for Harlan County, Nebraska. It was in force for 50 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, 2:40 AM CDT (07:40 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 17, 2002, 3:30 AM CDT
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Hastings, NE
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Harlan County, NE
The radar
The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 87 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 07:40 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 11:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 00:00Z, 7.7 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.
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
663 WUUS53 KGID 170740 SVRGRI NEC083-170830- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 240 AM CDT SAT AUG 17 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... HARLAN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA * UNTIL 330 AM CDT * AT 234 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 8 MILES NORTH OF STAMFORD...OR ABOUT 16 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HOLDREGE...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. * THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... HUNTLEY AT 250 AM CDT REPUBLICAN CITY AT 255 AM CDT HARLAN COUNTY DAM AT 300 AM CDT PEOPLE IN HARLAN COUNTY SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT IS STRONG AND DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH. HAIL TO SIZE OF DIMES IS POSSIBLE. LAT...LON 4002 9959 4032 9961 4032 9923 4003 9919 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 17, 2:15 AM CDT, 25 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 17, 2:15 AM CDT, 25 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 215 AM CDT SAT AUG 17 2002 QNS OF THE PACKAGE INCLUDE LINGERING 1ST PD TSRA AND ONGOING WIND ADVISORY AS STRONG CDFNT PLOUGHS THRU THE GID CWA. AS OF 07Z...SVR WAS MARGINAL AND POST FRONT WND IS BLO ADVISORY CRITERIA OVR THE CWA. 40 TO 45 KT WERE CONFINED TO THE LEAD EDGE OF THE TSRA. UPSTREAM PRES SURGE OF +8 MB NOTED AT SFD...AND WL WATCH...BUT CURRENT IND ARE THAT WND ADV WL NOT BE NEEDED. OTHERWISE UPR LOW XS THE NRN PLNS TDA WITH PROGGED TRACK N OF THE GREAT LAKES. RESULT WL BE ZONAL FLOW OVR THE CNTRL PLNS WITH LEE TROFG AND FRONT INITIALLY STALLED OVR KS. WL STAY WITH THE CONSERVATIVE APPROACH THIS MRNG AND SEE WHERE THE FRONT ENDS UP. WL STAY DRY FOR SAT NGT AS TIMING AND STRONG PUSH WL DRIVE IT SUFFICIENTLY S. SUN NGT MAY BE THE BTR SHOT...BUT ETA/AVN VERSIONS OF LLVL MSTR CNVRGNC ARE A BIT S TO INCLUDE NEB ZONES. WL MAKE THAT ADJUSTMENT ALNG WITH INCLUSION OF THE ENTIRE CWA WITH A PCPN MENTION MON NGT WITH WARM FRONT LIFTING NWD. NO ADJUSTMENT TO LATTER PDS NEEDED WITH THIS ISSUANCE. .GID...NONE 09
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 16, 11:42 PM CDT, 2 hours 58 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
Special weather statement, Aug 17, 2:33 AM CDT, 7 minutes before
NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-171000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE 233 AM CDT SAT AUG 17 2002 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 617 IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR GOSPER...DAWSON...BUFFALO...SHERMAN...VALLEY...GREELEY...HOWARD... NANCE...MERRICK...AND POLK COUNTIES... THE LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS HAS MOVED SOUTH OF THESE COUNTIES WITH A PASSING COLD FRONT. SEVERE WEATHER IS NO LONGER EXPECTED IN THESE AREAS THIS MORNING. HOWEVER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 617 WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM FOR THE REST OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA INCLUDING HALL...ADAMS...YORK...HAMILTON...FILLMORE...CLAY... NUCKOLLS...THAYER...WEBSTER...FRANKLIN...KEARNEY...PHELPS...HARLAN... AND FURNAS COUNTIES. 09
The office that day
Everything else NWS Hastings, NE issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 17, 12:01 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Valley | 59 min |
| Aug 17, 12:25 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Greeley | 65 min |
| Aug 17, 12:35 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Howard, Sherman | 55 min |
| Aug 17, 12:42 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Dawson | 63 min |
| Aug 17, 1:07 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Nance | 53 min |
| Aug 17, 1:30 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Buffalo | 60 min |
| Aug 17, 1:32 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Gosper | 58 min |
| Aug 17, 2:16 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Furnas | 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.