Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 17, NWS Hastings, NE

May 26, 2002Polk County, York County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at May 26, 2002, 7:38 PM CDT for Polk County, York County, Nebraska. It was in force for 67 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: May 26, 2002, 7:38 PM CDT (00:38 UTC)
Expired: May 26, 2002, 8:45 PM CDT
In force: 67 min
Issued by: NWS Hastings, NE
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Polk County, NE, York County, NE

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 102 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:41 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
May 26, 8:15 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 60 E	Osceola, NE
May 26, 8:15 PM CDT	Hail 1	Osceola, 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.

The watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 26, 5:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 0.6 hours before the alert went out and 116 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 23 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -252 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2328 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 40 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 161 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.

000 
WFUS53 KGID 270038
TORGRI
NEC143-185-270145-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
738 PM CDT SUN MAY 26 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  POLK COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL NEBRASKA
  YORK COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 845 PM CDT

* AT 736 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION AND POTENTIAL TORNADO 3
  MILES WEST OF POLK...OR ABOUT 19 MILES NORTHWEST OF YORK...MOVING
  EAST AT 20 MPH. THIS SEVERE STORM COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY
  TIME.

* THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND POTENTIAL TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  BRADSHAW AT 745 PM CDT
  STROMSBURG AT 755 PM CDT
  OSCEOLA AT 800 PM CDT
  SHELBY AT 805 PM CDT
  GRESHAM AT 810 PM CDT

PEOPLE IN POLK AND YORK COUNTIES SHOULD TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IN A
BASEMENT OR SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.

IF IN A MOBILE HOME...LEAVE IT IMMEDIATELY AND GET INSIDE A STURDY
SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST DITCH
AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

NEVER TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO. IF IN A VEHICLE...LEAVE IT IMMEDIATELY
AND GET INSIDE A STURDY SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE
FLAT IN THE NEAREST DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 4120 9794 4072 9782 4072 9740 4137 9741

NNNN

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 26, 7:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Buffalo	44 min
May 26, 7:09 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Merrick, Nance	51 min
May 26, 7:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Kearney	53 min
May 26, 7:25 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Furnas	65 min
May 26, 7:27 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Hamilton	63 min
May 26, 7:30 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Kearney	45 min
May 26, 7:41 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Adams, Hall	64 min
May 26, 7:44 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Harlan, Phelps	61 min
May 26, 7:56 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Franklin	64 min
May 26, 8:16 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Kearney	44 min
May 26, 8:47 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Harlan	43 min
May 26, 8:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Nuckolls	67 min
May 26, 9:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Franklin	44 min
May 26, 9:12 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Franklin	33 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Nebraska, 2002 Every tornado warning in 2002 Tornadoes 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.