Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 18, NWS Hastings, NE

May 26, 2002Smith County, Kansas

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at May 26, 2002, 7:40 PM CDT for Smith County, Kansas. It was in force for 65 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, 7:40 PM CDT (00:40 UTC)
Expired: May 26, 2002, 8:45 PM CDT
In force: 65 min
Issued by: NWS Hastings, NE
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Smith County, KS

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 60 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, 8:20 PM CDT	Hail 1	Bellaire, KS
May 26, 8:47 PM CDT	Hail 1.75	Bellaire, KS

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

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 213 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: 1192 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -125 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1891 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 112 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 128 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 3.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KGID 270040
TORGRI
KSC183-270145-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SMITH COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 845 PM CDT

* AT 736 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A TORNADO 18 MILES NORTH OF KENSINGTON...OR ABOUT 25 MILES
  NORTHEAST OF PHILLIPSBURG...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 10 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  KENSINGTON AT 805 PM CDT
  ATHOL AT 820 PM CDT
  SMITH CENTER AT 830 PM CDT
  BELLAIRE AT 840 PM CDT
  
PEOPLE IN SMITH COUNTY SHOULD TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IN A BASEMENT
OR SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.

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 4000 9852 3999 9909 3960 9905 3958 9851

NNNN

09

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 26, 7:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Osborne	60 min
May 26, 8:42 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Smith	63 min
May 26, 8:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Jewell	58 min
May 26, 9:08 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Jewell	67 min
May 26, 9:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Phillips	65 min
May 26, 9:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Smith	45 min
May 26, 9:48 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Mitchell	57 min
May 26, 9:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Osborne	66 min
May 26, 10:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Jewell	46 min
May 26, 10:38 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Rooks	67 min
May 26, 10:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Mitchell	62 min
May 26, 10:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Osborne	64 min
May 26, 11:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Smith	60 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 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.