Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 30, NWS Hastings, NE

June 12, 2002Buffalo County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at Jun 12, 2002, 8:14 PM CDT for Buffalo County, Nebraska. It was in force for 61 min. 3 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: Jun 12, 2002, 8:14 PM CDT (01:14 UTC)
Expired: Jun 12, 2002, 9:15 PM CDT
In force: 61 min
Issued by: NWS Hastings, NE
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Buffalo County, NE

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 87 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:16 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
Jun 12, 8:20 PM CDT	Hail 5	Amherst, NE
Jun 12, 8:30 PM CDT	Hail 5	Riverdale, NE
Jun 12, 8:40 PM CDT	Hail 5	Kearney, NE	All injuries were minor

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
Jun 12, 4:15 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 00:00Z, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 125 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: 530 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2259 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 52 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 124 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KGID 130114
TORGRI
NEC019-130215-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
812 PM CDT WED JUN 12 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  BUFFALO COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 915 PM CDT

* AT 811 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO 7 MILES EAST OF MILLER...OR ABOUT 19 MILES
  NORTHWEST OF KEARNEY...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  AMHERST AT 820 PM CDT
  RIVERDALE AT 830 PM CDT
  GIBBON AT 850 PM CDT
  SHELTON AT 900 PM CDT 

THIS STORM HAS ALSO HAD A HISTORY OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL TO THE 
SIZE OF GOLFBALLS.

THIS REPLACES THE PREVIOUS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING THAT WAS IN 
EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM.

PEOPLE IN BUFFALO 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 4103 9941 4070 9941 4069 9873 4103 9873

NNNN

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 12, 7:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Buffalo	64 min
Jun 12, 8:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Adams, Kearney	56 min
Jun 12, 8:42 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Kearney	48 min
Jun 12, 9:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Webster	54 min
Jun 12, 9:21 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Franklin	24 min
Jun 12, 9:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Nuckolls	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.