Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Hastings, NE

May 5, 2002Nuckolls County, Webster County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at May 5, 2002, 6:16 PM CDT for Nuckolls County, Webster County, Nebraska. It was in force for 44 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: May 5, 2002, 6:16 PM CDT (23:16 UTC)
Expired: May 5, 2002, 7:00 PM CDT
In force: 44 min
Issued by: NWS Hastings, NE
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Nuckolls County, NE, Webster County, NE

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 18 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:17 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 tornado 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
May 5, 4:30 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 210 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1239 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 242 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 208 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KGID 052316
TORGRI
NEC129-181-060000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
614 PM CDT SUN MAY 5 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NUCKOLLS COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA
  SOUTHERN WEBSTER COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 700 PM CDT

* AT 612 PM CDT...WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A TORNADO 1 MILE SOUTH
  OF RED CLOUD...OR ABOUT 35 MILES SOUTH OF HASTINGS...MOVING
  EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  GUIDE ROCK AT 620 PM CDT
  BOSTWICK AT 635 PM CDT
  
THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION. A TORNADO HAS BEEN SIGHTED.
PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN WEBSTER AND NUCKOLLS COUNTIES 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 4017 9872 4001 9870 4003 9785 4033 9783
          4033 9825 4021 9839

&

NNNN

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at May 5, 3:12 PM CDT, 3 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 5, 3:12 PM CDT, 3 hours 4 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
312 PM CDT SUN MAY 5 2002

...MAIN CONCERN IS TORNADO WATCH IN KANSAS CWA UNTIL 9 PM TONIGHT...

LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWING LOW PRESSURE CENTER NEAR NE SD.
SOUTHERLY WINDS HAVE CONTINUES TO PUMP UP SURFACE MOISTURE INTO
THE REGION WITH DEW POINTS ACROSS KS PUSHING INTO THE 60S. AN SPC
CONFERENCE CALL HAS ELUDED TO A CONCERN FOR TORNADIC SUPERCELLS
DEVELOPING IN THE EARLY EVENING AS CONVECTION BECOMES BETTER
ORGANIZED. VIS SATL PIX ALREADY SHOW STUFF STARTING TO BLOSSOM IN
SW KS. PROGGED ETA BRN SHEAR...AS WELL AS VGP AND EHI THIS EVENING DO
LOOK IMPRESSIVE FOR SUSTAINING A SHEARING ENVIRONMENT ALLOWING STORMS
TO DEVELOP A FEW MESOS. WITH MOISTURE CONTINUING TO STREAM IN...THE
AIR MASS SHOULD BECOME LESS STABLE WITH TIME AS SUGGESTED BY PROGGED
LI/CAPE/TT. ALSO...LCL HGTS GRADUALLY DECREASE AFTER OOZ THIS EVENING
OVER MOST OF KS. OTHERWISE...EXPECT CONVECTION TO BE PREVALENT IN
KS CWA AND EAST OF THE TRI CITIES. HAIL WILL BE A BIG CONCERN FOR
ANY STORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WITHIN THE NEBR CWA AS HEFTY 700-500MB
LRS LAY OVER STRONG THETA-E CONVERGENCE.

THUNDER CHANCES RETURN MONDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT AS STRONG LOW LEVEL
FRONTOGENETIC BOUNDARY ENVELOPES THE AREA...SUGGESTING AN MCS TYPE
EVENT. BUT LACKING LOW LEVEL JET AND EASTWARD SKEWED BOUNDARY LAYER
MOISTURE ALLOW ONLY SMALL POPS FOR THOSE PERIODS. WILL CONTINUE
SMALL POPS INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR LINGERING SHOWERS.

NO BIG CHANGES TO THE EXTENDED.

.GID...NONE.

DEE

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 5, 3:02 PM CDT, 3 hours 14 minutes before

KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-061200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
302 PM CDT SUN MAY 5 2002

...SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT...

THERE IS A RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL
NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS THROUGH TONIGHT.

A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS UNTIL 9 PM.
THUNDERSTORMS OVER WEST CENTRAL KANSAS WILL DEVELOP NORTHEASTWARD.
SOME MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL AND POSSIBLY TORNADOES.

THESE STORMS MAY CROSS THE NEBRASKA BORDER AS THE EVENING
PROGRESSES.  OTHER STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG A BOUNDARY IN
NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND SWEEP INTO AREAS NORTH OF INTERSTATE 80
TOWARD DUSK.

BY MIDNIGHT...THE GREATEST SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL BE CONFINED TO
AREAS NORTHEAST OF A LINE FROM KEARNEY TO SUPERIOR.  INCREASING WIND
FIELDS ARE EXPECTED TO ESCALATE THE THREAT FOR DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE
WIND GUSTS.

DROZD

Local storm report, May 5, 4:52 PM CDT, 1 hour 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
452 PM CDT SUN MAY 05 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0450 PM    7 S ZURICH                KS   TORNADO
05/05/02   ROOKS                          REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.

Local storm report, May 5, 5:10 PM CDT, 1 hour 6 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
510 PM CDT SUN MAY 05 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0510 PM    2 W REAMSVILLE            KS   TORNADO
05/05/02   SMITH                          REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.

Local storm report, May 5, 5:32 PM CDT, 44 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
532 PM CDT SUN MAY 05 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0531 PM    4 N HASTINGS              NE   1.5 INCH HAIL
05/05/02   ADAMS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 5, 4:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Franklin	56 min
May 5, 5:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Webster	54 min
May 5, 5:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Adams	41 min
May 5, 5:31 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Webster	44 min
May 5, 5:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Clay, Hall, Hamilton	63 min
May 5, 6:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Merrick	59 min
May 5, 6:12 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Merrick	48 min
May 5, 6:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Kearney	51 min
May 5, 6:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Nance	38 min
May 5, 6:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Buffalo	51 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.