Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2002

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Springfield, MO

May 8, 2002Cherokee County, Crawford County, Kansas

NWS Springfield, MO issued this tornado warning at May 8, 2002, 9:37 PM CDT for Cherokee County, Crawford County, Kansas. It was in force for 38 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 8, 2002, 9:37 PM CDT (02:37 UTC)
Expired: May 8, 2002, 10:15 PM CDT
In force: 38 min
Issued by: NWS Springfield, MO
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Cherokee County, KS, Crawford County, KS

The radar

The Tulsa radar (KINX), 132 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:38 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 8, 9:50 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 55 E	Columbus, KS
May 8, 10:05 PM CDT	Hail 0.88	Melrose, 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 8, 8:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 00:00Z, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 104 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: 1675 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -36 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 811 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 285 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 375 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 2.9
Supercell composite: 13.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KSGF 090237
TORSGF
KSC021-037-090315-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
931 PM CDT WED MAY 8 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SPRINGFIELD HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  CHEROKEE COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST KANSAS
  SOUTHERN CRAWFORD COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST KANSAS

* UNTIL 1015 PM CDT

* AT 923 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG ROTATION NEAR ALTAMONT...MOVING 
  EAST AT 50 MPH. THIS STORM COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
   MCCUNE BY 935 PM CDT.
   WEST MINERAL BY 945 PM CDT.
   COLUMBUS...SCAMMON...WEIR BY 950 PM CDT.
   BAXTER SPRINGS BY 955 PM CDT.
   GALENA BY 1005 PM CDT.

THE TOWNS OF FAULKNER...HALLOWELL...SHERWIN...NEUTRAL AND CRESTLINE
ARE ALSO IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADIC STORM.

HEAVY RAINFALL MAY OBSCURE THIS TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW IF YOU WAIT
TO SEE OR HEAR IT COMING...IT MAY BE TOO LATE TO GET TO A SAFE PLACE.

IN ADDITION TO THE TORNADO...THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING  
DESTRUCTIVE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS TO 70 MPH AND DIME SIZE HAIL.

THIS STORM HAS HAD A HISTORY OF PRODUCING DESTRUCTIVE WINDS IN 
EXCESS OF 60 MPH AND OCCASIONAL WEAK TORNADOES. A TRAINED WEATHER 
SPOTTER CONTINUED TO MONITOR A WELL DEVELOPED WALL CLOUD WITH THIS 
STORM. TAKE COVER NOW

LAT...LON 3740 9507 3699 9508 3700 9463 3738 9462

BOOKBINDER

The office that day

Everything else NWS Springfield, MO issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 8, 8:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	SGF	Bourbon	47 min
May 8, 10:17 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	SGF	Crawford	3 hr

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.