Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 321

May 22, 2002Mills County, Iowa; 17 counties in Kansas; 17 counties in Nebraska

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 22, 2002, 8:00 PM CDT for Mills County, Iowa; 17 counties in Kansas; 17 counties in Nebraska. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 22, 2002, 8:00 PM CDT (01:00 UTC)
Expired: May 23, 2002, 2:00 AM CDT
In force: 6 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 35 counties

Mills County, IA, Clay County, KS, Cloud County, KS, Dickinson County, KS, Ellis County, KS, Ellsworth County, KS, Jewell County, KS, Lincoln County, KS, Marshall County, KS, Mitchell County, KS, Osborne County, KS, Ottawa County, KS, Republic County, KS, Riley County, KS, Russell County, KS, Saline County, KS, Smith County, KS, Washington County, KS, Adams County, NE, Cass County, NE, Clay County, NE, Fillmore County, NE, Gage County, NE, Hamilton County, NE, Jefferson County, NE, Johnson County, NE, Lancaster County, NE, Nuckolls County, NE, Otoe County, NE, Pawnee County, NE, Saline County, NE, Seward County, NE, Thayer County, NE, Webster County, NE, York County, NE

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 85 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:59 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.

Warnings issued inside it

8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 22, 8:45 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Osborne	45 min
May 22, 9:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Thayer	60 min
May 22, 9:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Jewell, Mitchell	55 min
May 22, 9:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Osborne	58 min
May 22, 9:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Smith	64 min
May 22, 10:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Jewell	66 min
May 22, 10:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Gage	31 min
May 22, 10:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	OAX	Johnson	35 min

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 215 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: 1279 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 237 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 425 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 
WWUS20 KWNS 230054
SEL1  
SPC WW 230050
KSZ000-NEZ000-230700-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 321
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
750 PM CDT WED MAY 22 2002

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS                             
   SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA                           

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING FROM 800 PM
UNTIL 200 AM CDT.

HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 70
MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES
EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 30 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF RUSSELL
KANSAS TO 15 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF LINCOLN NEBRASKA.

REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE
TORNADOES.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REPLACES
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 320.  WATCH NUMBER 320 WILL NOT BE
IN EFFECT AFTER 800 PM CDT.  CONTINUE...WW 319...

DISCUSSION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ONGOING OVER FAR NRN KS WILL
CONTINUE EWD WITH FURTHER DEVELOPMENT SPREADING ACROSS SERN NEB
THROUGH LATE THIS EVENING.  60 KT SLY LLJ AND VERY STEEP LAPSE
RATES WILL REMAIN SUPPORTIVE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.  VERY STRONG SHEAR PROFILES WILL
ALSO MAINTAIN A FEW SUPERCELLS.


AVIATION...A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT
TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 60
KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450.  MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 24035.


...EVANS

384,0993 410,0981 410,0953 384,0970

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Kansas, 2002 Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Nebraska, 2002 Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Iowa, 2002 Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.