Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 24, NWS Topeka, KS
NWS Topeka, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 17, 2002, 11:27 PM CDT for Ottawa County, Kansas. It was in force for 48 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
- Apr 17, 2002, 11:27 PM CDT (04:27 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 18, 2002, 12:15 AM CDT
- In force
- 48 min
- Issued by
- NWS Topeka, KS
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Ottawa County, KS
The radar
The Topeka radar (KTWX), 123 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:27 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 11:45 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Culver, KS | |
| Apr 18, 12:04 AM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Minneapolis, 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.
Did it verify
Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm 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 nearest sounding before it
Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 173 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 2478 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -54 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1480 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 190 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 361 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.5
- Supercell composite
- 16.4
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WUUS53 KTOP 180427
SVRTOP
KSC143-180515-
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1127 PM CDT WED APR 17 2002
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
OTTAWA COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS
* UNTIL 1215 AM CDT
* AT 1125 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES SOUTHWEST OF TESCOTT...OR ABOUT 23
MILES NORTHWEST OF SALINA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED...
TESCOTT
ADA
MINNEAPOLIS
BENNINGTON
DELPHOS
LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE LIKELY WITH THIS
STORM. TAKE COVER INSIDE A BUILDING.
STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR THE
LATEST SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION.
LAT...LON 3930 9746 3900 9738 3897 9773 3897 9791
3925 9791What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Topeka, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 17, 3:00 PM CDT, 8 hours 27 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 17, 3:00 PM CDT, 8 hours 27 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS 3 PM CDT WED APR 17 2002 MAIN PROBLEMS ARE CONSIDERATIONS OF STG CONVECTION TONIGHT AND THURSDAY...THEN AMT OF COOLING AND PCPN CHCS INTO THE WEEKEND. VERY WARM ON THURSDAY WITH SOME READINGS NEAR RECORD HIGH LVLS...AM USING MESO-ETA SFC TEMPERATURES FOR MAX TEMP GUIDANCE ON THURSDAY. RATHER SLIM CHCS FOR CONVECTION TONIGHT. NOT QUITE SLIM ENUF TO PRECLUDE MENTION...BUT WILL HOLD WITH MINIMAL POPS FOR THREE REASONS...ALL OF WHICH MAY BE RATHER WEAK. FIRST IS WARMFRONTAL BOUNDARY. LATEST PROFILERS FROM 19Z SHOW BNDRY JUST OFF THE SFC (FIRST SVRL GATES OF PROFILERS) SHOW IT ALG NRN BORDER. ALL SMALLER GRID MODELS INCLUDING MESO-ETA AND WORKSTATION ETA SHOW SFC FNT MVG RAPIDLY NORTH REST OF THIS AFTERNOON. COULD HAVE A STORM OR TWO ALONG NRN BORDER EARLY BUT MORE LIKELY TO NORTH OF CWA. SECOND REASON IS CONVECTION TRYING TO GET ITSELF TOGETHER ALG DRY LINE WRN OK. THIS COULD DVLP FURTHER NORTH NEXT FEW HOURS...THEN MAY TRACK NORTHEAST INTO CWA LATE EVENING. HOWEVER WOULD NOT EXPECT THIS TO MAKE MUCH PROGRESS EAST...IF IT EVEN MAKES IT THIS FAR. NOTE AND AGREE WITH ICT THAT STORMS MAY HAVE A HARD TIME MAKING IT TOO FAR INTO KS...LET ALONE MY CWA. BUT STILL SOME REMOTE THREAT. PROBABLY THE BEST THREAT...ALBEIT STILL QUITE SMALL...IS THE THREAT FOR ELEVATED CONVECTION WITHIN THE LOW LVL JET LATER TONIGHT. BUFKIT SNDGS IMPLY THIS AFT MIDNIGHT WITHIN AREA. IF THIS HAPPENS, THIS CONVECTION COULD LINGER INTO TMRW AM. THEREFORE...WILL CONTINUE WITH SLGT CHC FOR CONVECTION TONIGHT...THEN MENTION CONVECTION CNTRL AND ERN PTN CWA ON THURSDAY. FOLLOWING MESO-ETA LOW LVL MOISTURE PROFILE... WRN PTN CWA NOT LIKELY TO SEE ANY CONVECTION TMRW SINCE DRYER AIR LIKELY WORKING IN BY MIDDAY TMRW. QUESTION THEN BECOMES WHERE BEST MOISTURE CONVERGENCE SETS UP BY THIS TIME THURSDAY. ALSO AGREE WITH ICT THAT TMRW COULD BE AN ACTIVE SVR WX DAY. NUMEROUS SHORT WAVE IMPULSES MOVG OVR AREA LATE IN THE AFTN COULD BE JUST ENOUGH IMPETUS FOR EXPLOSIVE DVLPMT. GIVEN CURRENT MESO-ETA FCST...WOULD SUSPECT THAT MAY HAPPEN NEAR OR JUST EAST OF A SENECA-ABILENE LINE BY MID TO LATE AFTN. CONVECTION WOULD THEN PUSH EAST OVR REST OF CWA...EXITING SOUTHEASTERN PTN OF CWA AFT MIDNIGHT. LATER FORECAST PDS PROBLEMATIC TOO. IF HPCS SFC WX DEPICTION IS RIGHT...CANT SEE MUCH SUPPORT FOR PCPN OVER THE WEEKEND...CERTAINLY NOT TSTMS. OF COURSE, COULD SEE LOTS OF CLOUDS WITH SOME OVRRNG...BUT WIDESPREAD PCPN NOT LIKELY. WITH NORTHERLY FLOW AND CLOUDS...TEMPERATURES BLO CLIMO LIKELY. NICE RECOVERY BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. IF LESS CLOUDS OCCUR THAN FORECAST...WEEKEND TEMPS WOULD NOT BE THAT FAR REMOVED FROM CLIMO HIGHS/LOWS...I.E. 60S/40S. .TOP...NONE
In the hours before
Local storm report, Apr 17, 11:14 PM CDT, 13 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1114 PM CDT WED APR 17 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1111 PM 3 SW CARLTON KS 1.25 INCH HAIL
04/17/02 DICKINSON PUBLIC REPORTED HALF
DOLLAR SIZE HAILLocal storm report, Apr 17, 11:26 PM CDT, 1 minute before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1126 PM CDT WED APR 17 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1124 PM 3 S ELMO KS 1.75 INCH HAIL
04/17/02 DICKINSON PUBLIC REPORTED GOLF
BALL SIZE HAILThe office that day
Everything else NWS Topeka, KS issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 8:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Dickinson | 34 min |
| Apr 17, 10:57 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Dickinson | 43 min |
| Apr 17, 11:36 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Dickinson, Geary, Morris | 39 min |
| Apr 18, 12:17 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Clay, Ottawa | 43 min |
| Apr 18, 12:22 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Republic, Washington | 38 min |
| Apr 18, 12:46 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Clay | 44 min |
| Apr 18, 1:08 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Riley, Washington | 37 min |
| Apr 18, 1:28 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Marshall | 47 min |
| Apr 18, 1:47 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Marshall | 43 min |
| Apr 18, 5:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Dickinson | 38 min |
| Apr 18, 6:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Geary, Riley | 45 min |
| Apr 18, 6:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Pottawatomie | 45 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 2002Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.