Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2002
Tornado Warning 13, NWS Topeka, KS
NWS Topeka, KS issued this tornado warning at May 8, 2002, 6:21 PM CDT for Jefferson County, Kansas. It was in force for 24 min. 5 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, 6:21 PM CDT (23:21 UTC)
- Expired
- May 8, 2002, 6:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 24 min
- Issued by
- NWS Topeka, KS
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Jefferson County, KS
The radar
The Topeka radar (KTWX), 88 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:24 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, 6:23 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 61 E | Oskaloosa, KS | Strong winds downed power lines near Oskaloosa. |
| May 8, 6:25 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 65 E | Mc Louth, KS | Strong winds destroyed outbuildings near McClouth. |
| May 8, 6:26 PM CDT | Tornado F1 | Oskaloosa, KS | A short lived tornado touched down near Oskaloosa and damaged buildings, roofs, and power lines. |
| May 8, 6:30 PM CDT | Tornado F1 | Oskaloosa, KS | A short lived tornado touched down in Oskaloosa and damaged a seed mill and other buildings. |
| May 8, 6:34 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Oskaloosa, KS | A tornado briefly touched down northeast of Oskaloosa and damaged power lines. |
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, 5:30 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 42 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
- 50 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -814 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1189 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 56 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 522 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 829 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 WFUS53 KTOP 082321 TORTOP KSC087-082345- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS 621 PM CDT WED MAY 8 2002 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... EAST CENTRAL JEFFERSON COUNTY IN NORTHEAST KANSAS * UNTIL 645 PM CDT * AT 619 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 4 MILES SOUTHWEST OF OSKALOOSA...OR ABOUT 14 MILES NORTHWEST OF LAWRENCE... MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. A ROTATING WALL CLOUD WAS REPORTED SOUTH OF OSKALOOSA AT 618 PM. * SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED... MCLOUTH IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY BUILDING. AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR THE LATEST SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION. LAT...LON 3932 9518 3915 9518 3910 9537 3923 9536
The office that day
Everything else NWS Topeka, KS issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 10:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | 39 min | |
| May 7, 10:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | 36 min | |
| May 8, 4:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | 37 min | |
| May 8, 4:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | 49 min | |
| May 8, 4:38 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Morris | 37 min |
| May 8, 4:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | 53 min | |
| May 8, 4:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | 49 min | |
| May 8, 5:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | 34 min | |
| May 8, 5:30 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Wabaunsee | 30 min |
| May 8, 5:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | 54 min | |
| May 8, 5:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | 36 min | |
| May 8, 5:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | 48 min | |
| May 8, 5:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | 41 min | |
| May 8, 6:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | 29 min | |
| May 8, 6:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | 49 min | |
| May 8, 6:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | 48 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 2002Every tornado warning in 2002Tornadoes 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.