Alert archive / Nebraska / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 18, NWS Hastings, NE

April 29, 2003Buffalo County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 29, 2003, 4:38 AM CDT for Buffalo County, Nebraska. It was in force for 52 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
Apr 29, 2003, 4:38 AM CDT (09:38 UTC)
Expired
Apr 29, 2003, 5:30 AM CDT
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Hastings, NE
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Buffalo County, NE

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 77 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 09:37 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 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

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 00:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 134 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 00:00Z on 2003-04-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 00:00Z on 2003-04-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 34 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
1547 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
34 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
260 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

995 
WUUS53 KGID 290938
SVRGID
NEC019-291030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
437 AM CDT TUE APR 29 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  BUFFALO COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 530 AM CDT

* AT 426 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 9 MILES SOUTHWEST OF KEARNEY...MOVING NORTH AT
  25 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS SEVERE STORM INCLUDE...
  KEARNEY
  RIVERDALE
  PLEASANTON
  POOLE
  RAVENNA

PEOPLE IN CENTRAL BUFFALO COUNTY SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY
STRUCTURE AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT IS LARGE HAIL THE SIZE OF QUARTERS.

LAT...LON 4096 9911 4067 9924 4066 9898 4096 9880
$$
NNNN

What 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 Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 29, 2:14 AM CDT, 2 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 29, 2:14 AM CDT, 2 hours 24 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
214 AM CDT TUE APR 29 2003

...MAIN CONCERN IS SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL SETTING UP FOR TONIGHT...

SATL PIX AND LATEST UAA SHOWING AN UPPER LEVEL LOW SPINNING OVER THE
COAST NEAR THE PACIFIC NW. A FEW IMPULSES IDENTIFIED BEING EJECTED
FROM THE MAIN CIRCULATION...MOVING ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN AND
HEADING TOWARD THE ROCKIES. IMPRESSIVE JET CORE ANALYZED AT THE
BOTTOM OF THE CIRCULATION TOO. 850MB ANALYSIS SHOWING AXIS OF
MOISTURE STRETCHING FROM THE GULF COAST OF TEXAS INTO NRN KANSAS.
LATEST 850 MB PROFILERS INDICATING WINDS INCREASING UP TO AROUND 40KT
ACROSS TEXAS AND OKLA...HELPING FEED THE MOISTURE INTO THE PLAINS.

AS MENTIONED...MAIN CONCERN IS FOR POTENTIAL SEVERE OUTBREAK THIS
EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. THE LATEST ETA IS INDICATING STOUT INSTABILITY
ACCOMPANIED BY IMPRESSIVE ATMOSPHERIC SHEAR. IT APPEARS THAT SFC LOW
PRESSURE SHOULD BE DEEPENING NEAR WRN KS BY 00Z TONIGHT AS THE MAIN
UPPER LEVEL CIRCULATION HEADS FOR THE GREAT BASIN. ETA INSTABILITY
PARAMETERS BASICALLY BULLSEYE KS WITH 4000J/KG SBCAPE...LIS
OF -9...AND TTS ABOVE 60 BY EARLY EVENING...ACCOMPANIED BY AN
INCREASING LOW LEVEL JET. AS THE SFC LOW DEVELOPS SW OF THE AREA...
SHEAR INDICES CATAPULT ACROSS THE CWA SUGGESTING SUPERCELLS AS THE
MAIN THREAT. PLENTY OF MOISTURE PROGGED FOR THE AREA AS PRECIPITABLE
WATER VALUES ARE ABOUT 1.50. WITH THIS HIGH CONCENTRATION OF
LOW LEVEL MOISTURE UNDERNEATH STEEP MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES...LARGE
HAIL A DEFINITE POSSIBILITY WITH SOME STORMS. BOTTOM LINE IS THAT
TORNADIC SUPERCELLS APPEAR QUITE PROBABLE DURING THE EVENING HOURS
OVER THE CWA.

AS FOR THE REST OF THE FORECAST...THUNDER CHANCES SEEM REASONABLE
THRU AT LEAST THURSDAY MORNING AS THE UPPER LEVEL LOW CROSSES THE
ROCKIES AND TREKS THRU THE PLAINS. SEVERE WX STILL POSSIBLE MAINLY
IN EASTERN SECTIONS OF OUR NEB CWA WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS SUFFICIENT
LARGE SCALE FORCING ACCOMPANIES INCREASING INSTABILITY PARAMETERS.

ONLY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS MADE TO THE EXTENDED PORTION OF FCST.

.GID...NONE.

DEE
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 28, 10:49 AM CDT, 17 hours 49 minutes before
KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-291200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
1049 AM CDT MON APR 28 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND
PARTS OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE TODAY AND TONIGHT
SOUTH OF A LOUP CITY TO GENEVA NEBRASKA LIKE.  THUNDERSTORMS WILL
DEVELOP OVER EASTERN COLORADO AND WYOMING LATER TODAY...AND ARE
EXPECTED TO DEVELOP EASTWARD INTO SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND NORTH
CENTRAL KANSAS THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT.  THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER
HAZARDS WILL BE FOR LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

A STATIONARY FRONT WILL REMAIN DRAPED ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS
DURING THE DAY TUESDAY.  THUNDERSTORMS WILL REDEVELOP BY TUESDAY
EVENING AS THE FRONT BEGINS TO LIFT NORTH. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON INTO TUESDAY NIGHT.
THE MAIN HAZARDS WILL BE FROM LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND.  LOCALLY
HEAVY RAINFALL OF UP TO 2 INCHES IS POSSIBLE FOR PARTS OF SOUTH
CENTRAL NEBRASKA BY DAWN WEDNESDAY.

THE CHANCE FOR MORE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ON WEDNESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THIS AFTERNOON OR
TONIGHT.

09

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 29, 2:49 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDFranklin, Harlan56 min
Apr 29, 4:26 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDKearney, Phelps49 min
Apr 29, 4:39 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDNuckolls, Webster51 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Nebraska, 2003Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2003

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.