Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 2, NWS Hastings, NE

March 17, 2003Osborne County, Smith County, Kansas

NWS Hastings, NE issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Mar 17, 2003, 3:06 PM CST for Osborne County, Smith County, Kansas. It was in force for 54 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
Mar 17, 2003, 3:06 PM CST (21:06 UTC)
Expired
Mar 17, 2003, 4:00 PM CST
In force
54 min
Issued by
NWS Hastings, NE
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Osborne County, KS, Smith County, KS

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 100 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:05 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

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 12:00Z, 9.1 hours before the alert went out and 211 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, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 2003-03-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 336 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Dodge City, at 12:00Z on 2003-03-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -11 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
336 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-208 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1354 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-11 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
26 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 
WUUS53 KGID 172106
SVRGRI
KSC141-183-172200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
305 PM CST MON MAR 17 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN OSBORNE COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS
  SOUTHERN SMITH COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 400 PM CST

* AT 300 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 8 MILES SOUTHEAST OF ALTON...OR ABOUT 36 MILES
  SOUTHEAST OF PHILLIPSBURG...MOVING NORTHWEST AT 30 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  ALTON AT 315 PM CST
  HARLAN AT 325 PM CST
  GAYLORD AT 330 PM CST
  CEDAR AT 335 PM CST
  SMITH CENTER AT 345 PM CST

PEOPLE IN SOUTHERN SMITH AND NORTHERN OSBORNE COUNTIES SHOULD SEEK
SHELTER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

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

LAT...LON 3925 9899 3927 9854 3978 9855 3981 9905
$$
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 Mar 17, 2:04 PM CST, 1 hour 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 17, 2:04 PM CST, 1 hour 2 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
204 PM CST MON MAR 17 2003

12Z UPR AIR AND VAPOR SHOW LG SCALE UPR TROF NR THE 4 CORNERS. LEAD
WV RESPONSIBLE FOR AM CONVN ACRS ERN PARTS OF CWA CONTS TO LIFT NWD
W/WK SUBSIDENCE IN BEHIND...ENOUGH TO SCOUR RESIDUAL MID/HIGH CLD
DEBRIS ADVT OUT OF CNTL KS FOR A TIME. ENSUING DIURNAL RECOVERY
LEADING TO SFC BASED DESTABILIZATION AND SCT RW DVLPMNT ACRS SRN CWA
ATTM. HWVR...MORE IMPORTANT SHRT TERM CONCERN SHIFTING TWD
INCIPIENT EJECTION OF SECONDARY...STRONGER TROF FM SE CO INTO OK.
OTHERWISE...DOWNSTREAM CLSD UPR LOW OVR SE US CONTS TO RETARD
APPRECIABLE DEEP GULF MSTR RTN INTO THE PLAINS AS EVIDENT BY GENERAL
LACK OF PRECIP THROUGH THE PLAINS.

AGAIN...SHRT TERM CONCERNS RELEGATED TO CURRENT EJECTION OF
SECONDARY LG SCALE WV AND INHERENT SVR RISK THIS AFTN AND EVENING
ASSUMING CONTD DESTABILIZATION AHD OF THIS FTR. HWVR ASSOCD RISK AT
THIS POINT LOOKS ISOLD AT BEST GIVEN LACK OF SIG DEEP LYR SHEAR...
MARGINAL MID LVL LAPSE RATES AND GENERAL LACK OF SIG SFC INSTABILITY.
AT ANY RATE...DO XPC A FEW STORMS LT THIS AFTN INTO THIS EVENING ALG
A CNK TO LXN LINE WILL BE CAPABLE OF SOME STONES AS LG SCALE ASCENT
RAMPS UP AHD OF APPROACHING UPR TROF IN CONJUNCTION W/RATHER LOW WET-
BULB ZERO HGTS. RAIN CHCS WILL BE PAIRED DOWN ACRS NE CORNER OF CWA
AGAIN CONTINGENT UPON OBSVD LACK OF DEEPER MSTR ENTRAINMENT INTO SYS
WHICH AGREES W/MODEL QPF TRENDS. PROXIMITY OF THIS WV AND OVERALL
POSITION OF STACKED UPR/SFC SYS ACRS KS WARRANT CONTD CATEGORICAL
POPS TUE AND THEN INTO WED NIGHT AS MAIN UPR WV FINALLY COMES OUT.
BEST SPRT FOR ANY THUNDER AFT TOMORROW LOOKS TO SHIFT WELL S
AND HV DROPPED THAT MENTION XPC ACRS NRN KS TUE NIGHT...W/GENERAL
SOAKING RAIN EVENT XPCD OVERALL...ESP WED NIGHT AND PERHAPS INTO THU
IN ASSOCN/W MID LVL DEFORMATION ZONE DVLPMNT. HARD TO TELL HOW
QUICKLY THIS SYS WILL SPIN DOWN OR WHERE FOR THAT MATTER AS BELIED BY
DISAGREEABLE H5 PROGS 12Z THU. WILL KEEP THINGS PRETTY MUCH AS IS
THEN BUT SEE LTL REASON TO CONT MENTION OF SN W/SUCH WARM BNDRY LYR
TEMPS OFF ETA/META GRIDS.

BEYOND THAT...SOMEWHAT WARMER BY NXT WEEKEND AND DRY. WRN TROF
RELOADING THAT TIME AS NXT SIG UPR TROF COMES INLAND. WILL NEED TO
WATCH THAT DVLPMNT AS IT DRAWS CLOSER...ESP DOWN IN KS W/SOME
POTENTIAL AT THIS EARLY JUNCTURE FOR PRECIP SAT NIGHT OR SUN.

.GID...NONE.
T
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 17, 5:07 AM CST, 9 hours 59 minutes before
KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-181200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
507 AM CST MON MAR 17 2003

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN COVERAGE ACROSS THE AREA
DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH
APPROACHES THE PLAINS REGION. ALTHOUGH WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS
NOT ANTICIPATED...ENOUGH ATMOSPHERIC INSTABILITY WILL BE IN PLACE
SUCH THAT SOME OF THE STORMS MAY APPROACH SEVERE LIMITS THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...NAMELY ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND SOUTH
CENTRAL NEBRASKA AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80.

THE MAIN HAZARD FROM ANY SEVERE STORMS WOULD BE DIME TO QUARTER SIZE
HAIL...ALTHOUGH STRONG WIND GUSTS ARE A POSSIBILITY AS WELL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

GUYER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 17, 3:36 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDPhillips54 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 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.