Alert archive / Nebraska / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 233, NWS Hastings, NE

July 20, 2003Merrick County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 20, 2003, 8:01 PM CDT for Merrick County, Nebraska. It was in force for 29 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: Jul 20, 2003, 8:01 PM CDT (01:01 UTC)
Expired: Jul 20, 2003, 8:30 PM CDT
In force: 29 min
Issued by: NWS Hastings, NE
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Merrick County, NE

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 111 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:04 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jul 20, 4:50 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 127 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: 4827 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -30 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1616 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 92 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 162 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.4
Supercell composite: 28.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

076 
WUUS53 KGID 210101
SVRGID
NEC121-210130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
801 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  MERRICK COUNTY IN CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 830 PM CDT

* AT 759 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING GOLF BALL SIZE HAIL...AND
  DESTRUCTIVE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH.  THIS STORM WAS LOCATED 6
  MILES SOUTHWEST OF CHAPMAN...OR ABOUT 7 MILES EAST OF GRAND
  ISLAND...AND MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH...PREPARE 
IMMEDIATELY FOR DAMAGING WINDS...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...AND DEADLY CLOUD 
TO GROUND LIGHTNING. PEOPLE OUTSIDE SHOULD MOVE TO A 
SHELTER...PREFERABLY INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING BUT AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

LAT...LON 4125 9774 4110 9790 4108 9800 4089 9828
          4126 9827 4128 9794 4130 9770 4139 9769
          4139 9754

$$

T/FAY

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 Jul 20, 2:00 PM CDT, 6 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 20, 2:00 PM CDT, 6 hours 1 minute before

SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
200 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2003

LOW IN EAST CENTRAL SD WITH FRONT TRAILING SW INTO N CNTRL NE THEN
UP THROUGH SWRN SD...WITH SMALL PRE FRONTAL TROUGH JUST OUT AHEAD.
NICE LL MINI DRY PUNCH MOVING INTO LL JUICE NEAR CHADRON AREA...WITH
FIRST STORM OF DAY ALREADY GOING UP OVR ELEVATED TERRAIN AND WEAKER
CAP. ANOTHER LL CONVERGENCE AREA...PROBABLY ASSOCIATED WITH OUTFLOW
FROM MORNING STORMS OVR MN AND IA...JUST OVR NERN TO ERN CWA.
MID/UPR WAVE AXIS ROUGHLY CUTTING CWA IN HALF FROM NE TO SW. POOR LL
SPEED SHEAR...BUT GOOD DIRECTIONAL SHEAR OUT AHEAD...WITH BEST UPR
LVL SPEED SHEAR OVR NERN QUAD OF NE. STRONG PREFRONTAL COMPRESSIONAL
WARMING AHEAD OF ADVANCING FRONT HAS WARMED TEMPS TO LOW/MID 90S
ALREADY...AND WITH 70 DEW PTS OVR ROUGHLY ERN HALF OF NE...HUGE
CAPES BETWEEN 4500 AND 5000 IN LOWER LEVELS.

ONCE AGAIN A BIT OF A TOUGH FCST. CAPPED OVR OUR CWA RIGHT
NOW...WITH MARGINAL LL FORCING NEAR FRONT AND FA SPLIT BETWEEN
DECENT UPR DYNAMICS E/NE TO RATHER SLIGHT SW. MOD SOUNDINGS
INDICATE MAY BE ABLE TO CONVECT WITHOUT MUCH FORCING...ESPECIALLY
NERN CWA. GOING WITH 30 POPS EVERYWHERE FOR TONIGHT...WITH BEST CHC
FOR SEVERE ERN PORTION CWA...E OR HWY 281. STRONG DOWNDRAFT WIND
POTENTIAL WITH STORMS...MARGINAL HAIL POTENTIAL. IF SFC BASED CONV
CAN BREAK THROUGH SOMEWHERE...SOME VERY HEAVY RAIN WITH RELATIVELY
SLOW MOVING TSRA...WITH MOTION TO S OR SSE.

TOMORROW...ANOTHER INTERESTING DAY OF POSSIBILITIES...WITH GOOD LL
FORCING MOVING THROUGH...PUSHED FROM N BY RATHER VIGOROUS SHORTWAVE
JUST NOW OVR SWRN MT...DRAGGING MUCH COLDER MID LVL TEMPS OVERHEAD.
BETTER HAIL CHANCES MONDAY...AND AGAIN GOING WITH 30 POPS EVERYWHERE
FROM MID AFTERNOON ON.

BEYOND...WITH STRONG SYSTEM MOVING IN FROM AK GULF...RIDGE CONTINUES
TO FLATTEN BY WEEKS END...AND WITH MUCH COOLER OVERHEAD TEMPS MAKING
WAY DOWN BACKSIDE OF MID CANADIAN TROUGH...WILL KEEP THINGS QUITE
UNSTABLE/ACTIVE OVR WEEKEND IF MDLS CONTINUE TO FOLLOW CURRENT
TREND. SO ADDED PERIODS OF LOW CHCS FOR SAT/SUN AND KEPT THU/FRI
CHCS. OTHERWISE...ONLY MINOR TWEAKS HERE AND THERE.

.GID...NONE.

10

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 20, 3:05 PM CDT, 4 hours 56 minutes before

KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-211200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
305 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2003

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

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

A COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE SOUTH THROUGH NEBRASKA AND
NORTHERN KANSAS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH THUNDERSTORMS
DEVELOPING ALONG THE FRONT. IN ADDITION...AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY
GENERATED FROM A LARGE THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX OVER NORTHERN IOWA MAY
MOVE SOUTHWEST INTO THE AREA LATER THIS AFTERNOON HELPING TO KICK OFF
ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS.

THE REGION HAS BECOME QUITE UNSTABLE THIS AFTERNOON DUE TO VERY
WARM SURFACE TEMPERATURES ALONG WITH AMPLE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE.  WIND
SHEAR IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE ALTHOUGH THE BEST SHEAR SHOULD REMAIN
NORTHEAST OF THE REGION.  OTHER LIMITING FACTORS FOR STORM
DEVELOPMENT INCLUDE WARM MID LEVEL TEMPERATURES AND THE BETTER MID
LEVEL ENERGY REMAINING NORTHEAST.

HOWEVER WITH THE COMBINATION OF THE FRONT AND A VERY UNSTABLE
ATMOSPHERE...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS HAD DEVELOPED OVER CENTRAL
NEBRASKA. THE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE SOUTHEAST WITH THE
GREATEST SEVERE WEATHER THREAT BEING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.
THE CHANCE OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL EXIST FOR ALL OF SOUTH CENTRAL
NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON
AND EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

THE CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS EARLY TUESDAY MORNING...AND
AGAIN DURING FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY MORNING. THE MAIN HAZARD FROM
THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE STRONG WINDS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ACROSS
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS.

EWALD

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 20, 7:17 PM CDT, 44 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
717 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0715 PM    OSCEOLA                   NE   1 INCH HAIL
07/20/03   POLK                           REPORTED BY COOPERATIVE
                                          OBSERVER.

Local storm report, Jul 20, 7:36 PM CDT, 25 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
736 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0735 PM    4 N CHAPMAN               NE   1.75 INCH HAIL
07/20/03   MERRICK                        REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.

Local storm report, Jul 20, 7:48 PM CDT, 13 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
748 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0741 PM    CHAPMAN                   NE   1.75 INCH HAIL
07/20/03   MERRICK                        REPORTED BY CHAPMAN
                                          FIRE DEPARTMENT.
                                          THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
                                          OF 50 TO 60 MPH.

Local storm report, Jul 20, 7:57 PM CDT, 4 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
757 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0745 PM    2 E CHAPMAN               NE   2 INCH HAIL
07/20/03   MERRICK

Local storm report, Jul 20, 7:58 PM CDT, 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
758 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2003

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0756 PM    4 E GRAND IS              NE   65 MPH TSTM GUST
07/20/03   HALL                           REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
                                          OPERATOR.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 20, 7:08 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Howard	37 min
Jul 20, 7:11 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Hamilton, York	64 min
Jul 20, 7:32 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Merrick, Polk	28 min
Jul 20, 7:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Hall	51 min
Jul 20, 8:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Hamilton, York	61 min
Jul 20, 8:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Adams, Hall	64 min
Jul 20, 8:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Clay, Fillmore	73 min
Jul 20, 9:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Adams, Webster	65 min
Jul 20, 10:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Webster	60 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Nebraska, 2003 Every 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.