Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 79, NWS Hastings, NE

May 8, 2003Phillips County, Kansas

NWS Hastings, NE issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 8, 2003, 6:35 PM CDT for Phillips County, Kansas. It was in force for 55 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: May 8, 2003, 6:35 PM CDT (23:35 UTC)
Expired: May 8, 2003, 7:30 PM CDT
In force: 55 min
Issued by: NWS Hastings, NE
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Phillips County, KS

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 92 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:38 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
May 8, 1:50 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 12:00Z, 11.6 hours before the alert went out and 171 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 580 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 314 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 586 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

498 
WUUS53 KGID 082335
SVRGID
KSC147-090030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
635 PM CDT THU MAY 8 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  PHILLIPS COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 730 PM CDT

* AT 633 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM 9 MILES WEST OF WOODRUFF TO
  LONG ISLAND...OR FROM 25 MILES SOUTH OF HOLDREGE TO 18 MILES
  NORTHEAST OF NORTON...MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH.

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...
  WOODRUFF AT 640 PM CDT

PEOPLE IN NORTHERN PHILLIPS COUNTY SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY
STRUCTURE AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

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

A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND
OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO WARNING.

LAT...LON 3986 9942 3986 9963 4000 9963 3999 9907
          3986 9907
$$
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 May 8, 1:55 PM CDT, 4 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 8, 1:55 PM CDT, 4 hours 40 minutes before

SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
155 PM CDT THU MAY 8 2003

1ST PD SVR TSRA IS THE PROBLEM OF THE DAY WITH A TOR THREAT FOR THE
SRN HALF OF THE CWA THRU THIS EVE.  WL WATCH MAGNITUDE OF
DIFFERENTIAL HEATING/DPS...RESULTING INSTABILITY NR THE WARM FRONT
PUSHING INTO NCNTR KS THIS AFTN IN ADVN OF VORT MAX MOVG ACRS CO
THIS AFTN.  TREND WL DICTATE THE FORECAST...AND IT LKS LIKE A FAIRLY
QUICK SHOT FOR GID THIS EVE...ALTHOUGH VARIOUS AVN/ETA PARAMETERS
ARE POINTING TO A RATHER MEAN TANTRUM.

70S ON FRI UNDR SHRTWV RIDGE LK OK FOLLOWED BY NXT TROF ON FRI NGT
AND SAT.  ETA WRAPS SOME DRIER AIR INTO THIS SYS AS MAIN LOW TRACK
IS ACRS THE NRN PLNS...LEAVING LITTLE FOR THE TRAILING VORT MAX TO
WORK WITH IN THE PCPN DEPT.  MEANWHILE...AVN MAINTAINS THE MSTR WITH
THE STRNGR VORT MAX SOLN.  PRUDENCE DICTATES PERSISTANCE OF CHC
NMBRS UNTIL THE TREND IS BTR DEFINED...ALTHOUGH RETREAT ON QPF MAY
BE IN ORDER.  SYS LKS TO BE FAR ENUF E TO MAINTAIN A DRY SUN AS
WELL.  WL BOOT EARLY WEEK HIGH TEMPS UP A CLICK OR TWO UNDR RIDGE.
TIMING FOR WED PCPN CHC STILL LKS OK...FOLLOWED BY A DRY DAY 7.  WL
LEAN WARM FOR THU GIVEN OP RUN OF THE GFS IS ON THE LOW SIDE OF THE
ENSEMBLES.

.GID...NONE.

09

Hazardous weather outlook, May 8, 2:00 PM CDT, 4 hours 35 minutes before

KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-091200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
200 PM CDT THU MAY 8 2003

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

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM FOR SOUTH CENTRAL
NEBRASKA...MAINLY SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 80. LOW PRESSURE CONTINUE TO
DEVELOP NORTHEAST INTO NORTHERN KANSAS AND SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA BY
LATE AFTERNOON EARLY EVENING TIMEFRAME...DRAGGING A WARM FRONT NORTH
THROUGH EAST CENTRAL NEBRASKA. AT THE SAME TIME...A DRY LINE WILL
PUSH EAST THROUGH WESTERN AND CENTRAL KANSAS...TO NEAR THE SOUTH
CENTRAL NEBRASKA BORDER HELPING TO FIRE STRONG TO SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR EARLY THIS EVENING. THERE IS
A MODERATE TO HIGH RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER OVER THE ENTIRE AREA...WITH
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS BEING THE PRIMARY HAZARD...ALTHOUGH THE
POTENTIAL FOR TORNADOES ALSO EXISTS...ESPECIALLY SOUTH OF INTERSTATE
80.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

THERE WILL BE A BREAK IN THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY DURING THE DAY ON
FRIDAY...AND THEN THUNDERSTORM CHANCES RETURN FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH
SATURDAY EVENING.  STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE DURING
THIS TIME PERIOD.  DRY WEATHER IS FORECAST SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...
WITH THUNDERSTORMS FORECAST AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

STORM SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY LATER THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS
EVENING. EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND STORM SPOTTERS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT
AND BE READY FOR ACTIVATION.

10

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 8, 5:22 PM CDT, 1 hour 13 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
522 PM CDT THU MAY 08 2003

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

0510 PM    GENOA                     NE    1 INCH HAIL
05/08/03   NANCE                           REPORTED BY SPOTTER.

0514 PM    HOLBROOK                  NE    .88 INCH HAIL
05/08/03   FURNAS                          REPORTED BY SPOTTER.

Local storm report, May 8, 5:27 PM CDT, 1 hour 8 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
527 PM CDT THU MAY 08 2003

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

0525 PM    16 S ELWOOD               NE    .75 INCH HAIL
05/08/03   GOSPER                          RELAYED BY DAWSON COUNTY.

Local storm report, May 8, 6:05 PM CDT, 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
605 PM CDT THU MAY 08 2003

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

0558 PM    7 NW OXFORD               NE    .75 INCH HAIL
05/08/03   FURNAS                          REPORTED BY OBSERVER.

Local storm report, May 8, 6:11 PM CDT, 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
611 PM CDT THU MAY 08 2003

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

0608 PM    OXFORD                    NE    .75 INCH HAIL
05/08/03   FURNAS                          REPORTED BY OBSERVER.

Local storm report, May 8, 6:20 PM CDT, 15 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
620 PM CDT THU MAY 08 2003

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

0612 PM    ELM CREEK                 NE    .75 INCH HAIL
05/08/03   BUFFALO                         RELAYED BY BUFFALO
                                           COUNTY.

Local storm report, May 8, 6:26 PM CDT, 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
626 PM CDT THU MAY 08 2003

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

0545 PM    EDISON                    NE    .75 INCH HAIL
05/08/03   FURNAS                          COOP OBSERVER REPORT.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 8, 3:36 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Phillips, Rooks	39 min
May 8, 4:10 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Osborne	50 min
May 8, 2:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Jewell, Mitchell	63 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 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.