Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 43, NWS Hastings, NE

September 10, 2003Rooks County, Kansas

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at Sep 10, 2003, 4:43 PM CDT for Rooks County, Kansas. It was in force for 32 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
Sep 10, 2003, 4:43 PM CDT (21:43 UTC)
Expired
Sep 10, 2003, 5:15 PM CDT
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Hastings, NE
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Rooks County, KS

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 124 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:47 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 tornado 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Sep 10, 1:55 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 189 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 2003-09-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 563 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 2003-09-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 263 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
563 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-194 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
877 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
263 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
292 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KGID 102143
TORGID
KSC163-102215-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
443 PM CDT WED SEP 10 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  ROOKS COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 515 PM CDT

* AT 441 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO 7 MILES SOUTH OF STOCKTON...OR ABOUT 28 MILES
  SOUTH OF PHILLIPSBURG...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  STOCKTON AT 450 PM CDT...
  WOODSTON AT 500 PM CDT...

PEOPLE IN EASTERN ROOKS COUNTY SHOULD TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY IN A
BASEMENT OR SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY BUILDING. AS A
LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD
WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 3932 9943 3939 9937 3954 9926 3955 9905
          3942 9905 3923 9924
$$
10

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at Sep 10, 2:29 PM CDT, 2 hours 14 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 10, 2:29 PM CDT, 2 hours 14 minutes before
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
229 PM CDT WED SEP 10 2003

SFC MAP THIS AFTN MUCH LIKE YDA. INTENSE SFC LOW CNTR OVR WRN SD
W/TRAILING COLD FNT INTO NE CO AND SECONDARY WV IN REFLECTION OF
STG UPR TROF CROSSING DIVIDE ATTM. MID LVL DRY SLOT OVERTOPPING CWA
IN WAKE OF MORNING SW MOVING INTO MN ATTM.

FOREMOST SHRT TERM CONCERN CONTS W/SVR CONVN CHCS LT THIS AFTN AND
FIRST HALF OF TONIGHT. TOR WATCH COMING SHORTLY. DESTABILIZATION
GREATLY HAMPERED SO FAR TKS TO GRUNGE SC CLD LYR BUT ERODING QUICKLY
ESP SW IN BTWN JET STREAKS. EMERGING JET STREAK EMANATING FM SE CO
AND DVLPG ACCAS FIELD NR KDEN/KAKR A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME. LACK OF
INHIBITION AND INCREASING LG SCALE UVV/S SHLD KEEP DISCRETE SUPERCELL
WINDOW SHRT W/PRIMARY EVENT TIED TO SURGING COLD FRONT AND LIKELY LG
LINEAR SEGMENT ALG IT. COULD BE QUITE A WIND EVENT AND NOT DOUBT A
TOR THREAT GIVEN MAGNITUDE OF SHEAR/LOW LFC/S AND DEEP BL MSTR. 0-1KM
BTR ATTM OVR ERN NE BUT SUSPECT LL FLW TO REALLY BACK AS CO WV AND
ASSOCD JET STREAK DUMBBELL OUT LTR THIS AFTN. AS SUCH...CAT POPS IN
ORDER OVERNIGHT.

FOR THU...HOLD OVER RISK OF MORE RAIN INVOF OF MID LVL TROF AND
KEPT POPS IN MOST OF DAY ACRS CWA...HWVR CLRG XPCD LT AS SYS PINCHES
SWD INTO SRN PLAINS AND LG SCALE SUBSIDENCE OVERSPREADS CWA BEHIND
CO WV. EWD EXTENT OF CLRG LINE BIT TRICKY ON FRI AS UPR LOW CLOSES
OFF OVR TX PANHANDLE WHICH MAY HAVE AN IMPACT ON MAX TEMPS SE CWA
AND MORE SO ON SAT. CONTINUITY HERE LACKING AS UPSTREAM KICKER
DROPPING OUT OF SW CANADA NOW MUCH SLWR. GLARING CONSENSUS AT THIS
POINT IS TO KEEP UPR SYS STACKED TO OUR SW WHICH WOULD WRAP AT LEAST
MID LVL MSTR BACK INTO AREA AND WARRANT A SLGT POP IN ADV OF
SECONDARY COLD FRONT THEN. SLIP IN TIMING NECESSITATES SOME
ADJUSTMENT IN TEMPS SAT BUT OTHERWISE COOLING TREND ON TRACK THROUGH
SUN.

.GID...NONE.

T
Hazardous weather outlook, Sep 10, 12:00 PM CDT, 4 hours 43 minutes before
KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-111200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
1200 PM CDT WED SEP 10 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 MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL
NEBRASKA AND NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS THROUGH TONIGHT. ISOLATED SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THIS AFTERNOON MAINLY EAST OF HIGHWAY
281 AS AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVES INTO NORTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.
THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...THUNDERSTORMS WILL REDEVELOP AREA
WIDE NEAR A PRE FRONTAL TROUGH THAT RUNS FROM SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH
DAKOTA...THROUGH CENTRAL NEBRASKA...AND INTO CENTRAL KANSAS. WARM
MOIST SURFACE AIR STREAMING INTO THE EASTERN HALF OF KANSAS AND
NEBRASKA...TOGETHER WITH STRONG UPPER LEVEL WIND SHEAR WILL HELP
SUPPORT STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA...ESPECIALLY
EAST OF HIGHWAY 183...WITH LARGE HAIL...STRONG DAMAGING WINDS...AND
ISOLATED TORNADOES A POSSIBILITY THROUGH 9 PM. THE AREA WITH THE
GREATEST TORNADO THREAT WILL LIE TO THE NORTH OF INTERSTATE 80 AND
EAST OF HIGHWAY 281.

LATER THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT...MULTIPLE STORMS WILL GROUP
TOGETHER INTO A LINE OF STORMS...MOVING WITH OR JUST AHEAD OF A
COLD FRONT THAT WILL PUSH THROUGH THE REGION OUT OF NORTHWESTERN
NEBRASKA. THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY BRING PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN...
LARGE HAIL AND STRONG DAMAGING WINDS AS THEY MOVE EASTWARD THROUGH
THE FORECAST AREA OVERNIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THUNDERSTORMS WILL LINGER ALONG THE COLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY THURSDAY...
MAINLY EAST OF HIGHWAY 14...HOWEVER CHANCES DIMINISH BEHIND THE FRONT
BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON. DRY AND COOL WEATHER IS FORECAST THROUGH THE
WEEKEND...BEFORE A SLOW WARMING TREND NEXT WEEK.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

STORM SPOTTERS MAY BE NEEDED LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...
AND SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR RAPID DEPLOYMENT IF SEVERE APPROACHES
THEIR AREA.

10

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 10, 4:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDRooks47 min
Sep 10, 4:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDPhillips54 min
Sep 10, 4:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDOsborne, Smith63 min
Sep 10, 5:12 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDPhillips48 min
Sep 10, 5:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDRooks64 min
Sep 10, 5:46 PM CDTTornado WarningGIDSmith44 min
Sep 10, 6:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDJewell52 min
Sep 10, 6:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDOsborne27 min
Sep 10, 6:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDOsborne33 min
Sep 10, 6:59 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDJewell61 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 2003Every tornado warning in 2003Tornadoes 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.