Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 5, NWS Hastings, NE

May 16, 2004Sherman County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at May 16, 2004, 6:22 PM CDT for Sherman County, Nebraska. It was in force for 38 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 16, 2004, 6:22 PM CDT (23:22 UTC)
Expired: May 16, 2004, 7:00 PM CDT
In force: 38 min
Issued by: NWS Hastings, NE
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Sherman County, NE

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 105 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:24 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 16, 6:48 PM CDT	TORNADO	5 N Rockville, NE	TORNADO ON THE GROUND FOR 3 MINUTES
May 16, 6:55 PM CDT	TORNADO	3 S Ashton, NE
May 16, 6:55 PM CDT	TORNADO	6 Ne Rockville, NE

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

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 16, 3:15 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	7 hr
May 16, 4:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 12:00Z, 11.4 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-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: 980 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 287 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 312 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.

781 
WFUS53 KGID 162322
TORGID
NEC163-170000-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
621 PM CDT SUN MAY 16 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SHERMAN COUNTY IN CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 700 PM CDT

* AT 619 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO.  THIS TORNADO
  WAS LOCATED NEAR HAZARD...OR ABOUT 26 MILES NORTH OF KEARNEY...AND
  MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  HAZARD AROUND 625 PM CDT...
  ROCKVILLE AROUND 645 PM CDT...
  LOUP CITY AROUND 650 PM CDT...
  ASHTON AND SHERMAN RESERVOIR DAM AROUND 700 PM CDT...

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM CDT SUNDAY EVENING
FOR NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA. A TORNADO WATCH
ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM CDT SUNDAY EVENING FOR
SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA.

LAT...LON 4109 9924 4096 9907 4126 9860 4144 9883

$$
10

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 16, 3:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Gosper	53 min
May 16, 3:49 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Gosper	26 min
May 16, 4:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Dawson	61 min
May 16, 4:17 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Gosper	13 min
May 16, 4:47 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Dawson	28 min
May 16, 4:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Buffalo	48 min
May 16, 5:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Dawson	45 min
May 16, 5:23 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Howard	37 min
May 16, 5:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Sherman	53 min
May 16, 5:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Buffalo	31 min
May 16, 5:52 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Buffalo	23 min
May 16, 6:53 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Howard	37 min
May 16, 6:56 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Sherman	34 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Nebraska, 2004 Every tornado warning in 2004 Tornadoes in 2004

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.