Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Hastings, NE

May 16, 2004Howard County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at May 16, 2004, 7:24 PM CDT for Howard County, Nebraska. It was in force for 36 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 16, 2004, 7:24 PM CDT (00:24 UTC)
Expired: May 16, 2004, 8:00 PM CDT
In force: 36 min
Issued by: NWS Hastings, NE
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Howard County, NE

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, 4:45 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 174 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: 277 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -87 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1550 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 93 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 296 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.1
Supercell composite: 1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KGID 170024
TORGID
NEC093-170100-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 800 PM CDT

* AT 719 PM CDT...THE PUBLIC REPORTED A TORNADO.  THIS TORNADO WAS
  LOCATED NEAR 3 MILES SOUTH OF ELBA...OR ABOUT 26 MILES NORTH OF GRAND ISLAND...AND
  MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  SAINT PAUL AROUND 725 PM...
  CUSHING AROUND 740 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 4138 9828 4133 9829 4122 9845 4119 9856
          4130 9870 4139 9858

$$
10

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 16, 7:20 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Sherman	40 min
May 16, 7:37 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	GID	Greeley	38 min
May 16, 8:03 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	GID	Clay, Fillmore, Nuckolls, Thayer	57 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.