Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2004

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 173, NWS Wichita, KS

June 15, 2004Sedgwick County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 15, 2004, 5:30 AM CDT for Sedgwick County, Kansas. It was in force for 60 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: Jun 15, 2004, 5:30 AM CDT (10:30 UTC)
Expired: Jun 15, 2004, 6:30 AM CDT
In force: 60 min
Issued by: NWS Wichita, KS
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Sedgwick County, KS

The radar

The Wichita radar (KICT), 7 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 10:31 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
Jun 15, 3:40 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lamont, OK (KLMN), launched 00:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 122 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: 3462 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -20 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1605 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 36 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 133 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.6
Supercell composite: 8.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS53 KICT 151030
SVRICT
KSC173-151130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
529 AM CDT TUE JUN 15 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WICHITA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SEDGWICK COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 630 AM CDT.

* AT 529 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED   
  A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR MAIZE...OR ABOUT 12 MILES WEST OF       
  DOWNTOWN WICHITA...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE
  NEAR WEST WICHITA AND MID CONTINENT AIRPORT AROUND 545 AM CDT...
  NEAR DOWNTOWN WICHITA AROUND 550 AM CDT...
  NEAR MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE AROUND 600 AM CDT...
  NEAR DERBY AROUND 610 AM CDT...

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
  WINDS UP TO 60 MILES AN HOUR...

THE STORM HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS.

SEEK A STURDY SHELTER AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

REPEATING...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR
SEDGWICK COUNTY UNTIL 630 AM CDT.

LAT...LON 3790 9744 3763 9769 3748 9757 3750 9718
          3786 9716

$$

/JAKUB

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 Wichita, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jun 15, 2:42 AM CDT, 2 hours 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 15, 2:42 AM CDT, 2 hours 48 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
242 AM CDT TUE JUN 15 2004

.DISCUSSION...
MAIN CONCERN WITH THIS FORECAST PACKAGE WILL BE THE POTENTIAL FOR
WIND DAMAGE WITH THIS COMPLEX MOVING THROUGH WESTERN AND CENTRAL
KANSAS THIS MORNING.

TODAY:
LOOKS TO BE A VERY ACTIVE MORNING SETTING UP FOR CENTRAL AND
POSSIBLY SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS. UPPER COMPLEX OF STORMS MOVING
THROUGH NORTHWEST KANSAS IS STARTING TO SHOW BOW SEGMENTS AS IT
ACCELERATES EAST. PROFILERS ARE SHOWING A DECENT LOW LEVEL JET WITH
A GOOD COLD POOL IN PLACE WITH THIS SQUALL LINE. WOULD NOT BE
SURPRISED TO 70 TO 80 MPH WINDS WITH SOME OF THESE BOWING SEGMENTS,
ESPECIALLY IN CENTRAL KANSAS MAINLY NORTH OF HUTCHINSON TO EL DORADO
LINE. THINGS SHOULD BE VERY QUIET THIS AFTERNOON AS THE COLD POOL
SETS UP CAMP OVER MOST OF THE CWFA.

TONIGHT:
LOOKS LIKE THINGS COULD GET GOING AGAIN ACROSS CENTRAL KANSAS LATE
TONIGHT ESPECIALLY WITH DECENT ISENTROPIC LIFT SETTING UP ACROSS
NORTHWEST KANSAS. THE ONLY THING THAT COULD NEGATE THINGS IS A
WEAKER LOW LEVEL JET. THIS WOULD TEND TO FAVOR MORE OF HEAVY RAIN
EPISODE SINCE THE CORFIDI VECTORS WOULD BE SMALL. STEERING FLOW
WOULD ALSO KEEP MOST OF THE STORMS IN NORTHWEST KANSAS. WE WILL SEE.

WEDNESDAY:
UPPER LEVEL JET STREAK WILL BE IN PLACE ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS.
MEANWHILE, AN UPPER LEVEL WAVE WILL MOVE THROUGH THAT REGION AS WELL
AND HELP PUSH A FRONTAL BOUNDARY SOUTH THROUGH CENTRAL KANSAS BY
LATE IN THE DAY. THE AID WITH THE RIGHT ENTRANCE REGION OF THE UPPER
LEVEL JET WILL BRING A GOOD SHOT OF STORMS TO THAT AREA BY LATE
AFTERNOON. OTHERWISE, THE REMAINDER OF THE REGION WILL SEE SCATTERED
SHOWERS AND POSSIBLY A FEW THUNDERSTORMS DUE TO WEAK CAPPING.

THURSDAY-SUNDAY:
NO REAL BIG CHANGES IN THIS FORECAST PACKAGE AS TEMPERATURES LOOK TO
BE IN GOOD SHAPE. CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION SHOULD LINGER AS THE
FRONTAL BOUNDARY LURKS JUST SOUTH OF THE BORDER THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.
THE FRONT SHOULD LIFT NORTH FRIDAY NIGHT BEFORE ANOTHER WAVE RIDES
THROUGH THE NORTHERN PLAINS SATURDAY AND SURGES THE FRONT THROUGH.

&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
WICHITA         89  70  82  62 /  30  20  40  60
HUTCHINSON      90  69  77  62 /  30  20  50  50
NEWTON          89  69  79  62 /  30  20  50  60
ELDORADO        89  70  82  63 /  30  20  40  60
STROTHER FIELD  89  70  84  63 /  20  10  40  50
RUSSELL         91  67  76  59 /  50  40  60  40
GREAT BEND      91  67  77  60 /  40  30  50  40
SALINA          89  67  77  63 /  50  30  60  40
MCPHERSON       89  68  77  62 /  40  30  50  50
COFFEYVILLE     88  70  86  65 /  20  10  40  40
CHANUTE         88  70  85  64 /  20  10  40  40
IOLA            88  70  84  64 /  20  10  40  40
&&

.ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.
&&

18/COX

Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 14, 11:10 AM CDT, 18 hours 20 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
1110 AM CDT MON JUN 14 2004

KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-151200-
RUSSELL-LINCOLN-BARTON-ELLSWORTH-SALINE-RICE-MCPHERSON-MARION-CHASE-
RENO-HARVEY-BUTLER-GREENWOOD-WOODSON-ALLEN-KINGMAN-SEDGWICK-HARPER-
SUMNER-COWLEY-ELK-WILSON-NEOSHO-CHAUTAUQUA-MONTGOMERY-LABETTE-
1110 AM CDT MON JUN 14 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL SAG INTO CENTRAL KANSAS THIS AFTERNOON.
THIS FRONT WILL TRIGGER ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ALONG
IT. A FEW OF THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY BECOME SEVERE WITH THE MAIN
THREATS BEING LARGE HAIL TO GOLFBALL SIZE AND DAMAGING WINDS. STORM
MOVEMENT IS EXPECTED TO BE TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

THE THUNDERSTORMS ARE FIRST EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON,
NORTHWEST OF A LINE FROM ANTHONY TO WICHITA TO COTTONWOOD FALLS. THE
STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE PUSHING INTO MUCH OF SOUTH CENTRAL
AND SOUTHEASTERN KANSAS THIS EVENING, WITH SCATTERED COVERAGE. THESE
STORMS SHOULD MAINTAIN A LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND THREAT THIS
EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS LATE
TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. THIS FRONT WILL BE A SLOW MOVER WHICH
WILL BRING A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TO MOST OF THE REGION. IT IS
TOO EARLY TO TELL WHETHER OR NOT THE STORMS WILL BECOME SEVERE. STAY
TUNED TO LATER STATEMENTS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING.

&&

FOR A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS INFORMATION, SEE OUR
WEBPAGE AT (LOWERCASE) HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/ICT/HWO/HWOICT.HTM

COX/JMC

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 15, 4:07 AM CDT, 1 hour 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
407 AM CDT TUE JUN 15 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0406 AM     TSTM WND GST     ELLSWORTH               38.74N 98.23W
06/15/2004  68 MPH           ELLSWORTH          KS   BROADCAST MEDIA

            COURTESY KSN WEATHERLAB.

&&

CHANCE

Local storm report, Jun 15, 4:45 AM CDT, 45 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
445 AM CDT TUE JUN 15 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0443 AM     TSTM WND GST     3 W LINDSBORG           38.57N 97.73W
06/15/2004  60 MPH           MCPHERSON          KS   AMATEUR RADIO

&&

CHANCE

Local storm report, Jun 15, 4:59 AM CDT, 31 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
459 AM CDT TUE JUN 15 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0435 AM     TSTM WND DMG     1 W MCPHERSON           38.37N 97.68W
06/15/2004                   MCPHERSON          KS   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            SEVERAL LARGE TREE LIMBS WERE BLOWN DOWN.

0449 AM     HAIL             1 W MCPHERSON           38.37N 97.68W
06/15/2004  0.75 INCH        MCPHERSON          KS   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0458 AM     TSTM WND GST     MCPHERSON               38.37N 97.66W
06/15/2004  60 MPH           MCPHERSON          KS   AMATEUR RADIO

&&

CHANCE

Local storm report, Jun 15, 5:15 AM CDT, 15 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
515 AM CDT TUE JUN 15 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0513 AM     TSTM WND GST     2 E HILLSBORO           38.35N 97.17W
06/15/2004  70 MPH           MARION             KS   LAW ENFORCEMENT

&&

CDB

The office that day

Everything else NWS Wichita, KS issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 14, 8:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Barton	56 min
Jun 15, 12:20 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Kingman, Reno	55 min
Jun 15, 2:42 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Barton, Russell	63 min
Jun 15, 3:41 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Ellsworth, Lincoln	64 min
Jun 15, 3:46 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Rice	59 min
Jun 15, 3:51 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Chase	54 min
Jun 15, 4:09 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	McPherson, Saline	66 min
Jun 15, 4:37 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Reno	53 min
Jun 15, 4:42 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Chase	63 min
Jun 15, 4:49 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Harvey	56 min
Jun 15, 5:07 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Marion	53 min
Jun 15, 5:43 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Chase	62 min
Jun 15, 5:44 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Butler	61 min
Jun 15, 6:02 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Greenwood	58 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 2004 Every severe thunderstorm warning 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.