Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 2, NWS North Platte, NE

May 16, 2004Loup County, Rock County, Nebraska

NWS North Platte, NE issued this tornado warning at May 16, 2004, 4:44 PM CDT for Loup County, Rock County, Nebraska. It was in force for 46 min. 4 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, 4:44 PM CDT (21:44 UTC)
Expired: May 16, 2004, 5:30 PM CDT
In force: 46 min
Issued by: NWS North Platte, NE
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Loup County, NE, Rock County, NE

The radar

The North Platte radar (KLNX), 104 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:43 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, 4:45 PM CDT	HAIL 0.88	15 N Taylor, NE
May 16, 4:45 PM CDT	HAIL 0.88	15 N Taylor, NE
May 16, 4:48 PM CDT	TORNADO	20 N Taylor, NE	TOUCHDOWN REPORTED 3N OF INTERSECTION OF 183 AND 96
May 16, 4:48 PM CDT	TORNADO	20 N Taylor, NE	TOUCHDOWN REPORTED 3N OF INTERSECTION OF 183 AND 96

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

The nearest sounding before it

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 149 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.

953 
WFUS53 KLBF 162144
TORLBF
NEC115-149-162230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
443 PM CDT SUN MAY 16 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTH PLATTE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  LOUP COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA
  ROCK COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA

* UNTIL 530 PM CDT

* AT 438 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO OVER NORTH
  CENTRAL LOUP COUNTY...OR ABOUT 16 MILES NORTH OF TAYLOR...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  RURAL SOUTHEASTERN ROCK COUNTY AROUND 500 PM CDT
  RURAL NORTHEASTERN LOUP COUNTY AROUND 500 PM CDT

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...MOVE INDOORS AND TO THE
LOWEST LEVEL OF THE BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF DRIVING...DO
NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER A HIGHWAY OVERPASS.

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 SOUTHWESTERN NEBRASKA. A TORNADO WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT
UNTIL 1000 PM CDT SUNDAY EVENING FOR NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA.

LAT...LON 4209 9924 4203 9922 4189 9942 4202 9959
          4232 9923
$$

TLK

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 16, 3:33 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Custer	57 min
May 16, 4:22 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Loup	38 min
May 16, 5:10 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LBF	Holt	50 min
May 16, 5:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Brown, Rock	57 min
May 16, 5:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Custer	59 min
May 16, 6:04 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LBF	Holt	41 min
May 16, 6:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Loup, Rock	47 min
May 16, 6:41 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Custer	64 min
May 16, 6:45 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LBF	Holt	30 min
May 16, 6:56 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	LBF	Custer	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.