Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 65, NWS North Platte, NE

August 15, 2004Cherry County, Nebraska

NWS North Platte, NE issued this tornado warning at Aug 15, 2004, 4:58 PM MDT for Cherry County, Nebraska. It was in force for 47 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: Aug 15, 2004, 4:58 PM MDT (22:58 UTC)
Expired: Aug 15, 2004, 5:45 PM MDT
In force: 47 min
Issued by: NWS North Platte, NE
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Cherry County, NE

The radar

The North Platte radar (KLNX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:00 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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Aug 15, 1:50 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 186 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: 1 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -194 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 981 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 209 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 230 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KLBF 152258
TORLBF
NEC031-152345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
458 PM MDT SUN AUG 15 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTH PLATTE HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN CHERRY COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF VALENTINE

* UNTIL 545 PM MDT (645 PM CDT)

* AT 555 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 8 MILES SOUTH OF
  KILGORE...OR ABOUT 18 MILES WEST OF VALENTINE...MOVING SOUTH AT 20
  MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  MERRITT RESERVOIR DAM BY 630 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 SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM MDT SUNDAY
EVENING (900 PM CDT SUNDAY EVENING) FOR NORTHWESTERN NEBRASKA.

LAT...LON 4298 10027 4301 10155 4250 10151 4253 10028

$$

TLK

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 15, 3:14 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Sheridan	61 min
Aug 15, 3:46 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Cherry	59 min
Aug 15, 4:14 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	LBF	Sheridan	61 min
Aug 15, 4:45 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Cherry	60 min
Aug 15, 5:10 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	LBF	Sheridan	50 min
Aug 15, 5:44 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LBF	Cherry	31 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.