Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 253
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 22, 2004, 5:50 PM CDT for 19 counties in Kansas. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 22, 2004, 5:50 PM CDT (22:50 UTC)
- Expired
- May 22, 2004, 11:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Barton County, KS, Clay County, KS, Cloud County, KS, Dickinson County, KS, Ellsworth County, KS, Geary County, KS, Jewell County, KS, Lincoln County, KS, Marion County, KS, Marshall County, KS, McPherson County, KS, Mitchell County, KS, Ottawa County, KS, Republic County, KS, Rice County, KS, Riley County, KS, Russell County, KS, Saline County, KS, Washington County, KS
The radar
The Topeka radar (KTWX), 145 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:49 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.
Warnings issued inside it
8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 8:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Republic | 40 min |
| May 22, 8:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Jewell | 61 min |
| May 22, 8:34 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | GID | Jewell | 56 min |
| May 22, 8:37 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | TOP | Republic | 38 min |
| May 22, 9:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Jewell | 67 min |
| May 22, 10:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Republic | 44 min |
| May 22, 10:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Mitchell | 54 min |
| May 22, 10:35 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Cloud, Republic | 40 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 196 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 482 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -493 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1036 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 32 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 402 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 422 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 222249
SEL3
SPC WW 222250
KSZ000-230400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 253
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
550 PM CDT SAT MAY 22 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST KANSAS
EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 550 PM UNTIL
1100 PM CDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 4 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF CONCORDIA KANSAS TO 35
MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF SALINA KANSAS.
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA.
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 248...WW 249...WW 250...WW
251...WW 252...
DISCUSSION...EXTREME INSTABILITY E OF DRY LINE CENTRAL KS. WITH
SURFACE LOW DEEPENING NWRN KS...EXPECT RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF
SUPERCELLS ALONG DRY LINE WITH POTENTIAL FOR VERY LARGE HAIL AND
TORNADOES.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 4 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 600.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.
...HALES
400,0961 381,0964 381,0990 400,0983SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 7:40 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Cloud, Jewell, Mitchell, Osborne, Phillips, Republic and 2 more | 5 hr |
| May 21, 8:40 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clark, Edwards, Ellis, Ford, Gray, Hodgeman and 8 more | 95 min |
| May 21, 10:01 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cloud, Jewell, Mitchell, Osborne, Phillips, Republic and 2 more | 89 min |
| May 22, 1:13 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cheyenne | 2 hr |
| May 22, 2:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Cheyenne, Rawlins, Sherman, Thomas | 6 hr |
| May 22, 3:04 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cheyenne | 86 min |
| May 22, 3:52 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barber, Barton, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Comanche and 20 more | 83 min |
Nearby
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.