Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 37
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Mar 27, 2004, 1:35 PM CST for 12 counties in Kansas. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 27, 2004, 1:35 PM CST (19:35 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 27, 2004, 7:00 PM CST
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
Counties Barber County, KS, Barton County, KS, Harper County, KS, Harvey County, KS, Kingman County, KS, McPherson County, KS, Pratt County, KS, Reno County, KS, Rice County, KS, Sedgwick County, KS, Stafford County, KS, Sumner County, KS
The radar
The Wichita radar (KICT), 49 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:35 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
12 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 27, 2:22 PM CST | Tornado Warning | DDC | Kiowa, Pratt | 58 min |
| Mar 27, 2:25 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ICT | Barton | 65 min |
| Mar 27, 2:57 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC | Stafford | 63 min |
| Mar 27, 2:58 PM CST | Tornado Warning | ICT | Barton | 62 min |
| Mar 27, 3:52 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ICT | Barton | 68 min |
| Mar 27, 4:16 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC | Pratt, Stafford | 59 min |
| Mar 27, 4:33 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC | Barber | 57 min |
| Mar 27, 5:10 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC | Pratt | 35 min |
| Mar 27, 5:25 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ICT | Kingman | 65 min |
| Mar 27, 5:29 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC | Barber | 76 min |
| Mar 27, 5:45 PM CST | Tornado Warning | DDC | Barber | 60 min |
| Mar 27, 6:12 PM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ICT | Harper | 63 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
Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 12:00Z, 7.6 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1373 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -7 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 642 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 30 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 249 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 244 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.2
- Supercell composite
- 6.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
WWUS20 KWNS 271933
SEL7
SPC WW 271935
KSZ000-280100-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 37
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
135 PM CST SAT MAR 27 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS
EFFECTIVE THIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 135 PM UNTIL
700 PM CST.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 45 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF HUTCHINSON KANSAS TO 40
MILES SOUTHEAST OF MEDICINE LODGE 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 35...WW 36...
DISCUSSION...SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY OVER
SOUTH CENTRAL KS ALONG/AHEAD OF SURFACE COLD FRONT/DRYLINE...WHERE
TORNADIC ACTIVITY HAS BEEN REPORTED. AIRMASS IS DESTABILIZING
RAPIDLY AHEAD OF STORMS...AND THREAT FOR CONTINUED VERY LARGE
HAIL/TORNADO ACTIVITY WILL PERSIST FOR SEVERAL MORE HOURS.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.
...HART
383,0971 365,0971 365,0985 383,0985SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 6:00 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clark, Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray, Hamilton and 7 more | 2 hr |
| Mar 27, 1:55 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Grant, Morton, Seward, Stanton, Stevens | 2 hr |
| Mar 27, 7:12 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barber, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ford, Harper and 7 more | 93 min |
| Mar 27, 9:12 AM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barber, Barton, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ellis and 21 more | 3 hr |
| Mar 27, 11:35 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Barber, Barton, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ellis and 23 more | 5 hr |
| Mar 27, 12:07 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barber, Harper, Sumner | 113 min |
| Mar 27, 1:36 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barber, Barton, Edwards, Kingman, Pawnee, Pratt and 3 more | 114 min |
| Mar 27, 2:34 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barber, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Comanche, Cowley and 12 more | 116 min |
| Mar 27, 3:04 PM CST | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Anderson, Butler, Chase, Clay, Cloud, Coffey and 21 more | 116 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.