Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Watches in 2004
Tornado Watch 86
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 18, 2004, 6:15 PM CDT for 19 counties in Kansas. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 18, 2004, 6:15 PM CDT (23:15 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 18, 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, Marshall County, KS, McPherson County, KS, Mitchell County, KS, Ottawa County, KS, Pawnee County, KS, Republic County, KS, Rice County, KS, Riley County, KS, Russell County, KS, Saline County, KS, Washington County, KS
The radar
The Wichita radar (KICT), 144 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:15 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.
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, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 198 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
- 203 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -398 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1390 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 39 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 358 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 340 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 182311
SEL6
SPC WW 182315
KSZ000-190400-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 86
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
615 PM CDT SUN APR 18 2004
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
CENTRAL KANSAS
EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY EVENING FROM 615 PM UNTIL 1100 PM CDT.
TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 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 45 MILES NORTHEAST OF CONCORDIA KANSAS TO 30 MILES
WEST OF HUTCHINSON 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 82...WW 83...WW 85...
DISCUSSION...RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR ON
DRY LINE N/S DRY LINE CENTRAL KS. WITH STRONG SHEAR PROFILES AND
MUCAPES TO 3000 J/KG...SUPERCELLS ARE LIKELY . IN ADDITION TO VERY
LARGE HAIL TORNADOES WILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH ANY SUPERCELL.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24040.
...HALES
395,0955 380,0971 380,0993 395,0981SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 18, 5:41 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barton, Clay, Cloud, Edwards, Ellsworth, Jewell and 15 more | 2 hr |
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.