Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2004

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 43, NWS Topeka, KS

May 24, 2004Anderson County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 24, 2004, 10:20 PM CDT for Anderson County, Kansas. It was in force for 40 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: May 24, 2004, 10:20 PM CDT (03:20 UTC)
Expired: May 24, 2004, 11:00 PM CDT
In force: 40 min
Issued by: NWS Topeka, KS
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Anderson County, KS

The radar

The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 114 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:19 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 24, 10:10 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 3.3 hours before the alert went out and 91 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: 3762 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -46 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1037 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 53 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 253 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 327 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 6.4
Supercell composite: 25.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

980 
WUUS53 KTOP 250320
SVRTOP
KSC003-250400-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1019 PM CDT MON MAY 24 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  CENTRAL ANDERSON COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 1100 PM CDT

* AT 1017 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING QUARTER SIZE HAIL.  THIS
  STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR WESTPHALIA...OR ABOUT 18 MILES NORTH OF
  IOLA...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  WESTPHALIA
  GARNETT

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE 
WARNING.

IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A BUILDING AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY RAIN AND DEADLY LIGHTNING ARE
LIKELY IN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...
DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. FOR YOUR
SAFETY MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OR A BASEMENT AND
AVOID WINDOWS.

STAY TUNED TO WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR THE LATEST
SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION.

LAT...LON 3830 9550 3808 9550 3809 9508 3831 9507

$$

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Topeka, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 24, 2:27 PM CDT, 7 hours 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 24, 2:27 PM CDT, 7 hours 53 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
227 PM CDT MON MAY 24 2004

.DISCUSSION...

PRECIPITATION CHANCE/SEVERITY/AMOUNT TONIGHT INTO TOMORROW ARE THE
MAIN INTEREST.

SIGNIFICANT EVENT CONTINUES TO BE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING. WILL KEEP DISCUSSION FAIRLY BRIEF.

JET LEVEL ANALYSIS SHOWED 110KT CORE APPROACHING SOUTHWEST ARIZONA
IN SOUTHERN BRANCH THAT EXTENDED UP INTO KANSAS. WATER VAPOR LOOP
INDICATED UPPER LEVEL VORT MAX CROSSING THE CO/KS BORDER WITH
ANOTHER UPSTREAM NEAR THE CA/BAJA BORDER. SOUTHERLY FLOW HAD
RETURNED THE THE REGION AT 850MB WITH 10C DEWPOINT TONGUE FROM
SOUTHWEST TEXAS INTO EASTERN OKLAHOMA THEN NORTHWEST INTO CENTRAL
NEBRASKA WITH COLD FRONT MAKING ITS WAY SOUTHEAST THROUGH COLORADO.
LATEST SURFACE DATA SHOWS LOW NEAR KHLC WITH DRYLINE TRAILING TO THE
SOUTHWEST INTO NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA AND WARM FRONT NORTH INTO CENTRAL
NEBRASKA.

ELEVATED STORMS HAVE BEEN THE MAIN STORY SO FAR WITH UPPER WAVE
MOVING IN AND WARM AIR ADVECTION AHEAD OF IT...BUT THIS SHOULD BE
CHANGING SHORTLY. PER 18Z SOUNDING AND SPC MESOANALYSIS PAGE...
CONVECTIVE TEMPS HAVE BEEN REACHED OVER PORTIONS OF THE AREA
WITH LITTLE IF ANY CIN LEFT. LOW LEVEL FORCING VIA DRYLINE SHOULD
GET THINGS STARTED AND STORMS MOVE ENE THROUGH THE AREA. TORNADIC
THREAT LOOKS GREATEST NEAR THE NE BORDER WHERE LOW LEVEL WINDS WILL
BE THE MOST BACKED...BUT ANY CELL THAT FORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF
TIGHT ROTATION GIVE EXTREME CAPE VALUES AND SHEAR. SEE LATEST INFO
FROM SPC FOR UPDATES.

AS NORTHERN PLAINS UPPER SYSTEM MOVES EAST TONIGHT...FRONTAL ZONE TO
SINK SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE CWA. MID TEEN 850MB DEWPOINTS TO MOVE IN
ALONG BOUNDARY WITH STORM MOTIONS NEARLY PARALLEL TO FRONT. STRONG
THETA E CONVERGENCE WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES FROM 1.5 TO 2
INCHES AND EXIT REGION OF UPPER JET COMING INTO PLAY. FLASH FLOOD
GUIDANCE IS FAIRLY LOW...ESPECIALLY FOR THE 3 AND 6 HR
DURATIONS...AND FLOOD WATCH SEEMS IN ORDER. WITH MORE RAINFALL
EXPECTED IN NEBRASKA TONIGHT AND RISES ALREADY IN SOME NORTHERN
RIVERS...WILL EXTEND NORTHERN PORTION OF WATCH TO NOON.

FRONT SHOULD EDGE ITS WAY SOUTH TUESDAY WITH CONTINUED CONVERGENCE
ALONG IT ALOFT. EXPECT RAIN TO SLOWLY DIMINISH DURING THE DAY...BUT
ETA BRINGS THE NEXT VORT MAX IN LATE IN THE DAY. THIS WILL KEEP SOME
OPPORTUNITY FOR RAIN NEAR THE FRONT INTO TUESDAY NIGHT. WILL KEEP
WEDNESDAY DRY FOR NOW BUT WILL NEED TO WATCH IS LOCATION.

CHANGES IN THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND PERIODS WERE FEW. CHANCES FOR
THUNDERSTORMS WILL PERSIST UNTIL THE UPPER TROF TO THE WEST MOVES
THROUGH. AM NOT CONFIDENT ENOUGH THAT THIS WILL OCCUR BY MEM DAY
GIVEN RECENT SLOWING TRENDS OF THE MODELS. MOST CONFIDENCE IN
THUNDER REMAINS TO BE FROM THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY NIGHT WITH
LEAD WAVE MOVING THROUGH.

&&

.TOP...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL ZONES
TONIGHT THROUGH NOON TUESDAY.

&&

65

Hazardous weather outlook, May 24, 4:08 PM CDT, 6 hours 12 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
408 PM CDT MON MAY 24 2004

KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-251000-
ANDERSON-BROWN-CLAY-CLOUD-COFFEY-DICKINSON-DOUGLAS-FRANKLIN-GEARY-
JACKSON-JEFFERSON-LYON-MARSHALL-MORRIS-NEMAHA-OSAGE-OTTAWA-
POTTAWATOMIE-REPUBLIC-RILEY-SHAWNEE-WABAUNSEE-WASHINGTON-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ABILENE...CLAY CENTER...CONCORDIA...
EMPORIA...HIAWATHA...JUNCTION CITY...LAWRENCE...MANHATTAN...
MARYSVILLE...OTTAWA AND TOPEKA
408 PM CDT MON MAY 24 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL...NORTHEAST AND
EAST CENTRAL KANSAS.

...SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK POSSIBLE TONIGHT...

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT. LARGE HAIL
AND DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS ARE LIKELY. TORNADOES ARE ALSO
POSSIBLE.

HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO POSSIBLE TONIGHT AND MAY RESULT IN FLOODING.
A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR EAST CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST KANSAS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE OVER PORTIONS OF THE AREA
INTO TUESDAY MORNING. ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE. THE
FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FOR NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL KANSAS UNTIL
NOON TUESDAY.

THERE IS A CHANCE FOR MORE THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND
TUESDAY NIGHT OVER MUCH OF THE AREA. THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE
FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS WILL BE NEEDED TONIGHT. SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT
HEAVY RAIN ACCUMULATIONS.

&&

MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB PAGE:
   HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/TOP  (ALL LOWER CASE)

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 24, 9:19 PM CDT, 1 hour 1 minute before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
919 PM CDT MON MAY 24 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0908 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     OTTAWA                  38.62N 95.27W
05/24/2004                   FRANKLIN           KS   LAW ENFORCEMENT

&&

BN

Local storm report, May 24, 9:56 PM CDT, 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
956 PM CDT MON MAY 24 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0955 PM     HAIL             BURLINGTON              38.19N 95.74W
05/24/2004  1.00 INCH        COFFEY             KS   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            60 MPH WINDS AS WELL.

&&

BN

Local storm report, May 24, 10:03 PM CDT, 17 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1003 PM CDT MON MAY 24 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0947 PM     HAIL             WILLIAMSTOWN            39.06N 95.33W
05/24/2004  1.00 INCH        JEFFERSON          KS   EMERGENCY MNGR

0950 PM     HAIL             2 NE PERRY              39.10N 95.37W
05/24/2004  0.88 INCH        JEFFERSON          KS   EMERGENCY MNGR

0952 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     RANTOUL                 38.55N 95.10W
05/24/2004                   FRANKLIN           KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

BN

Local storm report, May 24, 10:05 PM CDT, 15 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1005 PM CDT MON MAY 24 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1002 PM     HAIL             5 E WILLIAMSTOWN        39.06N 95.24W
05/24/2004  0.88 INCH        JEFFERSON          KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

Local storm report, May 24, 10:11 PM CDT, 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1011 PM CDT MON MAY 24 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1009 PM     HAIL             2 NNE LAWRENCE          39.00N 95.22W
05/24/2004  0.75 INCH        DOUGLAS            KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

Local storm report, May 24, 10:17 PM CDT, 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
1017 PM CDT MON MAY 24 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1016 PM     HAIL             8 NE LE ROY             38.17N 95.53W
05/24/2004  0.75 INCH        COFFEY             KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

BN

The office that day

Everything else NWS Topeka, KS issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 24, 7:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Osage, Wabaunsee	30 min
May 24, 7:21 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TOP	Osage, Shawnee, Wabaunsee	39 min
May 24, 7:28 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TOP	Douglas, Jefferson, Shawnee	62 min
May 24, 7:38 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Brown, Nemaha	67 min
May 24, 7:58 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TOP	Osage	47 min
May 24, 8:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Jackson	24 min
May 24, 8:07 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TOP	Lyon, Osage	53 min
May 24, 8:13 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TOP	Douglas	17 min
May 24, 8:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Jackson	45 min
May 24, 8:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Coffey, Lyon, Osage	63 min
May 24, 8:45 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TOP	Franklin	45 min
May 24, 8:48 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TOP	Franklin, Osage	57 min
May 24, 9:39 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TOP	Franklin	36 min
May 24, 9:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Coffey	29 min
May 24, 9:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Douglas, Jefferson	39 min
May 24, 9:56 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	TOP	Coffey	34 min
May 24, 10:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Osage	32 min
May 24, 10:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Franklin	36 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 2004 Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.