Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Topeka, KS

May 24, 2004Franklin County, Osage County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this tornado warning at May 24, 2004, 8:48 PM CDT for Franklin County, Osage County, Kansas. It was in force for 57 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, 8:48 PM CDT (01:48 UTC)
Expired: May 24, 2004, 9:45 PM CDT
In force: 57 min
Issued by: NWS Topeka, KS
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Franklin County, KS, Osage County, KS

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 86 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:48 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 tornado 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, 1:10 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	9 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 57 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.

000 
WFUS53 KTOP 250148
TORTOP
KSC059-139-250245-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
847 PM CDT MON MAY 24 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN FRANKLIN COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL KANSAS
  SOUTHEASTERN OSAGE COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL KANSAS

* UNTIL 945 PM CDT

* AT 844 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR LYNDON...OR
  ABOUT 23 MILES WEST OF OTTAWA...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  MELVERN
  QUENEMO
  WILLIAMSBURG
  PRINCETON
  RICHMOND
  LANE

THIS WARNING REPLACES THE PREVIOUSLY ISSUED WARNING FOR CENTRAL 
OSAGE COUNTY.

FOR YOUR SAFETY...GO TO A STORM SHELTER OR BASEMENT NOW TORNADOES
MAY HAVE WINDS GREATER THAN 100 MPH. AVOID OVERPASSES AND WINDOWS.
COVER YOUR HEAD.

LEAVE MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES...AND GO TO A BASEMENT OR STORM
SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE NEAREST DITCH
OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD. AVOID OVERPASSES.

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

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 PM CDT MONDAY EVENING
FOR NORTHEASTERN KANSAS. A TORNADO WATCH ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL
1000 PM CDT MONDAY EVENING FOR EAST CENTRAL KANSAS.

LAT...LON 3861 9568 3852 9577 3840 9548 3839 9507
          3852 9506

$$

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at May 24, 2:27 PM CDT, 6 hours 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 24, 2:27 PM CDT, 6 hours 21 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, 4 hours 40 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, 8:25 PM CDT, 23 minutes before

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

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

0822 PM     HAIL             OSAGE CITY              38.63N 95.83W
05/24/2004  1.00 INCH        OSAGE              KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

BN

Local storm report, May 24, 8:27 PM CDT, 21 minutes before

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

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

0823 PM     HAIL             4 SE SCRANTON           38.74N 95.69W
05/24/2004  0.88 INCH        OSAGE              KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

BN

Local storm report, May 24, 8:35 PM CDT, 13 minutes before

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

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

0834 PM     HAIL             1 NW LYNDON             38.62N 95.70W
05/24/2004  0.75 INCH        OSAGE              KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

BN

Local storm report, May 24, 8:36 PM CDT, 12 minutes before

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

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

0836 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     2 S LYNDON              38.58N 95.68W
05/24/2004                   OSAGE              KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

BN

Local storm report, May 24, 8:37 PM CDT, 11 minutes before

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

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

0812 PM     HAIL             2 S WHITING             39.56N 95.61W
05/24/2004  0.88 INCH        JACKSON            KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

BN

Local storm report, May 24, 8:43 PM CDT, 5 minutes before

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

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

0842 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     6 N POMONA              38.70N 95.45W
05/24/2004                   FRANKLIN           KS   LAW ENFORCEMENT

&&

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, 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, 10:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	TOP	Anderson	40 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

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 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.