Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Watches in 2005
Tornado Watch 259
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 12, 2005, 1:55 PM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 12, 2005, 1:55 PM CDT (18:55 UTC)
- Expired
- May 12, 2005, 9:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 45 counties
Fremont County, IA, Mills County, IA, Montgomery County, IA, Page County, IA, Pottawattamie County, IA, Atchison County, KS, Brown County, KS, Doniphan County, KS, Douglas County, KS, Jackson County, KS, Jefferson County, KS, Johnson County, KS, Leavenworth County, KS, Marshall County, KS, Nemaha County, KS, Osage County, KS, Pottawatomie County, KS, Riley County, KS, Shawnee County, KS, Wabaunsee County, KS, Wyandotte County, KS, Andrew County, MO, Atchison County, MO, Buchanan County, MO, Cass County, MO, Clay County, MO, Holt County, MO, Jackson County, MO, Nodaway County, MO, Platte County, MO, Butler County, NE, Cass County, NE, Douglas County, NE, Gage County, NE, Jefferson County, NE, Johnson County, NE, Lancaster County, NE, Nemaha County, NE, Otoe County, NE, Pawnee County, NE, Richardson County, NE, Saline County, NE, Sarpy County, NE, Saunders County, NE, Seward County, NE
The radar
The Omaha radar (KOAX), 126 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:55 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
32 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 12, 2:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Marshall | 40 min |
| May 12, 2:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Marshall, Nemaha, Pottawatomie | 46 min |
| May 12, 2:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Lancaster | 25 min |
| May 12, 3:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Otoe | 44 min |
| May 12, 3:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Johnson, Pawnee | 31 min |
| May 12, 3:22 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | TOP | Marshall | 3 hr |
| May 12, 3:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Riley | 45 min |
| May 12, 3:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Nemaha | 25 min |
| May 12, 3:58 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | OAX | Otoe | 35 min |
| May 12, 4:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Richardson | 47 min |
| May 12, 4:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Nemaha | 61 min |
| May 12, 4:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Fremont | 45 min |
| May 12, 4:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Montgomery, Pottawattamie | 37 min |
| May 12, 4:34 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | TOP | Nemaha | 3 hr |
| May 12, 4:34 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | OAX | Otoe | 4 hr |
| May 12, 4:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Shawnee, Wabaunsee | 26 min |
| May 12, 4:50 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | TOP | Pottawatomie | 3 hr |
| May 12, 4:57 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | OAX | Fremont, Mills, Montgomery, Page | 4 hr |
| May 12, 5:03 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | OAX | Richardson | 27 min |
| May 12, 5:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Holt | 33 min |
| May 12, 5:34 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | OAX | Richardson | 3 hr |
| May 12, 5:49 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Brown | 29 min |
| May 12, 6:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Osage, Shawnee | 40 min |
| May 12, 6:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Atchison, Doniphan | 46 min |
| May 12, 6:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Douglas | 50 min |
| May 12, 6:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Andrew, DeKalb, Gentry, Nodaway | 44 min |
| May 12, 6:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Jefferson | 27 min |
| May 12, 6:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Johnson, Leavenworth, Wyandotte | 35 min |
| May 12, 6:42 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | EAX | Atchison, Doniphan | 6 hr |
| May 12, 7:04 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Clay, Jackson | 56 min |
| May 12, 7:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Johnson, Leavenworth, Wyandotte | 37 min |
| May 12, 7:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | EAX | Andrew, DeKalb, Gentry | 23 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, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 145 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
- 47 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -239 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1153 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 418 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 395 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 121855
SEL9
SPC WW 121855
IAZ000-KSZ000-MOZ000-NEZ000-130200-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 259
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
155 PM CDT THU MAY 12 2005
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
SOUTHWESTERN IOWA
NORTHEASTERN KANSAS
NORTHWESTERN MISSOURI
SOUTHEASTERN NEBRASKA
EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 155 PM UNTIL
900 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 APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 65 STATUTE MILES
EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF OMAHA
NEBRASKA TO 35 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF TOPEKA KANSAS. FOR A
COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE
UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU9).
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 257...WW 258...
DISCUSSION...CONVECTION BEGINNING TO DEVELOP ALONG OUTFLOW BOUNDARY
FROM YESTERDAYS CONVECTION...WEST OF LNK/BIE TO NORTHEAST OF MHK
EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. AIR MASS EAST OF THIS LINE OVER NERN KS AND
NWRN MO HAS ALREADY BECOME MODERATELY UNSTABLE AND WEAKLY
CAPPED...WITH HEATING EXPECTED TO DESTABILIZE ATMOSPHERE FURTHER
INTO SERN NEB AND FAR SWRN IA. BACKED LOW LEVEL WINDS ACROSS WATCH
AREA WILL ENHANCE THE POTENTIAL FOR SUPERCELLS AND TORNADOES. VERY
LARGE HAIL IS ALSO A CONCERN WITH SUPERCELLS AS THEY MOVE ENEWD
THROUGH THE EVENING.
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 500.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24020.
...EVANS
412,0950 383,0940 383,0963 412,0973SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 12, 3:44 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Fremont | 61 min |
| May 12, 12:40 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Fremont, Page | 95 min |
| May 12, 3:48 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adair, Adams, Audubon, Boone, Buena Vista, Calhoun and 27 more | 87 min |
| May 11, 8:01 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cheyenne, Clark, Decatur, Finney, Ford, Gove and 24 more | 59 min |
| May 11, 9:26 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Decatur, Ellis, Finney, Gove, Graham, Grant and 15 more | 64 min |
| May 11, 9:50 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Clark, Decatur, Edwards, Ellis, Finney, Ford and 28 more | 7 hr |
| May 11, 11:02 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Brown, Marshall, Nemaha | 58 min |
| May 12, 1:16 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barber, Barton, Clark, Cloud, Comanche, Edwards and 21 more | 59 min |
| May 12, 1:35 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Barber, Barton, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Comanche and 29 more | 7 hr |
| May 12, 3:13 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barber, Barton, Clay, Cloud, Comanche, Dickinson and 28 more | 92 min |
| May 12, 5:18 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barber, Butler, Cowley, Harper, Harvey, Kingman and 2 more | 57 min |
| May 12, 5:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Barber, Butler, Chase, Coffey, Comanche, Cowley and 14 more | 7 hr |
| May 12, 6:37 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Clay, Clinton, Cooper and 13 more | 83 min |
| May 12, 6:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Adair, Audrain, Boone, Caldwell, Callaway, Carroll and 32 more | 6 hr |
| May 11, 7:02 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Adams, Arthur, Boone, Buffalo, Butler, Chase and 33 more | 88 min |
| May 11, 11:50 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Adams, Boone, Buffalo, Butler, Cass, Clay and 30 more | 5 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Kansas, 2005Tornado Watches in Nebraska, 2005Tornado Watches in Missouri, 2005Every tornado watch in 2005
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.