Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2008

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 241, NWS Topeka, KS

July 26, 2008Jackson County, Pottawatomie County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 26, 2008, 6:13 PM CDT for Jackson County, Pottawatomie County, Kansas. It was in force for 33 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 26, 2008, 6:13 PM CDT (23:13 UTC)
Expired
Jul 26, 2008, 6:46 PM CDT
In force
33 min
Issued by
NWS Topeka, KS
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Jackson County, KS, Pottawatomie County, KS

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 47 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:16 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.

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Jul 26, 2:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 58 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2008-07-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1702 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Topeka, KS at 12:00Z on 2008-07-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 15 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
1702 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-77 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
705 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
18 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
37 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 Jul 26, 2:45 PM CDT, 3 hours 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 26, 2:45 PM CDT, 3 hours 28 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
245 PM CDT SAT JUL 26 2008

.DISCUSSION...

EVENING/TONIGHT...WELL-DEFINED SHORTWAVE TROUGH LOCATED OVER
CENTRAL NEBRASKA PER WATER VAPOR IMAGERY WAS PROVIDING LARGE SCALE
ASCENT OVER PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS. AT THE SURFACE...A
WEAK COLD FRONT WAS LOCATED FROM JUST SOUTH OF ICT EAST-
NORTHEASTWARD TO NEAR HYS. THUNDERSTORMS HAVE INITIATED AHEAD OF
THE SHORTWAVE TROUGH AND NORTH OF THE SFC BOUNDARY WHERE ENHANCED
ASCENT WAS PRESENT. THESE AND ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE
ANTICIPATED TO INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY AS THE AFTERNOON
AND EVENING PROGRESS. A FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT EXISTS FOR THE
DEVELOPMENT OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. AS OF EARLY THIS
AFTERNOON...MUCAPE VALUES ARE IN EXCESS OF 3500 J/KG ACROSS THE
ENTIRE CWA WITH EFFECTIVE BULK SHEAR AT 30-40 KTS. CONVECTIVE
INHIBITION IS QUICKLY ERODING AND THEREFORE EXPECT FAIRLY RAPID
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. SOME OF
THESE MAY BE LONG-LIVED SUPERCELL STORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO
THE EVENING WITH SUPPORTIVE CONDITIONS IN PLACE. FOR THIS
REASON...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE CWA
TO ACCOUNT FOR THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE STORMS. ALTHOUGH MODEST
LOW LEVEL TURNING IN THE LOWEST 1 KM EXISTS...THE SPEEDS ARE
RATHER ANEMIC WHICH IS CONTRIBUTING TO LOW SRH VALUES. THE MAIN
SEVERE WEATHER THREATS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. WITH
FREEZING LEVELS FAIRLY HIGH...LONG-LIVED ROBUST CONVECTION WILL BE
REQUIRED TO GENERATE LONG RESIDENCE TIMES NEEDED FOR LARGE HAIL
PRODUCTION. PW VALUES ARE NEAR 1.75 OWING TO SOME STORMS
PRODUCING HEAVY RAINFALL. LOCALIZED AREAS OF FLOODING ARE POSSIBLE
IF STORMS TRAIN OVER SAME AREAS FOR A MODEST DURATION.
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BEGIN TO WANE OVERNIGHT INTO TOMORROW MORNING.

SUNDAY...MODELS ARE VERY INCONSISTENT TO CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL
TOMORROW AFTERNOON...SO TRENDED CLOSER TO MEAN SOLUTION IN SREF
GUIDANCE...WITH SLIGHT CHANCES ACROSS THE CWA WITH THE BETTER
CHANCES OVER THE NORTHEASTERN SECTIONS. HOWEVER...SUNDAY SETUP IS
HIGHLY DEPENDANT ON EVOLUTION OF EVENING AND OVERNIGHT CONVECTION
WHICH IS UNRESOLVABLE ATTM...WITH THE BEST CHANCES FOR CONVECTION
NEAR RESIDUAL OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES. BLAIR

MON/TUES...NAM GENERATES MCS AND DROPS IT INTO NE KS OVERNIGHT
MONDAY INTO TUESDAY...WHILE GFS DEVELOPS THE COMPLEX IN IOWA.
THINK GFS MAY BE ON TO SOMETHING AS SYNOPTIC FLOW BETTER TO OUR
NORTH...AND SHORTWAVES IN THAT FLOW WOULD DRAW BETTER 850MB FLOW
AND CONVERGENCE NORTHWARD. WILL KEEP SLT CHANCE POPS ACROSS NE
COUNTIES AT THIS TIME FOR OVERNIGHT HOURS. ON TUESDAY...REMNANTS
OF DOLLY LIKELY TO BECOME A PLAYER...ALTHOUGH SOLUTIONS VERY
DIFFERENT. NAM BRINGS A MORE ORGANIZED WAVE INTO THE HIGH
PLAINS...WHILE GFS KEEPS SMALLER CIRCULATION IN THE TX PANHANDLE.
GFS BRINGS ANOTHER FRONT INTO THE NORTHERN COUNTIES BEHIND A
SHORTWAVE TO OUR NORTH...AND WILL GO WITH SLT CHANCE POPS FOR
EITHER SCENARIO ATTM.

WED-SAT...ABOVE AVERAGE UNCERTAINTY CONTINUES IN THIS PERIOD.
LONG RANGE ENSEMBLES SUGGEST NORTHWEST FLOW OVER THE STATE
WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...TRANSITIONING TO A BUILDING RIDGE FRIDAY
INTO SATURDAY. TIMING AND STRENGTH OF IMPULSES SLIDING THROUGH THE
NORTHWEST FLOW VARY AND ARE MORE MESOSCALE IN NATURE AND TO BE
CONSIDERED AS EVENTS DRAW CLOSER. HAVE GONE WITH SLT CHANCE POPS
THROUGH THURSDAY...THEN A DRY FORECAST BEYOND. AS SYSTEMS SLIDE
THROUGH THE FLOW COULD SEE SLIGHT COOLING IN THE TEMPS AND HAVE
REFLECTED THIS IN THE GRIDS AS WELL. 67

&&

.AVIATION...

FROM 18Z TAF UPDATE...PATCHY GROUND FOG HAS FULLY MIXED OUT AND
DISSIPATED. WITH ABUNDANT BOUNDARY LAYER MOISTURE IN ITS WAKE
...FEW-BKN MVFR CEILINGS HAVE DEVELOPED ABOVE THE TAF SITES.
EXPECT THE CEILINGS TO PERSIST AND SLOWLY RISE AS DEEPER MIXING
COMMENCES...BUT MAY REMAIN BELOW 3 KFT FOR MOST OF THE DAY. A
WELL-DEFINED SHORTWAVE TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO INITIATE
THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHERN NEBRASKA AND NORTHERN KANSAS.
ADDITIONAL STORMS MAY DEVELOP NORTH OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY IN
CENTRAL KANSAS. THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD MATURE AND NEAR TAF SITES
EARLY THIS EVENING...AND WILL MONITOR CONVECTIVE EVOLUTION FOR
POSSIBLE TAF AMENDMENTS. SOUTHEAST WINDS AOB 12 KTS ARE EXPECTED
THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. BLAIR

&&

.TOP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 26, 1:32 PM CDT, 4 hours 41 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
132 PM CDT SAT JUL 26 2008

KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-271845-
REPUBLIC-WASHINGTON-MARSHALL-NEMAHA-BROWN-CLOUD-CLAY-RILEY-
POTTAWATOMIE-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-OTTAWA-DICKINSON-GEARY-MORRIS-
WABAUNSEE-SHAWNEE-DOUGLAS-LYON-OSAGE-FRANKLIN-COFFEY-ANDERSON-
132 PM CDT SAT JUL 26 2008

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

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA THIS
AFTERNOON. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY BE SEVERE...WITH DAMAGING
WINDS AND LARGE HAIL THE MAIN THREATS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS
ALSO POSSIBLE. THESE STORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE
EVENING HOURS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE ENTIRE
OUTLOOK AREA SUNDAY MORNING...AND ACROSS MAINLY NORTHEAST AND
EAST CENTRAL KANSAS SUNDAY AFTERNOON. STRONG WINDS AND VERY HEAVY
RAINFALL ARE AGAIN THE PRIMARY THREATS WITH THESE STORMS. THE
CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS THEN RETURNS TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 26, 5:03 PM CDT, 1 hour 10 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 5:08 PM CDT, 1 hour 5 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Local storm report, Jul 26, 5:10 PM CDT, 1 hour 3 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 5:11 PM CDT, 1 hour 2 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 5:25 PM CDT, 48 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Special weather statement, Jul 26, 5:52 PM CDT, 21 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 26, 4:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPCloud, Ottawa38 min
Jul 26, 4:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPGeary, Morris, Wabaunsee42 min
Jul 26, 5:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPCloud, Republic35 min
Jul 26, 6:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPClay, Riley23 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 2008Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2008

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.