Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2009

Tornado Warning 51, NWS Dodge City, KS

July 20, 2009Stafford County, Kansas

NWS Dodge City, KS issued this tornado warning at Jul 20, 2009, 8:17 PM CDT for Stafford County, Kansas. It was in force for 36 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: Jul 20, 2009, 8:17 PM CDT (01:17 UTC)
Expired: Jul 20, 2009, 8:53 PM CDT
In force: 36 min
Issued by: NWS Dodge City, KS
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Stafford County, KS

The radar

The Wichita radar (KICT), 119 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:21 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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jul 20, 5:53 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 00:00Z, 1.3 hours before the alert went out and 117 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: 3408 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 2037 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 71 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 5.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KDDC 210117
TORDDC
KSC185-210215-
/O.NEW.KDDC.TO.W.0051.090721T0117Z-090721T0215Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
817 PM CDT MON JUL 20 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DODGE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN STAFFORD COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS.

* UNTIL 915 PM CDT

* AT 816 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 11 MILES NORTH
  OF SEWARD...OR NEAR GREAT BEND...MOVING SOUTH AT 20 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  SEWARD...
  HUDSON...
  RURAL RESIDENCES OF NORTHERN STAFFORD COUNTY.

IN ADDITION TO THE TORNADO...THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL AND DESTRUCTIVE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

WHEN A TORNADO WARNING IS ISSUED BASED ON DOPPLER RADAR...IT MEANS
THAT STRONG ROTATION HAS BEEN DETECTED IN THE STORM. A TORNADO MAY
ALREADY BE ON THE GROUND...OR IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SHORTLY. IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS DANGEROUS STORM...MOVE INDOORS AND TO THE
LOWEST LEVEL OF THE BUILDING. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF DRIVING...DO
NOT SEEK SHELTER UNDER A HIGHWAY OVERPASS.

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. IF IN A
MOBILE HOME...EVACUATE TO A SUBSTANTIAL STRUCTURE. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 200 AM CDT TUESDAY MORNING
FOR SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS.

&&

LAT...LON 3801 9889 3826 9889 3826 9847 3825 9847
      3821 9846 3802 9847
TIME...MOT...LOC 0116Z 341DEG 16KT 3834 9881

$$

18

2 follow-up statements

000 
WWUS53 KDDC 210138
SVSDDC

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
838 PM CDT MON JUL 20 2009

KSC185-210215-
/O.CON.KDDC.TO.W.0051.000000T0000Z-090721T0215Z/
STAFFORD KS-
838 PM CDT MON JUL 20 2009

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 915 PM CDT FOR NORTHERN
STAFFORD COUNTY...

AT 835 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO
INDICATE A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO 6 MILES 
NORTH OF SEWARD...MOVING SOUTH AT 20 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  SEWARD...
  HUDSON...
  RURAL RESIDENCES OF NORTHERN STAFFORD COUNTY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. IF IN A
MOBILE HOME...EVACUATE TO A SUBSTANTIAL STRUCTURE. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 200 AM CDT TUESDAY MORNING
FOR SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS.

&&

LAT...LON 3801 9885 3826 9883 3826 9847 3825 9847
      3821 9846 3802 9847
TIME...MOT...LOC 0138Z 341DEG 16KT 3825 9877

$$

18

000 
WWUS53 KDDC 210153 RRA
SVSDDC

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
853 PM CDT MON JUL 20 2009

KSC185-210203-
/O.CAN.KDDC.TO.W.0051.000000T0000Z-090721T0215Z/
STAFFORD KS-
853 PM CDT MON JUL 20 2009

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTHERN STAFFORD COUNTY IS CANCELLED...

THE LIKELIHOOD OF A TORNADO WITH THIS STORM HAS DIMINISHED...THUS THE
TORNADO WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 200 AM CDT TUESDAY MORNING
FOR SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS.

LAT...LON 3801 9885 3826 9883 3826 9847 3825 9847
      3821 9846 3802 9847
TIME...MOT...LOC 0153Z 341DEG 16KT 3819 9874

$$

18

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 20, 8:34 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Finney, Kearny, Scott	71 min
Jul 20, 9:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Barber, Comanche	40 min
Jul 20, 9:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Finney, Grant, Haskell, Kearny, Seward, Stevens	64 min
Jul 20, 10:00 PM CDT	Special Weather Statement	DDC	Barber	45 min
Jul 20, 10:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Barber	39 min
Jul 20, 10:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Finney, Grant, Haskell, Kearny, Seward, Stevens	45 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 2009 Every tornado warning in 2009 Tornadoes in 2009

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.