Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2009

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 59, NWS Wichita, KS

April 25, 2009Cowley County, Sumner County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 25, 2009, 6:17 PM CDT for Cowley County, Sumner County, Kansas. It was in force for 58 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
Apr 25, 2009, 6:17 PM CDT (23:17 UTC)
Expired
Apr 25, 2009, 7:15 PM CDT
In force
58 min
Issued by
NWS Wichita, KS
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Cowley County, KS, Sumner County, KS

The radar

The Wichita radar (KICT), 53 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:19 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.

The watch it was issued in

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

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 25, 3:36 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 225 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, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2009-04-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 777 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, Norman, OK at 12:00Z on 2009-04-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 257 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
777 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-147 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
537 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
257 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
294 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

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 Wichita, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 25, 3:16 PM CDT, 3 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 25, 3:16 PM CDT, 3 hours 1 minute before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
316 PM CDT SAT APR 25 2009

.DISCUSSION...MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS ARE SEVERE WEATHER CHANCES
THROUGH THE REMIANDER OF THE WEEKEND AND HEAVY RAINFALL...ESPECIALLY
SUNDAY NIGHT.

TONIGHT:
SURFACE COLD FRONT CURRENTLY STRETCHES ALONG AND NEAR A
HARPER-WICHITA-EMPORIA LINE. THE FRONT IS NEARLY STATIONARY AND WILL
BE THE FOCUS FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. EXPECT STORMS TO
INITIALLY FIRE OFF IN WESTERN OKLAHOMA WHERE THE GREATEST POTENTIAL
FOR TORNADOES EXIST. THEY WILL THEN CONTINUE TO FORM ALONG THE FRONT
THIS EVENING WITH LARGE HAIL BEING OUR GREATEST THREAT. COULD SEE
LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN MAINLY ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE SURFACE FRONT
OVERNIGHT.

SUNDAY - MONDAY:
SUNDAY AND INTO MONDAY...ANOTHER ROUND OF THUNDERSTORMS. BY SUNDAY
MORNING THE SURFACE FRONT SHOULD HAVE MOVED NORTH AND EXTEND FROM
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA SOUTHWARD INTO THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. ABUNDANT
MOISTURE WILL BE IN PLACE THROUGH ALL OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN KANSAS
WITH SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT.
BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON...A FEW OF THE STORMS COULD BE SEVERE AND
CONTINUE INTO SUNDAY EVENING. AS PER SPCS DAY 2 OUTLOOK...MOST OF
CENTRAL KANSAS HAS BEEN PLACED IN A MODERATE RISK FOR TOMORROW WITH
LARGE HAIL AND EVEN TORNADOES POSSIBLE. THE STORMS WILL ALSO BE
CAPABLE OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. SINCE THE AXIS FOR THE FRONT IS
NEARLY STATIONARY...THIS WILL BE THE SECOND NIGHT FOR THE RAIN.
BECAUSE OF THAT HAVE ISSUED A FLOOD WATCH THAT RUNS ESSENTIALLY
ALONG AND ABOUT 50 MILES EITHER SIDE OF THE TURNPIKE BEGINNING AT
18Z ON SUNDAY UNTIL 18Z MONDAY. PRECIPITATION TOTALS OF 2-3 INCHES
WILL NOT BE OUT OF LINE IN THAT AREA.

TUESDAY-THURSDAY:
TUESDAY LOOKS TO BE THE BEST DAY FOR DRY WEATHER. SHOT OF UPPER
LEVEL ENERGY IS PROGGED TO MOVE THROUGH THE CENTRAL PLAINS MONDAY
NIGHT AND TAKE WITH IT THE PERSISTENT SURFACE FRONTAL
BOUNDARY...WHICH SHOULD STRETCH TO OUR SOUTH AND EAST.  HIGH
PRESSURE SHOULD DOMINATE ON TUESDAY RESULTING IN DRY WEATHER.
HOWEVER...THE UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL STILL BE ANCHORED OVER THE
NORTHWEST U.S. WITH SOUTHWEST FLOW THROUGH THE PLAINS STATES. THIS
WILL RESULT IN A QUICK RETURN OF SOUTHERLY FLOW AND FORCING THE
SURFACE FRONT BACK INTO OUR AREA FOR ANOTHER SHOT OF THUNDERSTORMS
ON WEDNESDAY AND INTO THURSDAY.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY:
LOOKS AS THOUGH ANOTHER FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA
OVER THE WEEKEND AS THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM THAT HAD BEEN OVER THE
ROCKIES MOVES NORTHEAST. WITH THE UPPER LEVEL FLOW BECOMING FAIRLY
ZONAL...THE FRONT WILL PROBABLY MOVE TO WHERE IT EXTENDS FROM THE
OHIO VALLEY BACK INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS BY THE SECOND HALF OF THE
WEEKEND. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL DOMINATE THE CENTRAL PLAINS
RESULTING IN EASTERLY OR UPSLOPE FLOW FOR US. CHANCES OF
THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY IN SOUTHEAST KANSAS...THEN
ONLY SLIGHT CHANCES IN OUR NORTHWEST SECTIONS.

.AVIATION...18Z TAFS KRSL/KSLN/KHUT/KICT/KCNU
INITIAL CONCERN IS THAT MVFR CIGS WILL PREVAIL OVER ALL 5
TERMINALS FOR MOST OF THE 25/18Z TAF CYCLE. CIGS OF 1,800-2,500FT
HAVE BEEN VERY CONSISTENT THIS MORNING & EXPECT SUCH CIGS TO
PERSIST THROUGH LATE THIS EVENING. WITH WARM...MOIST ADVECTION
STRENGTHENING FURTHER AS THE NIGHT PROGRESSES IT IS APPEARING
MORE LIKELY THAT IFR CIGS WILL BE REALIZED OVER PRIMARILY CENTRAL
KS FROM 26/06Z-26/12Z. AS SUCH WILL BRING CIGS OVER KRSL & KSLN
DOWN TO 800FT FOR MOST OF THIS PERIOD. EXPECT SOME IMPROVEMENT
TOWARD 26/12Z AS FRONT RANGE TROFFING RESTRENGTHENS...THEREBY
ENABLING WARM FRONTOGENESIS TO ENSUE NEAR THE OK/KS BORDER
26/06Z. THE WARM FRONT WILL THEN SURGE N THEREAFTER & LIKELY
REACH THE NEBRASKA/SD BORDER LATE SUN MORNING. THE WARM...MOIST
ADVECTION WILL NO DOUBT PLAY VITAL ROLE IN DEVELOPMENT OF STRONG
TO SEVERE TSRA OVER ESPECIALLY SC KS THIS EVENING & OVERNIGHT &
WILL CONTINUE TREND OF MVFR CIGS/VSBYS WITH TSRA APPLIED TO MOST
AREAS.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
WICHITA-KICT    56  75  56  69 /  60  70  80  50
HUTCHINSON      50  75  50  66 /  60  70  70  50
NEWTON          53  73  51  64 /  60  70  80  50
ELDORADO        58  73  53  66 /  60  70  80  60
WINFIELD-KWLD   62  75  64  72 /  60  70  80  60
RUSSELL         43  79  48  62 /  40  50  60  30
GREAT BEND      45  79  50  63 /  40  50  60  30
SALINA          46  75  53  64 /  60  70  70  40
MCPHERSON       49  74  52  65 /  60  70  70  50
COFFEYVILLE     64  80  64  72 /  40  60  80  70
CHANUTE         64  78  66  69 /  50  60  80  80
IOLA            63  77  66  67 /  50  60  80  80
PARSONS-KPPF    64  79  65  71 /  40  60  80  80

&&

.ICT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FLOOD WATCH FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON FOR
KSZ052-053-068>070-083-092-093.

&&

ELDER/SCHMINKE
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 25, 4:14 PM CDT, 2 hours 3 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
414 PM CDT SAT APR 25 2009

KSZ032-033-047>053-067>072-082-083-091>096-098>100-262115-
RUSSELL-LINCOLN-BARTON-ELLSWORTH-SALINE-RICE-MCPHERSON-MARION-CHASE-
RENO-HARVEY-BUTLER-GREENWOOD-WOODSON-ALLEN-KINGMAN-SEDGWICK-HARPER-
SUMNER-COWLEY-ELK-WILSON-NEOSHO-CHAUTAUQUA-MONTGOMERY-LABETTE-
414 PM CDT SAT APR 25 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL KANSAS...
SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND SOUTHEAST KANSAS.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

THERE IS A RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL AND
SOUTHEAST KANSAS INTO THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. THE MAIN RISK
WILL BE LARGE HAIL...ALTHOUGH A TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT. IN
ADDITION...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

ON SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE
OVER MOST AREAS AS A SECOND...AND STRONGER...COLD FRONT MOVES
SOUTHEAST ACROSS CENTRAL KANSAS SUNDAY NIGHT. LARGE
HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT WITH THESE
STORMS. LATER SUNDAY NIGHT...THE PRIMARY THREAT SHOULD TRANSITION
TOWARD DAMAGING WINDS. HEAVY RAIN IS ALSO POSSIBLE SUNDAY
AFTERNOON AND NIGHT AND A FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR PARTS
OF SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS.

A FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL
KANSAS INTO MONDAY MORNING. IN ADDITION...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
ARE POSSIBLE OVER AREAS GENERALLY ALONG...AND SOUTHEAST...OF THE
TURNPIKE MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS WILL AGAIN BE
POSSIBLE TUESDAY NIGHT AND LINGER THE REMAINDER OF NEXT WEEK.
LISTEN TO LATER FORECASTS FOR MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION.

THE GRASSLAND FIRE DANGER INDEX WILL BE HIGH ON SUNDAY...THURSDAY
AND FRIDAY ACROSS CENTRAL KANSAS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS EVENING AND INTO
TONIGHT...AS WELL AS ON SUNDAY.

&&

FOR A GRAPHICAL VERSION OF THIS INFORMATION...SEE OUR
WEBPAGE AT (LOWERCASE) HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/WICHITA/HWO/HWO.PHP

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 25, 4:44 PM CDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
444 PM CDT SAT APR 25 2009

KSZ092-252215-
SUMNER-
444 PM CDT SAT APR 25 2009

...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WICHITA HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT
WEATHER ALERT FOR SUMNER COUNTY...

AT 442 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE TRACKING
A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF RENFROW...OR 19 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF ANTHONY...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

PENNY TO NICKEL SIZED HAIL AND WINDS TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH
THIS STORM.

PEOPLE IN SOUTHWESTERN SUMNER COUNTY...SHOULD MONITOR THE WEATHER
SITUATION CLOSELY. A WARNING MAY BE NEEDED IF THE STORMS MOVE INTO
THE AREA. BE READY TO SEEK SHELTER IF SEVERE WEATHER THREATENS.

ES
Local storm report, Apr 25, 4:58 PM CDT, 1 hour 19 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
458 PM CDT SAT APR 25 2009

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

0458 PM     HAIL             6 W CALDWELL            37.02N 97.71W
04/25/2009  E1.00 INCH       SUMNER             KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

CWH
Local storm report, Apr 25, 5:15 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>
Local storm report, Apr 25, 5:36 PM CDT, 41 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, Apr 25, 5:47 PM CDT, 30 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
547 PM CDT SAT APR 25 2009

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

0544 PM     HAIL             5 E CLEARWATER          37.51N 97.41W
04/25/2009  E0.88 INCH       SEDGWICK           KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

RBL
Local storm report, Apr 25, 5:59 PM CDT, 18 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
559 PM CDT SAT APR 25 2009

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

0557 PM     HAIL             6 SSE WELLINGTON        37.18N 97.37W
04/25/2009  E1.00 INCH       SUMNER             KS   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

CWH

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 25, 3:28 PM CDTFlood WatchICTButler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cowley, Elk, Ellsworth and 13 more44 hr
Apr 25, 4:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTSumner55 min
Apr 25, 5:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTButler, Cowley, Sedgwick, Sumner57 min
Apr 25, 5:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTHarper, Sumner63 min
Apr 25, 6:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTButler, Sedgwick32 min
Apr 25, 6:33 PM CDTTornado WarningICTCowley, Sumner42 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 2009Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.