Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2009

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Wichita, KS

March 23, 2009Chautauqua County, Cowley County, Elk County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this tornado warning at Mar 23, 2009, 5:37 PM CDT for Chautauqua County, Cowley County, Elk County, Kansas. It was in force for 23 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Mar 23, 2009, 5:37 PM CDT (22:37 UTC)
Expired: Mar 23, 2009, 6:00 PM CDT
In force: 23 min
Issued by: NWS Wichita, KS
Area: Storm-based polygon

Counties Chautauqua County, KS, Cowley County, KS, Elk County, KS

The radar

The Wichita radar (KICT), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:38 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Mar 23, 5:38 PM CDT	FUNNEL CLOUD	5 S Burden, KS	ROTATING WALL CLOUD ASSOCIATED WITH THE FUNNEL

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

The watch it was issued in

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

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Mar 23, 1:03 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lamont, OK (KLMN), launched 12:00Z, 10.6 hours before the alert went out and 114 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: 26 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -604 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 848 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 422 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 606 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KICT 232237
TORICT
KSC019-035-049-232300-
/O.NEW.KICT.TO.W.0009.090323T2237Z-090323T2300Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
537 PM CDT MON MAR 23 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WICHITA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN COWLEY COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS.
  SOUTHWESTERN ELK COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST KANSAS.
  NORTHWESTERN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST KANSAS.

* UNTIL 600 PM CDT.

* AT 535 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE
  TRACKING A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS
  DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR BURDEN...OR 13 MILES EAST OF
  WINFIELD...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* LOCATIONS WITHIN THE WARNING INCLUDE...
  BURDEN...CAMBRIDGE...GRENOLA.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. MOVE INTO YOUR TORNADO SHELTER NOW IF NO
UNDERGROUND SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...MOVE INTO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR OF A STURDY STRUCTURE.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CDT MONDAY EVENING FOR
SOUTHEASTERN KANSAS.

LAT...LON 3719 9678 3736 9684 3748 9661 3747 9652
      3752 9652 3755 9646 3722 9632
TIME...MOT...LOC 2236Z 232DEG 23KT 3727 9672

$$

LAWSON

2 follow-up statements

000 
WWUS53 KICT 232246
SVSICT

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
546 PM CDT MON MAR 23 2009

KSC019-035-049-232300-
/O.CON.KICT.TO.W.0009.000000T0000Z-090323T2300Z/
CHAUTAUQUA KS-ELK KS-COWLEY KS-
546 PM CDT MON MAR 23 2009

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHEASTERN COWLEY...
SOUTHWESTERN ELK AND NORTHWESTERN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTIES UNTIL 600 PM
CDT...

AT 545 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS CONTINUED TO
TRACK A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO.  THIS
DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR CAMBRIDGE...OR 16 MILES EAST OF 
WINFIELD...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH. THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF 
PRODUCING BRIEF TORNADOES.

THE DANGEROUS STORM WILL BE...
  6 MILES WEST OF GRENOLA BY 600 PM CDT.

THIS DANGEROUS STORM WILL ALSO AFFECT CAMBRIDGE.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CDT MONDAY EVENING FOR
SOUTHEASTERN KANSAS.

LAT...LON 3719 9678 3736 9684 3748 9661 3747 9652
      3752 9652 3755 9646 3722 9632
TIME...MOT...LOC 2246Z 235DEG 30KT 3729 9667

$$

COX

000 
WWUS53 KICT 232257
SVSICT

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
557 PM CDT MON MAR 23 2009

KSC019-035-049-232307-
/O.EXP.KICT.TO.W.0009.000000T0000Z-090323T2300Z/
CHAUTAUQUA KS-ELK KS-COWLEY KS-
557 PM CDT MON MAR 23 2009

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTHEASTERN COWLEY...SOUTHWESTERN ELK AND
NORTHWESTERN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTIES WILL EXPIRE AT 600 PM CDT...

AT 557 PM CDT...WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT THE
THUNDERSTORMS WHICH PROMPTED THE WARNING HAVE WEAKENED...AND NO
LONGER POSE AN IMMEDIATE RISK TO LIFE OR PROPERTY.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 700 PM CDT MONDAY EVENING FOR
SOUTHEASTERN KANSAS.

LAT...LON 3719 9678 3736 9684 3748 9661 3747 9652
      3752 9652 3755 9646 3722 9632
TIME...MOT...LOC 2257Z 235DEG 30KT 3734 9657

$$

COX

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 23, 3:34 AM CDT	Red Flag Warning	ICT	Barton, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cowley, Elk and 14 more	16 hr
Mar 23, 10:32 AM CDT	High Wind Warning	ICT	Barton, Butler, Chase, Cowley, Ellsworth, Harper and 11 more	8 hr
Mar 23, 2:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Harvey, Kingman, Reno	49 min
Mar 23, 2:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Harvey, McPherson, Marion, Reno	36 min
Mar 23, 3:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Marion	17 min
Mar 23, 4:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Sumner	45 min
Mar 23, 4:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Cowley	41 min
Mar 23, 5:01 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ICT	Cowley, Sumner	32 min
Mar 23, 5:23 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Saline	37 min
Mar 23, 6:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Elk, Greenwood, Wilson, Woodson	38 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.