Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2009

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 196, NWS Topeka, KS

August 9, 2009Jackson County, Nemaha County, Pottawatomie County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 9, 2009, 6:00 PM CDT for Jackson County, Nemaha County, Pottawatomie County, Kansas. It was in force for 30 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
Aug 9, 2009, 6:00 PM CDT (23:00 UTC)
Expired
Aug 9, 2009, 6:30 PM CDT
In force
30 min
Issued by
NWS Topeka, KS
Area
Storm-based polygon

Counties Jackson County, KS, Nemaha County, KS, Pottawatomie County, KS

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 61 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:02 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
Aug 9, 3:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 201 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, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2009-08-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1138 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, Omaha, NE at 12:00Z on 2009-08-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 113 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1138 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-213 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
726 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
113 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
135 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.9

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 Aug 9, 3:17 PM CDT, 2 hours 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 9, 3:17 PM CDT, 2 hours 43 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
317 PM CDT SUN AUG 9 2009

.DISCUSSION...

SHORT TERM (THROUGH MONDAY EVENING)...

MAIN CHALLENGE FOR TONIGHT AND MONDAY IS THUNDERSTORM CHANCES.

SOUTHWEST FLOW CONTINUES ALOFT WITH UPPER TROF OVER THE NORTHERN
ROCKIES AND HIGH TO THE SOUTHEAST. SUBTROPICAL PLUME REMAINS BETWEEN
THESE AREAS OVER WESTERN AND CENTRAL PORTIONS OF KANSAS. AT
12Z...850MB FRONT WAS BISECTING NEBRASKA FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST
WITH MOISTURE POOLING ALONG IT. 18Z OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS PUT COLD
FRONT FROM SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA TO SOUTHWEST KANSAS WITH MIDDLE 60 TO
LOWER 70 DEWPOINTS IN THE LOCAL AREA. RECENT PRECIPITATION REMAINS
MOSTLY JUST BEHIND THE SURFACE FRONT IN THE MID/UPPER MOISTURE
PLUME...WITH MORE ISOLATED ACTIVITY NEAR THE BOUNDARY. 18Z UPPER AIR
SOUNDING FROM TOP SHOWS AROUND 100 J/KG OF SURFACE CINH.

EXPECT FRONT TO CONTINUE TO SINK SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST TONIGHT AS THE
NORTHERN UPPER TROF PUSHES EAST ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS.
DEWPOINTS SLOWLY FALLING AS DAYTIME MIXING CONTINUES...AND 18Z
SOUNDING SHOWING SOME COOLING ALOFT...BUT WARMING AROUND 800MB.
SOUTHWEST WINDS AROUND THIS LEVEL BRINGING IN WARMER AIR PER 12Z
DODGE CITY DATA...AND QUESTIONS REMAIN REGARDING SURFACE BASED
CONVECTION. DECENT LOW LEVEL DEWPOINT SPREADS AND FAIRLY
UNIDIRECTIONAL WINDS THROUGH THE TROPOSPHERE WOULD SUGGEST A WIND
THREAT AS WELL AS HAIL. RECENT RUC ANALYSIS AND MODEL FORECASTS SHOW
PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES HIGHEST IN NORTHERN AREAS...PEAKING AROUND
2 INCHES OVERNIGHT WITH UPPER LEVEL JET CORE TO THE NORTHEAST. AS
THE LOW LEVEL JET VEERS IN RESPONSE TO THE EASTWARD MOVING
WAVE...LOW LEVEL FORCING FOR A FOCUSED PERSISTENT THUNDERSTORM
THREAT IS NOT OBVIOUS...BUT THE ABOVE SUGGEST AT LEAST SOME
POTENTIAL FOR TRAINING CELLS. SHOULD SEE PRECIPITATION CHANCES
SLOWLY DIMINISH AS DAWN APPROACHES AS A RESULT OF THE LLJ
ORIENTATION. SYNOPTIC BOUNDARY WILL LIKELY REMAIN IN THE CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN COUNTIES MONDAY AND BRING A CONTINUED CHANCE FOR STORMS TO
THE AREA WITH PW VALUES REMAINING AROUND 1.75 INCHES. LITTLE
CONFIDENCE IN JUST WHERE THE BETTER CHANCES WILL BE AT THIS TIME.
HOW MUCH COOLING OCCURS FOR MONDAY IS AS WELL IN QUESTION...BUT WENT
BELOW GUIDANCE GIVEN PRECIP POTENTIAL.

65

LONG TERM (MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY)...

MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS DURING THIS PERIOD INCLUDE POTENTIAL STORM
SYSTEMS MONDAY NIGHT...AND AGAIN BY LATE NEXT WEEKEND.

SHORT WAVE TROUGH ENERGY LOOKS TO AMPLIFY AS SOME PHASING OF
NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN STREAMS OCCURS OVER THE HIGH PLAINS LATE ON
SUNDAY. TROUGH WILL THEN DROP SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE PLAINS BY
MONDAY NIGHT...COUPLING WITH A FAVORABLE ZONE OF JET DIVERGENCE
AND A REMNANT SURFACE FRONTAL BOUNDARY TO DEVELOP ONE OR MORE
CONVECTIVE SYSTEMS. THESE SYSTEMS WILL TRACK ACROSS THE PLAINS AND
INTO THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY BY TUESDAY. PRECIPITATION WILL LIKELY
BE PROGRESSIVE AND WIDESPREAD WITH BETTER CHANCES ACROSS THE
SOUTHERN TWO THIRDS OF THE CWA. THIS SYSTEM WILL USHER IN SLIGHTLY
COOLER AND DRIER AIR WITH HIGH TEMPS FORECAST TO REMAIN AROUND 90
ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY.

WILL LIKELY SEE A SLIGHT WARMING TREND FROM MID TO LATE WEEK AS
UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BUILDS BACK IN AND 850 TEMPS AGAIN APPROACH 25C
ACROSS WESTERN ZONES. THERE WILL BE A GRADIENT FROM WEST TO EAST
THOUGH AND HAVE KEPT EASTERN ZONES A BIT COOLER. LONG RANGE MODELS
THEN ISSUE ANOTHER LONG WAVE TROUGH THROUGH THE NORTHERN TIER BY
LATE WEEKEND. THIS MAY BRING CHANCES FOR PRECIP BACK INTO THE
FORECAST AS EARLY AS SUNDAY. CONFIDENCE IS RELATIVELY LOW IN JUST
HOW THIS WILL PLAY OUT AT THIS TIME DUE TO CONSIDERABLE MODEL
DIFFERENCES IN THE OVERALL LONG WAVE PATTERN AT 6 DAYS OUT.

BARJENBRUCH

&&

AVIATION...

MAIN CHANGES TO TAFS WERE TO MENTION CONVECTIVE CONCERNS EARLIER.
SCATTERED CONVECTIVE UNDERWAY FROM SOUTHWEST TO CENTRAL
KANSAS...WITH BOUNDARY LIKELY TO PUSH SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE LATE
AFTERNOON. THOUGH BOUNDARY MAY NOT PASS THROUGH THE TERMINALS
UNTIL LATE TONIGHT OR EARLY MONDAY...MAY SEE SOME STORMS MOVE IN
FROM THE SOUTHWEST...AND FORM OFF OF CONVECTIVE OUTFLOWS. NOT
CONFIDENT ENOUGH FOR MORE THAN CB MENTION YET HOWEVER. VEERING LOW
LEVEL WINDS SHOULD BRING AN END TO THE GREATER THREAT BY DAWN
MONDAY.

65

&&

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

&&
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 9, 3:25 PM CDT, 2 hours 35 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
325 PM CDT SUN AUG 9 2009

KSZ008>012-020>024-026-034>040-054>056-058-059-102030-
REPUBLIC-WASHINGTON-MARSHALL-NEMAHA-BROWN-CLOUD-CLAY-RILEY-
POTTAWATOMIE-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-OTTAWA-DICKINSON-GEARY-MORRIS-
WABAUNSEE-SHAWNEE-DOUGLAS-LYON-OSAGE-FRANKLIN-COFFEY-ANDERSON-
325 PM CDT SUN AUG 9 2009

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

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ALONG AND BEHIND
A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT THIS AFTERNOON AND GRADUALLY PUSH
EAST...GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70...DURING THE
EVENING HOURS. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF
PRODUCING LARGE HAIL TO THE SIZE OF HALF DOLLARS AND DAMAGING
WINDS UP TO 60 MPH. HEAVY RAIN WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE AS
THUNDERSTORMS MAY REPEATEDLY TRACK OVER THE SAME AREAS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

ADDITIONAL STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE FROM
MONDAY INTO MONDAY NIGHT AS THE SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT GRADUALLY
MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE
PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREATS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 9, 5:09 PM CDT, 51 minutes before
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Local storm report, Aug 9, 5:13 PM CDT, 47 minutes before
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Local storm report, Aug 9, 5:23 PM CDT, 37 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Aug 9, 5:26 PM CDT, 34 minutes before
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Local storm report, Aug 9, 5:30 PM CDT, 30 minutes before
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Local storm report, Aug 9, 5:53 PM CDT, 7 minutes before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 9, 4:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPCloud, Republic41 min
Aug 9, 4:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPClay, Washington37 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.