Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2010

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 145, NWS Topeka, KS

July 20, 2010Jackson County, Pottawatomie County, Kansas

NWS Topeka, KS issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 20, 2010, 3:29 PM CDT for Jackson County, Pottawatomie County, Kansas. It was in force for 46 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 20, 2010, 3:29 PM CDT (20:29 UTC)
Expired
Jul 20, 2010, 4:15 PM CDT
In force
46 min
Issued by
NWS Topeka, KS
Area
Storm-based polygon
Hail
1.0 in
Wind
60.0 mph

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 20:29 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 nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KTOP), launched 12:00Z, 8.5 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 2010-07-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2425 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 2010-07-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 133 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
2425 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-145 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1194 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
133 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
137 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.4

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 20, 3:26 PM CDT, 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 20, 3:26 PM CDT, 3 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
326 PM CDT TUE JUL 20 2010

.DISCUSSION...
20Z WATER VAPOR SHOWS THE MID LEVEL RIDGE OVER OK AND SOUTHERN KS
WITH PROFILER DATA INDICATING THE FASTER MEAN FLOW ALONG THE NEB
AND KS STATE LINE. AT THE SFC...A WEAK TROUGH HAS SET UP JUST
NORTH OF THE KS RIVER WITH SOUTHERLY WINDS AND HOT TEMPERATURES
SOUTH. CLOUD COVER AND SCATTERED SHOWERS HAVE HELD TEMPS NORTH OF
THE BOUNDARY IN THE 80S.

FOR TONIGHT THERE IS NO REAL FEATURE TO PICK OUT THAT WILL FORCE
DEEP MOIST CONVECTION. HOWEVER THE MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW SFC BASED
STORMS DEVELOPING BY THE EARLY EVENING. THIS IS MOST LIKELY TO OCCUR
ALONG OR SOUTH OF THE SFC TROUGH WHERE VISIBLE SATELLITE SHOWS A
CU FIELD DEVELOPING WITHIN THE INSTABILITY AXIS. LATEST RUC
ANALYSIS SHOWS THERE TO BE VERY LITTLE IF ANY INHIBITION TO
CONVECTION OVER EAST CENTRAL KS WITH CAPE RUNNING AROUND 3000 J/KG.
FREEZING LEVELS ARE STILL AROUND 15 KFT...SO EVEN WITH SOME DECENT
SHEAR HAIL SHOULD BE HARD TO COME BY WITH DOWNBURST WINDS POSSIBLE
IF UPDRAFTS WERE ABLE TO GET VERY TALL. WITH THE SFC TROUGH WELL
WITHIN THE FORECAST AREA...HAVE INCLUDED CHANCE POPS FOR THE WHOLE
AREA WITH LIKELY CHANCES NORTH OF THE BOUNDARY. HAVE LOWS FALLING
INTO THE LOWER AND MID 70S THINKING CONVECTION WILL BRING SOME
COOLER AIR TO THE SFC. WEDNESDAY LOOKS TO BE SOMEWHAT OF A REPEAT OF
TODAY...WITH THE SFC BOUNDARY POSSIBLE FURTHER SOUTH. SO THINK THERE
WILL BE MORE CLOUDS AND POSSIBLE SCATTERED SHOWERS LINGERING THROUGH
THE MORNING AND INTO THE AFTERNOON HELPING TO KEEP TEMPS COOLER THAN
TODAY /90 TO 95/. CONFIDENCE IN WHERE THE BOUNDARY ENDS UP AND
WHERE THE CUT OFF FOR RELATIVELY COOL TEMPS TO THE NORTH VERSES THE
HEAT AND HUMIDITY IS LOW. SO HAVE OPTED TO ALLOW THE HEAT ADVISORY
AND EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING EXPIRE THIS EVENING. IF IT LOOKS LIKE THE
BOUNDARY WILL LIFT NORTH TO NEAR THE NEB STATE LINE...IT IS POSSIBLE
THE HEAT AND HUMIDITY WILL STILL BE AROUND EAST CENTRAL KS. WILL LET
LATER SHIFTS SEE HOW FORECAST EVOLVES AND WHETHER ANOTHER HEAT
WARNING IS NEEDED.

WOLTERS

WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY...

EFFECTIVE FRONT SHOULD PUSH NORTH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. SOUTHWEST LOW
LEVEL JET INCREASES TO 30-45KT...WHICH COULD BRING AN ELEVATED
THREAT INTO THE NIGHT...BUT DEEPENING SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT AS WELL
WILL INCREASE MID LEVEL CAPPING. THURSDAY INTO THURSDAY NIGHT
SHOULD BRING THE BEST BETS FOR DRY WEATHER /AT LEAST IN TERMS OF
PRECIPITATION/ WITH CONTINUED MID LEVEL DRYING. AFTERNOON
TEMPERATURES SHOULD AGAIN PUSH UP INTO THE MIDDLE AND UPPER
90S...WITH HEAT INDEX VALUES LIKELY AROUND CONCERNING LEVELS.
DIFFICULTY INCREASES FOR FRIDAY AS THERE IS MUCH UNCERTAINTY IN
THE SPECIFICS OF SHORTWAVE TIMING AND LOCATION IN THE OPERATIONAL
AND ENSEMBLE DATA. HAVE INCREASED PRECIPITATION CHANCES MARGINALLY
IN NORTHERN AREAS. THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY PROMISE TO BE QUITE
WARM AND HUMID AGAIN AHEAD OF THE FRONT.

EXTENDED PERIODS...

FRONT SHOULD BE IN OR NEAR THE AREA FOR THE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY
PERIODS. PRECIP CHANCES MOST LIKELY FRIDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY SATURDAY
WITH SOME CONVECTION LIKELY ON THE COOL SIDE. COULD SEE SOME HEAVY
RAIN WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES BACK UP TO AROUND 2 INCHES
AND A SLOW MOVING BOUNDARY. FRONTOLYSIS SHOULD WEAKEN BY LATE
SUNDAY TO KEEP ANY REMAINING PRECIP QUITE ISOLATED SUNDAY NIGHT
AND MONDAY. GFS ENSEMBLE 850MB TEMP ANOMALIES AND DECENT CLOUDS
COVER SUGGEST TEMPS CLOSE TO LATE JULY NORMALS FOR A BETTER BET
AND LONGER TERM RELIEF FROM THE HEAT. SOUTH WINDS SHOULD RETURN BY
LATE MONDAY WITH UPPER RIDGING DEVELOPING TO THE SOUTHEAST FOR A
WARMING TREND EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ANOTHER COLD
FRONT REACHING THE CENTRAL PLAINS VIA STRONG UPPER TROFFING IN THE
NORTHEAST WILL NEED TO BE WATCHED...BUT EXPECT THIS TO BE NO
EARLIER THAN WEDNESDAY.

65

&&

.AVIATION...
SFC TROUGH/WEAK FRONT WILL REMAIN NEAR OR JUST NORTH OF THE
TERMINALS WITH NOT MUCH INHIBITION TO CONVECTION. WATER VAPOR
SHOWS A WEAK AREA OR DRYING OR SUBSIDENCE MOVING OVERHEAD
CURRENTLY SO DO NOT THINK CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT IS IMMINENT. BUT
WITH A MOIST AND UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE...THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR
TS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THROUGH THE NIGHT. UNFORTUNATELY HAVE
LOW CONFIDENCE IN TIMING THE CONVECTION. BECAUSE OF THIS WILL KEEP
TAFS VFR AND ONLY MENTION VCTS UNTIL INITIATION BECOMES MORE
CLEAR.

WOLTERS

&&

.TOP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL
8 PM TUESDAY FOR KSZ026-KSZ038-KSZ039-KSZ040-KSZ054-KSZ055-KSZ056-
KSZ058-KSZ059.

HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 8 PM TUESDAY FOR KSZ021-KSZ022-KSZ023-KSZ024-
KSZ034-KSZ035-KSZ036-KSZ037.

&&
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 20, 4:51 AM CDT, 10 hours 38 minutes before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 20, 3:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPClay, Dickinson, Ottawa40 min
Jul 20, 4:41 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningTOPJefferson71 min
Jul 20, 5:13 PM CDTAreal Flood AdvisoryTOPDouglas62 min
Jul 20, 5:45 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningTOPOttawa3 hr
Jul 20, 5:48 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningTOPDouglas117 min
Jul 20, 6:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningTOPOttawa35 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kansas, 2010Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2010

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.