Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2011

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Wichita, KS

April 14, 2011Chautauqua County, Cowley County, Elk County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this tornado warning at Apr 14, 2011, 4:27 PM CDT for Chautauqua County, Cowley County, Elk County, Kansas. It was in force for 33 min. 4 reports 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: Apr 14, 2011, 4:27 PM CDT (21:27 UTC)
Expired: Apr 14, 2011, 5:00 PM CDT
In force: 33 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), 85 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:30 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
Apr 14, 4:35 PM CDT	FUNNEL CLOUD	4 S Dexter, KS	OVER HIGHWAY K15.
Apr 14, 4:37 PM CDT	FUNNEL CLOUD	2 S Dexter, KS	TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTS ROPE FUNNEL CLOUD.
Apr 14, 4:57 PM CDT	HAIL 0.88	3 E Cambridge, KS
Apr 14, 5:09 PM CDT	FUNNEL CLOUD	1 W Grenola, KS

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
Apr 14, 2:10 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lamont, OK (KLMN), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 104 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: 155 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -470 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1449 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 91 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 507 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 541 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

406 
WFUS53 KICT 142127
TORICT
KSC019-035-049-142200-
/O.NEW.KICT.TO.W.0008.110414T2127Z-110414T2200Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
427 PM CDT THU APR 14 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WICHITA HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 500 PM CDT

* AT 426 PM CDT...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD 4
  MILES SOUTH OF DEXTER...OR 18 MILES SOUTHEAST OF WINFIELD. A
  TORNADO MAY DEVELOP AT ANY TIME. DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED THIS
  DANGEROUS STORM MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  DEXTER...GRENOLA AND CAMBRIDGE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW. MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A
STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF IN A MOBILE HOME...A VEHICLE OR
OUTDOORS...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND PROTECT
YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

&&

LAT...LON 3711 9684 3747 9664 3747 9652 3733 9630
      3703 9661
TIME...MOT...LOC 2128Z 217DEG 32KT 3712 9671
HAIL 1.00IN

$$

DUNTEN

1 follow-up statement

491 
WWUS53 KICT 142139
SVSICT

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
439 PM CDT THU APR 14 2011

KSC019-035-049-142200-
/O.CON.KICT.TO.W.0008.000000T0000Z-110414T2200Z/
CHAUTAUQUA KS-ELK KS-COWLEY KS-
439 PM CDT THU APR 14 2011

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR EASTERN COWLEY...
SOUTHWESTERN ELK AND NORTHWESTERN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTIES UNTIL 500 PM
CDT...

AT 435 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE TRACKING
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO.  THIS DANGEROUS
STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR DEXTER...OR 11 MILES WEST OF CEDAR 
VALE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 TO 40 MPH.

NUMEROUS FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS STORM SOUTH OF 
DEXTER. THESE FUNNEL CLOUDS COULD TOUCH DOWN AT ANY TIME! PEOPLE 
WITHIN DEXTER AND ALSO NORTHEAST OF THERE SHOULD TAKE COVER!

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  GRENOLA AND CAMBRIDGE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW. MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF A
STURDY BUILDING. AVOID WINDOWS. IF IN A MOBILE HOME...A VEHICLE OR
OUTDOORS...MOVE TO THE CLOSEST SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER AND PROTECT
YOURSELF FROM FLYING DEBRIS.

&&

LAT...LON 3711 9684 3747 9664 3747 9652 3733 9630
      3703 9661
TIME...MOT...LOC 2136Z 211DEG 27KT 3717 9669
HAIL 1.50IN

$$

KLEINSASSER

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 14, 3:11 PM CDT	High Wind Warning	ICT	Barton, Ellsworth, Harper, Harvey, Kingman, Lincoln and 7 more	37 hr
Apr 14, 3:11 PM CDT	Wind Advisory	ICT	Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cowley, Elk, Greenwood and 6 more	37 hr
Apr 14, 3:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Ellsworth, Rice	50 min
Apr 14, 4:04 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	McPherson, Saline	56 min
Apr 14, 4:07 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Cowley	53 min
Apr 14, 4:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Ellsworth, Lincoln, Saline	61 min
Apr 14, 4:41 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Butler	64 min
Apr 14, 4:55 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ICT	Chautauqua	65 min
Apr 14, 4:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Saline	35 min
Apr 14, 4:59 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ICT	Butler, Cowley, Elk, Greenwood	33 min
Apr 14, 5:08 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Marion	40 min
Apr 14, 5:13 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ICT	Saline	19 min
Apr 14, 5:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Chase	51 min
Apr 14, 5:44 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Butler, Chase, Greenwood	34 min
Apr 14, 5:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Elk, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson	59 min
Apr 14, 5:55 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ICT	Greenwood	29 min
Apr 14, 6:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Labette, Montgomery, Neosho	45 min
Apr 14, 6:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson	26 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 2011 Every tornado warning in 2011 Tornadoes in 2011

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.