Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2012

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Wichita, KS

February 28, 2012Reno County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this tornado warning at Feb 28, 2012, 6:30 PM CST for Reno County, Kansas. It was in force for 30 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: Feb 28, 2012, 6:30 PM CST (00:30 UTC)
Expired: Feb 28, 2012, 7:00 PM CST
In force: 30 min
Issued by: NWS Wichita, KS
Area: Storm-based polygon

County Reno County, KS

The radar

The Wichita radar (KICT), 60 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:30 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
Feb 28, 6:43 PM CST	TORNADO	6 Ssw Hutchinson, KS	STORM CHASER REPORTED A TORNADO LASTING ABOUT 5 MINUTES FROM 643 TO 648 PM.

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
Feb 28, 5:41 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	3 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lamont, OK (KLMN), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 162 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: 386 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -76 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 660 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 77 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 369 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 461 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.8
Supercell composite: 2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

379 
WFUS53 KICT 290030
TORICT
KSC155-290100-
/O.NEW.KICT.TO.W.0001.120229T0030Z-120229T0100Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
630 PM CST TUE FEB 28 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WICHITA HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EASTERN RENO COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS...

* UNTIL 700 PM CST

* AT 626 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE
  TRACKING A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO. THIS
  DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR ARLINGTON...OR 15 MILES NORTH OF
  KINGMAN...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 60 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  HUTCHINSON...PARTRIDGE...SOUTH HUTCHINSON...BUHLER...YODER...
  WILLOWBROOK AND HUTCHINSON AIRPORT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

THIS TORNADO WARNING REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING THAT
WAS IN EFFECT FOR THE SAME AREA.

&&

LAT...LON 3817 9795 3817 9770 3813 9770 3796 9771
      3776 9813 3790 9828
TIME...MOT...LOC 0030Z 229DEG 53KT 3790 9811
HAIL 1.75IN

$$

SCHMINKE

2 follow-up statements

966 
WWUS53 KICT 290039
SVSICT

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
639 PM CST TUE FEB 28 2012

KSC155-290100-
/O.CON.KICT.TO.W.0001.000000T0000Z-120229T0100Z/
RENO KS-
639 PM CST TUE FEB 28 2012

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR RENO COUNTY UNTIL 700 PM
CST...

AT 634 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE TRACKING
A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO.  THIS DANGEROUS
STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR PARTRIDGE...OR 14 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
HUTCHINSON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 60 MPH.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  HUTCHINSON...SOUTH HUTCHINSON...BUHLER...YODER...WILLOWBROOK AND
  HUTCHINSON AIRPORT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TORNADOES ARE DIFFICULT TO SEE AT NIGHT. TAKE COVER NOW!

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER...CONTACT YOUR NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY. THEY WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
IN WICHITA.

&&

LAT...LON 3817 9795 3817 9770 3813 9770 3796 9771
      3776 9813 3790 9828
TIME...MOT...LOC 0039Z 228DEG 66KT 3797 9800
HAIL 1.50IN

$$

ES

941 
WWUS53 KICT 290053
SVSICT

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
653 PM CST TUE FEB 28 2012

KSC155-290100-
/O.CON.KICT.TO.W.0001.000000T0000Z-120229T0100Z/
RENO KS-
653 PM CST TUE FEB 28 2012

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR RENO COUNTY UNTIL 700 PM
CST...

AT 647 PM CST...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED PERIODIC BRIEF 
TORNADO TOUCHDOWNS 6 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF SOUTH 
HUTCHINSON...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  HUTCHINSON...BUHLER...WILLOWBROOK AND HUTCHINSON AIRPORT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER...CONTACT YOUR NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY. THEY WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
IN WICHITA.

&&

LAT...LON 3817 9795 3817 9770 3813 9770 3796 9771
      3776 9813 3790 9828
TIME...MOT...LOC 0052Z 232DEG 46KT 3798 9790
HAIL 1.75IN

$$

KLEINSASSER

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 28, 6:18 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Kingman, Reno	42 min
Feb 28, 6:58 PM CST	Tornado Warning	ICT	Harvey, McPherson, Reno	32 min
Feb 28, 7:25 PM CST	Tornado Warning	ICT	McPherson, Marion	50 min
Feb 28, 7:52 PM CST	Tornado Warning	ICT	Chase, Marion	38 min
Feb 28, 8:07 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Cowley, Sumner	53 min
Feb 28, 8:52 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	ICT	Butler, Chase	28 min
Feb 28, 8:52 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Chautauqua, Cowley	53 min
Feb 28, 9:01 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Butler, Chase, Elk, Greenwood	59 min
Feb 28, 9:31 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Chautauqua, Elk, Montgomery, Wilson	59 min
Feb 28, 10:08 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Labette, Montgomery	22 min
Feb 28, 10:26 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ICT	Labette	9 min
Feb 29, 3:21 AM CST	Red Flag Warning	ICT	Allen, Barton, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cowley and 20 more	14 hr
Feb 29, 12:12 PM CST	Wind Advisory	ICT	Ellsworth, Lincoln, Russell, Saline	3 hr
Feb 29, 3:47 PM CST	Fire Weather Watch	ICT	Allen, Chautauqua, Elk, Greenwood, Labette, Montgomery and 3 more	12 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 2012 Every tornado warning in 2012 Tornadoes in 2012

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.