Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2013

Tornado Warning 7, NWS Dodge City, KS

May 18, 2013Ellis County, Trego County, Kansas

NWS Dodge City, KS issued this tornado warning at May 18, 2013, 6:30 PM CDT for Ellis County, Trego County, Kansas. It was in force for 30 min. 2 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: May 18, 2013, 6:30 PM CDT (23:30 UTC)
Expired: May 18, 2013, 7:00 PM CDT
In force: 30 min
Issued by: NWS Dodge City, KS
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Radar indicated
Hail: 2.5 in

Counties Ellis County, KS, Trego County, KS

The radar

The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 145 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:32 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
May 18, 6:40 PM CDT	TORNADO	10 Se Ellis, KS	TORNADO WAS OBSERVED GOING UP AND DOWN, SHORT TIME ON THE SURFACE. NO DAMAGE REPORTED AS OF YET.
May 18, 7:10 PM CDT	HAIL 1	Catherine, 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
May 18, 2:42 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 hours before the alert went out and 142 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: 2095 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -361 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 812 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 256 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 291 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.

313 
WFUS53 KDDC 182330
TORDDC
KSC051-195-190000-
/O.NEW.KDDC.TO.W.0007.130518T2330Z-130519T0000Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
630 PM CDT SAT MAY 18 2013

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DODGE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  ELLIS COUNTY IN CENTRAL KANSAS...
  EASTERN TREGO COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL KANSAS...

* UNTIL 700 PM CDT

* AT 627 PM CDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A
  TORNADO WAS LOCATED NEAR ELLIS...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

  HAZARD...DEVELOPING TORNADO AND TENNIS BALL SIZE HAIL.

  SOURCE...RADAR INDICATED ROTATION.

  IMPACT...MOBILE HOMES WILL BE HEAVILY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.
           SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO ROOFS...WINDOWS AND VEHICLES WILL
           OCCUR. FLYING DEBRIS WILL BE DEADLY TO PEOPLE AND ANIMALS.
           EXTENSIVE TREE DAMAGE IS LIKELY.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  MUNJOR...HAYS...TOULON...CATHARINE...VICTORIA AND EMMERAM.

THESE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE A HISTORY OF BRIEF TORNADOES AND 
NUMEROSU FUNNELS. 

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 3913 9903 3889 9904 3870 9941 3870 9983
      3894 9978 3914 9967 3914 9904
TIME...MOT...LOC 2329Z 240DEG 38KT 3899 9950

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
HAIL...2.50IN

$$

RUSSELL

1 follow-up statement

883 
WWUS53 KDDC 182350
SVSDDC

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
650 PM CDT SAT MAY 18 2013

KSC051-195-190000-
/O.CON.KDDC.TO.W.0007.000000T0000Z-130519T0000Z/
TREGO KS-ELLIS KS-
650 PM CDT SAT MAY 18 2013

...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR ELLIS AND NORTHEASTERN
TREGO COUNTIES UNTIL 700 PM CDT...

AT 640 PM CDT...A CONFIRMED BRIEF TORNADO WAS LOCATED 10 MILES 
SOUTHEAST MILES SOUTHEAST OF ELLIS. THE STORM CONTINUES MOVING 
NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.


HAZARD...DAMAGING TORNADO AND TENNIS BALL SIZE HAIL.

SOURCE...LAW ENFORCEMENT CONFIRMED TORNADO.

IMPACT...MOBILE HOMES WILL BE HEAVILY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.
         SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO ROOFS...WINDOWS AND VEHICLES WILL
         OCCUR. FLYING DEBRIS WILL BE DEADLY TO PEOPLE AND ANIMALS.
         EXTENSIVE TREE DAMAGE IS LIKELY.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
CATHARINE...VICTORIA AND EMMERAM.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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.

HEAVY RAINFALL MAY HIDE THIS TORNADO. DO NOT WAIT TO SEE OR HEAR THE
TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW.

&&

LAT...LON 3870 9959 3894 9964 3914 9960 3914 9904
      3913 9903 3889 9904 3870 9941
TIME...MOT...LOC 2348Z 236DEG 31KT 3905 9939

TORNADO...OBSERVED
HAIL...2.50IN

$$

RUSSELL

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 18, 3:00 AM CDT	Red Flag Warning	DDC	Grant, Hamilton, Kearny, Morton, Stanton, Stevens	18 hr
May 18, 3:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Trego	51 min
May 18, 4:08 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Lane, Ness, Trego	52 min
May 18, 5:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Ness, Trego	44 min
May 18, 5:34 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DDC	Trego	26 min
May 18, 5:38 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DDC	Ness, Trego	37 min
May 18, 5:46 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Ellis, Trego	44 min
May 18, 5:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Clark, Comanche, Ford	38 min
May 18, 5:58 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	DDC	Ness, Trego	6 hr
May 18, 6:01 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DDC	Ellis, Ness, Rush, Trego	29 min
May 18, 6:19 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Edwards, Hodgeman, Pawnee	41 min
May 18, 6:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Clark, Comanche, Ford, Kiowa	48 min
May 18, 6:57 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	DDC	Ellis	33 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 2013 Every tornado warning in 2013 Tornadoes in 2013

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.