Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Watches in 2013

Tornado Watch 117

April 17, 201318 counties in Kansas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 17, 2013, 1:50 PM CDT for 18 counties in Kansas. It was in force for 8 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 17, 2013, 1:50 PM CDT (18:50 UTC)
Expired
Apr 17, 2013, 9:54 PM CDT
In force
8 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt

Counties Allen County, KS, Anderson County, KS, Chautauqua County, KS, Coffey County, KS, Cowley County, KS, Douglas County, KS, Elk County, KS, Franklin County, KS, Greenwood County, KS, Jefferson County, KS, Labette County, KS, Lyon County, KS, Montgomery County, KS, Neosho County, KS, Osage County, KS, Shawnee County, KS, Wilson County, KS, Woodson County, KS

The radar

The Topeka radar (KTWX), 75 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:54 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 SPC expected

The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.

Two or more tornadoes
50%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
30%
Ten or more severe wind reports
30%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
10%
Ten or more severe hail reports
40%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
40%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
95%

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Topeka, KS (KFOE), launched 12:00Z, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 49 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 2013-04-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 8 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 2013-04-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 667 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
8 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
423 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
667 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
666 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 17, 12:41 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarber, Butler, Chase, Clark, Comanche, Dickinson and 17 more94 min
Apr 17, 9:50 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, Anderson, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Coffey and 17 more55 min
Apr 17, 11:11 AM CDTTornado WatchSPCBourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn and 2 more11 hr
Apr 17, 1:09 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarber, Butler, Chautauqua, Cowley, Elk, Greenwood and 8 more96 min
Apr 17, 3:38 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Johnson, Linn, Miami and 1 more97 min
Apr 17, 6:02 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, Anderson, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Coffey and 16 more88 min
Apr 16, 8:44 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCSaint Louis, City of Saint Louis2 hr
Apr 17, 8:49 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Andrew, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton and 25 more56 min
Apr 17, 9:14 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAdair, Andrew, Clark, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry and 11 more10 hr
Apr 17, 1:33 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdair, Andrew, Clark, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry and 11 more57 min
Apr 17, 4:19 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCScotland26 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Kansas, 2013Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.