Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Watches in 2013
Tornado Watch 170
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 18, 2013, 1:42 PM MDT for 7 counties in Colorado; 54 counties in Kansas; 33 counties in Nebraska. It was in force for 8 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 18, 2013, 1:42 PM MDT (19:42 UTC)
- Expired
- May 18, 2013, 10:00 PM MDT
- In force
- 8 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 2.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 94 counties
Cheyenne County, CO, Kit Carson County, CO, Logan County, CO, Phillips County, CO, Sedgwick County, CO, Washington County, CO, Yuma County, CO, Barber County, KS, Barton County, KS, Butler County, KS, Chase County, KS, Cheyenne County, KS, Clark County, KS, Comanche County, KS, Cowley County, KS, Decatur County, KS, Edwards County, KS, Ellis County, KS, Ellsworth County, KS, Finney County, KS, Ford County, KS, Gove County, KS, Graham County, KS, Gray County, KS, Greeley County, KS, Harper County, KS, Harvey County, KS, Hodgeman County, KS, Kingman County, KS, Kiowa County, KS, Lane County, KS, Lincoln County, KS, Logan County, KS, Marion County, KS, McPherson County, KS, Meade County, KS, Mitchell County, KS, Ness County, KS, Norton County, KS, Osborne County, KS, Pawnee County, KS, Phillips County, KS, Pratt County, KS, Rawlins County, KS, Reno County, KS, Rice County, KS, Rooks County, KS, Rush County, KS, Russell County, KS, Saline County, KS, Scott County, KS, Sedgwick County, KS, Sheridan County, KS, Sherman County, KS, Smith County, KS, Stafford County, KS, Sumner County, KS, Thomas County, KS, Trego County, KS, Wallace County, KS, Wichita County, KS, Arthur County, NE, Banner County, NE, Box Butte County, NE, Chase County, NE, Cherry County, NE, Cheyenne County, NE, Dawes County, NE, Dawson County, NE, Deuel County, NE, Dundy County, NE, Franklin County, NE, Frontier County, NE, Furnas County, NE, Garden County, NE, Gosper County, NE, Grant County, NE, Harlan County, NE, Hayes County, NE, Hitchcock County, NE, Hooker County, NE, Keith County, NE, Kimball County, NE, Lincoln County, NE, Logan County, NE, McPherson County, NE, Morrill County, NE, Perkins County, NE, Phelps County, NE, Red Willow County, NE, Scotts Bluff County, NE, Sheridan County, NE, Sioux County, NE, Thomas County, NE
The radar
The Goodland radar (KGLD), 131 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:44 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
- 70%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 60%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 80%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 30%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 95%
Warnings issued inside it
95 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 2:15 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Kit Carson | 60 min |
| May 18, 2:54 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC | Trego | 51 min |
| May 18, 2:54 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Dawes, Sioux | 51 min |
| May 18, 2:58 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Thomas | 47 min |
| May 18, 3:02 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Graham | 43 min |
| May 18, 3:08 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC | Lane, Ness, Trego | 52 min |
| May 18, 3:09 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Kit Carson, Yuma | 51 min |
| May 18, 3:13 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Arthur, McPherson | 47 min |
| May 18, 3:14 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Washington | 46 min |
| May 18, 3:14 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Kit Carson | 61 min |
| May 18, 3:14 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Gove | 31 min |
| May 18, 3:20 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Cherry | 25 min |
| May 18, 3:29 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Yuma | 61 min |
| May 18, 3:38 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Graham, Sheridan | 52 min |
| May 18, 3:40 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Keith | 50 min |
| May 18, 3:43 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Gove | 47 min |
| May 18, 3:44 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Decatur, Rawlins, Sheridan, Thomas | 46 min |
| May 18, 3:47 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Graham | 58 min |
| May 18, 3:49 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Graham, Sheridan | 56 min |
| May 18, 3:50 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Cheyenne, Kimball | 40 min |
| May 18, 3:55 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Dawes | 50 min |
| May 18, 3:59 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Washington | 46 min |
| May 18, 3:59 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Arthur, Grant, Hooker, McPherson | 46 min |
| May 18, 4:01 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC | Ness, Trego | 44 min |
| May 18, 4:07 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Logan | 38 min |
| May 18, 4:08 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Graham | 37 min |
| May 18, 4:12 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | CYS | Dawes | 33 min |
| May 18, 4:14 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Sioux | 46 min |
| May 18, 4:17 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Morrill | 43 min |
| May 18, 4:18 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Decatur, Sheridan | 42 min |
| May 18, 4:23 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Rawlins | 52 min |
| May 18, 4:23 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Cheyenne, Kimball | 52 min |
| May 18, 4:24 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BOU | Washington | 51 min |
| May 18, 4:34 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | DDC | Trego | 26 min |
| May 18, 4:35 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Cheyenne, Kimball | 40 min |
| May 18, 4:38 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | DDC | Ness, Trego | 37 min |
| May 18, 4:45 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | CYS | Morrill | 30 min |
| May 18, 4:46 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC | Ellis, Trego | 44 min |
| May 18, 4:52 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC | Clark, Comanche, Ford | 38 min |
| May 18, 4:55 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Decatur, Norton | 35 min |
| May 18, 4:58 PM MDT | Flash Flood Warning | DDC | Ness, Trego | 6 hr |
| May 18, 5:00 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Decatur | 45 min |
| May 18, 5:01 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | DDC | Ellis, Ness, Rush, Trego | 29 min |
| May 18, 5:03 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Furnas | 42 min |
| May 18, 5:07 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Phillips, Rooks | 38 min |
| May 18, 5:07 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Sheridan | 38 min |
| May 18, 5:10 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Dawes | 20 min |
| May 18, 5:13 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Cheyenne, Morrill | 47 min |
| May 18, 5:19 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC | Edwards, Hodgeman, Pawnee | 41 min |
| May 18, 5:23 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Box Butte, Morrill | 52 min |
| May 18, 5:26 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Osborne, Smith | 49 min |
| May 18, 5:27 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC | Clark, Comanche, Ford, Kiowa | 48 min |
| May 18, 5:30 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | DDC | Ellis, Trego | 30 min |
| May 18, 5:30 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Phillips, Rooks | 45 min |
| May 18, 5:31 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Decatur | 59 min |
| May 18, 5:31 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Garden, Sheridan | 44 min |
| May 18, 5:32 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Chase | 43 min |
| May 18, 5:33 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Morrill | 27 min |
| May 18, 5:37 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Sheridan | 38 min |
| May 18, 5:38 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Sioux | 52 min |
| May 18, 5:40 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Deuel, Garden | 50 min |
| May 18, 5:43 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Sheridan | 47 min |
| May 18, 5:52 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Box Butte, Dawes | 38 min |
| May 18, 5:56 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Cheyenne, Morrill | 34 min |
| May 18, 5:57 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | DDC | Ellis | 33 min |
| May 18, 5:58 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Keith, Lincoln, Perkins | 47 min |
| May 18, 6:02 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Box Butte, Morrill, Scotts Bluff | 43 min |
| May 18, 6:03 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC | Edwards, Pawnee | 42 min |
| May 18, 6:09 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Franklin | 51 min |
| May 18, 6:09 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Sheridan | 51 min |
| May 18, 6:10 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | ICT | Russell | 50 min |
| May 18, 6:12 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Chase, Perkins | 48 min |
| May 18, 6:15 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | LBF | Arthur, Deuel, Garden, Keith | 30 min |
| May 18, 6:17 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | DDC | Edwards, Pawnee | 28 min |
| May 18, 6:20 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Logan, McPherson, Thomas | 40 min |
| May 18, 6:25 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | DDC | Ellis | 20 min |
| May 18, 6:29 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC | Barber, Comanche, Kiowa, Pratt | 46 min |
| May 18, 6:30 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Adams, Franklin, Kearney, Webster | 30 min |
| May 18, 6:35 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | LBF | Arthur, Keith, McPherson | 25 min |
| May 18, 6:39 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | GID | Osborne | 36 min |
| May 18, 6:40 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Keith, Perkins | 50 min |
| May 18, 6:42 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | DDC | Pawnee, Rush | 33 min |
| May 18, 6:48 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Keith, Lincoln, McPherson, Perkins | 42 min |
| May 18, 6:56 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Chase | 49 min |
| May 18, 6:59 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC | Barber, Comanche, Kiowa, Pratt, Stafford | 46 min |
| May 18, 7:04 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Arthur, Grant, Hooker, McPherson | 41 min |
| May 18, 7:09 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Blaine, Brown, Cherry, Thomas | 51 min |
| May 18, 7:11 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ICT | Harper, Kingman, Reno | 64 min |
| May 18, 7:15 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | ICT | Barton | 45 min |
| May 18, 7:17 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DDC | Stafford | 43 min |
| May 18, 7:22 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | DDC | Pawnee | 23 min |
| May 18, 7:28 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ICT | Barton, Rice | 62 min |
| May 18, 7:45 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LBF | Chase, Perkins | 45 min |
| May 18, 7:55 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ICT | Lincoln | 65 min |
| May 18, 8:01 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ICT | McPherson, Reno | 59 min |
Discussions around it
SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.
The nearest sounding before it
N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 12:00Z, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 102 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1531 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 568 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 30 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 140 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 163 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.8
- Supercell composite
- 3.7
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 1:09 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Logan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Yuma | 96 min |
| May 18, 4:15 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Kit Carson, Logan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, Yuma | 60 min |
| May 18, 1:19 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barber, Barton, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Finney and 18 more | 56 min |
| May 18, 5:42 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Jewell, Republic | 33 min |
| May 17, 9:26 PM MDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Arthur, Box Butte, Boyd, Brown, Cherry, Dawes and 9 more | 64 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Kansas, 2013Tornado Watches in Nebraska, 2013Tornado Watches in Colorado, 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.