Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2015

Tornado Warning 18, NWS Dodge City, KS

May 4, 2015Finney County, Kansas

NWS Dodge City, KS issued this tornado warning at May 4, 2015, 7:14 PM CDT for Finney County, Kansas. It was in force for 12 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 4, 2015, 7:14 PM CDT (00:14 UTC)
Expired: May 4, 2015, 7:26 PM CDT
In force: 12 min
Issued by: NWS Dodge City, KS
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Radar indicated
Hail: 1.0 in

County Finney County, KS

The radar

The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 66 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:17 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 00:00Z, 0.2 hours before the alert went out and 70 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: 489 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -20 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1955 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 111 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

479 
WFUS53 KDDC 050014
TORDDC
KSC055-050045-
/O.NEW.KDDC.TO.W.0018.150505T0014Z-150505T0045Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
714 PM CDT MON MAY 4 2015

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DODGE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTH CENTRAL FINNEY COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS...

* UNTIL 745 PM CDT
    
* AT 712 PM CDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A
  TORNADO WAS LOCATED 12 MILES NORTH OF PIERCEVILLE...MOVING
  NORTHEAST AT 15 MPH.

  HAZARD...TORNADO AND QUARTER SIZE HAIL. 

  SOURCE...RADAR INDICATED ROTATION. AT 708 PM A TORNADO WAS         
           REPORTED 11 MILES NORTHEAST OF GARDEN CITY. 

  IMPACT...FLYING DEBRIS WILL BE DANGEROUS TO THOSE CAUGHT WITHOUT 
           SHELTER. MOBILE HOMES WILL BE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. 
           DAMAGE TO ROOFS...WINDOWS AND VEHICLES WILL OCCUR.  TREE 
           DAMAGE IS LIKELY. 

* THIS TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF
  NORTH CENTRAL FINNEY COUNTY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE COVER NOW! MOVE TO A BASEMENT OR 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.

TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER CONTACT YOUR NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.
THEY WILL SEND YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN
DODGE CITY.

&&

LAT...LON 3801 10061 3803 10069 3818 10062 3814 10048
TIME...MOT...LOC 0012Z 209DEG 13KT 3806 10062 

TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
HAIL...1.00IN

$$

GERARD

1 follow-up statement

455 
WWUS53 KDDC 050026
SVSDDC

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
726 PM CDT MON MAY 4 2015

KSC055-050036-
/O.CAN.KDDC.TO.W.0018.000000T0000Z-150505T0045Z/
FINNEY KS-
726 PM CDT MON MAY 4 2015

...THE TORNADO WARNING FOR NORTH CENTRAL FINNEY COUNTY IS
CANCELLED...
                
THE STORM WHICH PROMPTED THE WARNING HAS WEAKENED BELOW SEVERE
LIMITS...AND NO LONGER APPEARS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO.
THEREFORE THE WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED.  HOWEVER HEAVY RAIN IS
STILL POSSIBLE WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM.

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

LAT...LON 3801 10061 3803 10069 3818 10062 3814 10048
TIME...MOT...LOC 0025Z 209DEG 13KT 3811 10059 

$$

GERARD

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 4, 7:35 PM CDT	Areal Flood Warning	DDC	Finney	3 hr
May 4, 8:16 PM CDT	Areal Flood Warning	DDC	Lane	119 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 2015 Every tornado warning in 2015 Tornadoes in 2015

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.