Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 2015

Tornado Warning 56, NWS Dodge City, KS

November 16, 2015Gray County, Meade County, Seward County, Kansas

NWS Dodge City, KS issued this tornado warning at Nov 16, 2015, 5:52 PM CST for Gray County, Meade County, Seward County, Kansas. It was in force for 38 min. 5 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: Nov 16, 2015, 5:52 PM CST (23:52 UTC)
Expired: Nov 16, 2015, 6:30 PM CST
In force: 38 min
Issued by: NWS Dodge City, KS
Area: Storm-based polygon
Tornado: Observed
Damage threat: Considerable
Hail: 1.75 in

Counties Gray County, KS, Meade County, KS, Seward County, KS

The radar

The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 60 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:52 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
Nov 16, 6:07 PM CST	TORNADO	4 W Plains City, KS	CHASER ESTIMATED A QUARTER MILE WIDE TORNADO
Nov 16, 6:07 PM CST	TORNADO	5 Nne Kismet, KS	CHASER ESTIMATED A QUARTER MILE WIDE TORNADO
Nov 16, 6:20 PM CST	TSTM WND DMG	7 S Montezuma, KS	EMERGENCY MANAGER REPORTING POWER POLES SNAPPED OFF AND POWER LINES ACROSS THE ROAD AT HH ROAD BETWEEN ROAD 15 AND 16.
Nov 16, 6:29 PM CST	TORNADO	8 Nnw Missler, KS	A LARGE TORNADO CONTINUES AND IS VERY WELL DEFINED FROM OBSERVERS.
Nov 16, 6:30 PM CST	TORNADO	2 Ese Kismet, KS	DAMAGE TO AT LEAST ONE RESIDENCE, HOG FARMS AND POWER LINES WAS REPORTED FROM THE TORNADO THAT PASSED THROUGH THE AREA.

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
Nov 16, 1:00 PM CST	Tornado Watch	SPC	8 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 12:00Z, 11.9 hours before the alert went out and 65 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1361 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 230 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 148 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.

608 
WFUS53 KDDC 162352
TORDDC
KSC069-119-175-170030-
/O.NEW.KDDC.TO.W.0056.151116T2352Z-151117T0030Z/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DODGE CITY KS
552 PM CST MON NOV 16 2015

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DODGE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN GRAY COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS...
  NORTHEASTERN SEWARD COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS...
  NORTHERN MEADE COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS...

* UNTIL 630 PM CST

* AT 551 PM CST...A CONFIRMED LARGE AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TORNADO
  WAS LOCATED VERY NEAR KISMET...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH.

  THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. 

  HAZARD...DAMAGING TORNADO. 

  SOURCE...EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT CONFIRMED TORNADO. 

  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. 

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...
  PLAINS AROUND 600 PM CST.
  MISSLER AROUND 610 PM CST.

* THIS WARNING REPLACES THE TORNADO WARNING ISSUED EARLIER FOR
  CENTRAL SEWARD COUNTY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TO REPEAT...A LARGE...EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND POTENTIALLY DEADLY
TORNADO IS ON THE GROUND. TO PROTECT YOUR LIFE...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.

&&

LAT...LON 3710 10075 3721 10086 3752 10050 3756 10023
      3750 10022 3748 10022 3748 10021 3735 10018
TIME...MOT...LOC 2351Z 226DEG 41KT 3720 10069 

TORNADO...OBSERVED
TORNADO DAMAGE THREAT...CONSIDERABLE
HAIL...1.75IN

$$

GERARD

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Nov 16, 2:53 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Grant, Morton, Stanton, Stevens	67 min
Nov 16, 2:57 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	DDC	Kearny	48 min
Nov 16, 3:11 PM CST	Tornado Warning	DDC	Morton, Stevens	34 min
Nov 16, 3:24 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Finney, Kearny, Scott	51 min
Nov 16, 3:26 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Hamilton	32 min
Nov 16, 3:45 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Finney, Grant, Haskell, Kearny, Stevens	60 min
Nov 16, 3:48 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Lane	29 min
Nov 16, 3:52 PM CST	Tornado Warning	DDC	Grant, Haskell, Kearny, Stevens	38 min
Nov 16, 3:57 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Scott	48 min
Nov 16, 4:24 PM CST	Tornado Warning	DDC	Finney, Grant, Haskell, Kearny	51 min
Nov 16, 4:29 PM CST	Tornado Warning	DDC	Scott	16 min
Nov 16, 4:59 PM CST	Tornado Warning	DDC	Finney, Gray, Lane	46 min
Nov 16, 5:04 PM CST	Special Weather Statement	DDC	Seward	41 min
Nov 16, 5:23 PM CST	Tornado Warning	DDC	Seward, Stevens	37 min
Nov 16, 5:34 PM CST	Tornado Warning	DDC	Finney, Hodgeman, Lane, Ness	41 min
Nov 16, 5:54 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Lane, Scott	35 min
Nov 16, 5:59 PM CST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	DDC	Finney, Kearny, Scott	61 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.