Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Watches in 2017
Tornado Watch 250
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 19, 2017, 4:47 PM CDT for 15 counties in Kansas. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 19, 2017, 4:47 PM CDT (21:47 UTC)
- Expired
- May 19, 2017, 9:03 PM CDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 2 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
Counties Butler County, KS, Chase County, KS, Chautauqua County, KS, Cowley County, KS, Elk County, KS, Greenwood County, KS, Harper County, KS, Harvey County, KS, Kingman County, KS, Marion County, KS, McPherson County, KS, Reno County, KS, Rice County, KS, Sedgwick County, KS, Sumner County, KS
The radar
The Wichita radar (KICT), 20 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:48 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
- 20%
- 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
- 30%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
7 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 19, 5:04 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | ICT | Kingman | 40 min |
| May 19, 5:07 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | ICT | Kingman, Reno | 42 min |
| May 19, 5:27 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | ICT | Kingman, Reno | 48 min |
| May 19, 5:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ICT | Harvey, McPherson, Reno | 49 min |
| May 19, 5:55 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | ICT | Harvey, Sedgwick | 36 min |
| May 19, 7:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ICT | Chase | 48 min |
| May 19, 8:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ICT | Chase | 17 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
Dodge City, (KDDC), launched 12:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 204 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
- 593 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -19 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 547 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 77 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 94 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 234 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.4
- Supercell composite
- 2.2
The text
As transmitted.
021
WWUS20 KWNS 192136
SEL0
SPC WW 192136
KSZ000-OKZ000-200300-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 250
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
440 PM CDT Fri May 19 2017
The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a
* Tornado Watch for portions of
South-central Kansas
North-central Oklahoma
* Effective this Friday afternoon and evening from 440 PM until
1000 PM CDT.
* Primary threats include...
A few tornadoes possible
Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2
inches in diameter possible
Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
SUMMARY...Thunderstorms are forming over south-central Kansas and
north-central Oklahoma, in an environment favorable for low-topped
supercells. Isolated tornadoes will be possible, along with
damaging winds and hail in the strongest cells.
The tornado watch area is approximately along and 55 statute miles
north and south of a line from 50 miles southwest of Hutchinson KS
to 40 miles south of Emporia KS. For a complete depiction of the
watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU0).
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
REMEMBER...A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for
tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch
area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for
threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements
and possible warnings.
&&
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 246...WW 247...WW
248...WW 249...
AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 2 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 400. Mean
storm motion vector 25030.
...HartSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 7:06 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Atchison, Brown, Chase, Clay, Coffey, Dickinson and 23 more | 84 min |
| May 18, 9:41 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Johnson, Linn, Miami | 94 min |
| May 18, 9:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Atchison, Doniphan, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami and 1 more | 4 hr |
| May 19, 3:28 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cowley, Elk, Greenwood and 4 more | 92 min |
| May 19, 6:45 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cowley, Elk, Greenwood and 10 more | 60 min |
Nearby
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.