Alert archive / Wyoming / Tornado Watches in 2018

Tornado Watch 319

July 28, 20188 counties in Nebraska; 10 counties in Wyoming

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 28, 2018, 2:34 PM MDT for 8 counties in Nebraska; 10 counties in Wyoming. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 28, 2018, 2:34 PM MDT (20:34 UTC)
Expired
Jul 28, 2018, 10:00 PM MDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
3.5 in
Strongest gust expected
65 kt

Counties Banner County, NE, Box Butte County, NE, Cheyenne County, NE, Dawes County, NE, Kimball County, NE, Morrill County, NE, Scotts Bluff County, NE, Sioux County, NE, Albany County, WY, Campbell County, WY, Converse County, WY, Goshen County, WY, Johnson County, WY, Laramie County, WY, Natrona County, WY, Niobrara County, WY, Platte County, WY, Weston County, WY

The radar

The Rapid City radar (KUDX), 192 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:33 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
60%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
20%
Ten or more severe wind reports
40%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
40%
Ten or more severe hail reports
60%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
60%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
90%

Warnings issued inside it

25 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 28, 3:02 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSConverse43 min
Jul 28, 3:12 PM MDTTornado WarningCYSConverse48 min
Jul 28, 3:27 PM MDTTornado WarningCYSGoshen, Platte33 min
Jul 28, 3:32 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSConverse, Niobrara, Platte43 min
Jul 28, 3:49 PM MDTTornado WarningCYSAlbany, Converse, Platte41 min
Jul 28, 3:55 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSBanner35 min
Jul 28, 4:23 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRIWFremont, Hot Springs, Natrona39 min
Jul 28, 4:26 PM MDTTornado Warning Tornado observedConsiderable damage threatCYSAlbany, Converse, Platte34 min
Jul 28, 4:29 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSBanner, Kimball46 min
Jul 28, 4:49 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningUNRCampbell40 min
Jul 28, 4:51 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSDawes, Sioux39 min
Jul 28, 4:53 PM MDTTornado WarningCYSGoshen, Platte52 min
Jul 28, 5:13 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSBanner, Kimball47 min
Jul 28, 5:34 PM MDTTornado Warning Tornado observedCYSCheyenne, Kimball26 min
Jul 28, 5:43 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSGoshen, Platte47 min
Jul 28, 5:53 PM MDTFlash Flood WarningCYSCheyenne, Kimball4 hr
Jul 28, 5:56 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSConverse64 min
Jul 28, 6:01 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSCheyenne, Kimball29 min
Jul 28, 6:16 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRIWNatrona33 min
Jul 28, 6:28 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSAlbany, Carbon35 min
Jul 28, 7:05 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSBanner, Kimball40 min
Jul 28, 7:44 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSPlatte46 min
Jul 28, 9:08 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningRIWJohnson37 min
Jul 28, 9:09 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningUNRCampbell66 min
Jul 28, 9:36 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSCheyenne24 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

Rapid City, SD (KRAP), launched 12:00Z, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 185 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, Rapid City, SD at 12:00Z on 2018-07-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Rapid City, SD at 12:00Z on 2018-07-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -16 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1215 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
63 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

437 
WWUS20 KWNS 282032
SEL9  
SPC WW 282032
NEZ000-SDZ000-WYZ000-290400-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 319
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
235 PM MDT Sat Jul 28 2018

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Tornado Watch for portions of 
  Western Nebraska Panhandle
  Far southwest South Dakota
  Eastern Wyoming

* Effective this Saturday afternoon and evening from 235 PM until
  1000 PM MDT.

* Primary threats include...
  A few tornadoes likely
  Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 3.5
    inches in diameter likely
  Scattered damaging winds and isolated significant gusts to 75
    mph possible

SUMMARY...Multiple splitting supercells are anticipated to develop
east-southeast with a very large hail and tornado risk. This
activity should eventually consolidate into a couple clusters,
especially into the Nebraska Panhandle later this evening.

The tornado watch area is approximately along and 70 statute miles
east and west of a line from 100 miles north of Douglas WY to 35
miles east of Cheyenne WY. For a complete depiction of the watch see
the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU9).

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.

&&

AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
surface and aloft to 3.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
gusts to 65 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 550. Mean
storm motion vector 28035.

...Grams

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 28, 2:17 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBanner, Box Butte, Cheyenne, Dawes, Kimball, Morrill and 2 more88 min
Jul 28, 5:01 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCArthur, Chase, Deuel, Dundy, Frontier, Garden and 8 more119 min
Jul 28, 5:40 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCArthur, Chase, Deuel, Dundy, Frontier, Garden and 9 more7 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Wyoming, 2018Tornado Watches in Nebraska, 2018Every tornado watch in 2018

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.