Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Watches in 2019
Tornado Watch 178
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 17, 2019, 10:35 PM CDT for 9 counties in Kansas. It was in force for 3 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 17, 2019, 10:35 PM CDT (03:35 UTC)
- Expired
- May 18, 2019, 2:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 2 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
Counties Clay County, KS, Cloud County, KS, Dickinson County, KS, Jewell County, KS, Mitchell County, KS, Osborne County, KS, Ottawa County, KS, Republic County, KS, Washington County, KS
The radar
The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 121 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:34 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
- 30%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 60%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 20%
- 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
- 90%
Warnings issued inside it
3 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 10:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GID | Jewell, Mitchell, Osborne | 39 min |
| May 17, 10:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Cloud, Ottawa, Republic | 52 min |
| May 17, 11:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | TOP | Clay, Cloud, Ottawa, Republic, Washington | 42 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
Topeka, KS (KFOE), launched 00:00Z, 3.6 hours before the alert went out and 180 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
- 186 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -217 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1950 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 27 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 120 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
As transmitted.
063
WWUS20 KWNS 180332
SEL8
SPC WW 180332
KSZ000-180700-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Tornado Watch Number 178
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
1035 PM CDT Fri May 17 2019
The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a
* Tornado Watch for portions of
North-central Kansas
* Effective this Friday night and Saturday morning from 1035 PM
until 200 AM CDT.
* Primary threats include...
A couple tornadoes possible
Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely
Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2
inches in diameter possible
SUMMARY...A complex of storms including a couple of supercells and
bowing segments will continue to move northeastward across the
region into the overnight hours. Damaging winds, large hail, and a
couple of tornadoes will all be possible.
The tornado watch area is approximately along and 50 statute miles
east and west of a line from 30 miles north northwest of Concordia
KS to 15 miles southwest of Salina KS. For a complete depiction of
the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS
WOU8).
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 173...WW 175...WW 177...
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 500. Mean
storm motion vector 22030.
...GuyerSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 7:00 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Clark, Finney, Ford, Gray, Haskell, Hodgeman and 2 more | 2 hr |
| May 17, 7:39 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Barton, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ellis, Ford and 11 more | 3 hr |
| May 17, 8:52 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Barton, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ellis, Ellsworth and 15 more | 5 hr |
| May 17, 9:55 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Edwards | 65 min |
| May 17, 11:14 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barton, Clay, Cloud, Dickinson, Ellis, Ellsworth and 30 more | 2 hr |
| May 17, 11:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Geary, Marshall, Nemaha, Pottawatomie, Riley | 3 hr |
| May 18, 7:47 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Butler, Chautauqua, Cowley, Elk, Greenwood, Harper and 6 more | 88 min |
| May 18, 9:38 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Allen, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Crawford, Elk and 4 more | 2 hr |
| May 18, 10:07 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Butler, Chautauqua, Cherokee and 11 more | 7 hr |
| May 18, 3:31 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barber, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ford, Gray and 6 more | 119 min |
| May 18, 3:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | Barber, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ellsworth, Ford and 16 more | 6 hr |
| May 18, 6:07 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Barber, Butler, Clark, Comanche, Cowley, Edwards and 12 more | 83 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.