Alert archive / Nebraska / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 192

May 21, 20219 counties in Colorado; 15 counties in Nebraska; Bennett County, Oglala Lakota County, Todd County, South Dakota

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 21, 2021, 4:17 PM MDT for 9 counties in Colorado; 15 counties in Nebraska; Bennett County, Oglala Lakota County, Todd County, South Dakota. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 21, 2021, 4:17 PM MDT (22:17 UTC)
Expired
May 21, 2021, 10:00 PM MDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 27 counties

Cheyenne County, CO, Kit Carson County, CO, Logan County, CO, Morgan County, CO, Phillips County, CO, Sedgwick County, CO, Washington County, CO, Weld County, CO, Yuma County, CO, Arthur County, NE, Banner County, NE, Box Butte County, NE, Cherry County, NE, Cheyenne County, NE, Dawes County, NE, Deuel County, NE, Garden County, NE, Grant County, NE, Hooker County, NE, Keith County, NE, Kimball County, NE, Morrill County, NE, Scotts Bluff County, NE, Sheridan County, NE, Bennett County, SD, Oglala Lakota County, SD, Todd County, SD

The radar

The North Platte radar (KLNX), 121 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:18 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
20%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
5%
Ten or more severe wind reports
20%
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
40%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
60%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 21, 4:38 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSBox Butte, Dawes52 min
May 21, 5:26 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSBox Butte, Morrill, Scotts Bluff, Sioux49 min
May 21, 5:32 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSDawes43 min
May 21, 5:44 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningUNROglala Lakota27 min
May 21, 9:57 PM MDTTornado WarningGLDYuma33 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

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 120 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 12:00Z on 2021-05-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 177 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 12:00Z on 2021-05-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 361 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
177 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-372 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
633 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
361 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
395 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

211 
WWUS20 KWNS 212215
SEL2  
SPC WW 212215
COZ000-NEZ000-SDZ000-220400-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 192
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
415 PM MDT Fri May 21 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  northeast Colorado
  western Nebraska
  southern South Dakota

* Effective this Friday afternoon and evening from 415 PM until
  1000 PM MDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2
    inches in diameter possible
  Isolated damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
  A tornado or two possible

SUMMARY...Scattered storms developing over the central High Plains
this evening will become capable of producing large to very large
hail, downburst winds and a couple of tornadoes.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 70
statute miles east and west of a line from 65 miles northwest of
Valentine NE to 50 miles south southeast of Limon CO. For a complete
depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU2).

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REMEMBER...A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
favorable for 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. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
tornadoes.

&&

AVIATION...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
20035.

...Dial

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 21, 2:54 PM MDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCLogan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, Yuma3 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Nebraska, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Colorado, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in South Dakota, 2021Every severe thunderstorm watch in 2021

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.