Alert archive / Nebraska / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 195

May 22, 20214 counties in Kansas; 17 counties in Nebraska

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 22, 2021, 3:55 PM CDT for 4 counties in Kansas; 17 counties in Nebraska. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 22, 2021, 3:55 PM CDT (20:55 UTC)
Expired
May 22, 2021, 9:12 PM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 21 counties

Cheyenne County, KS, Rawlins County, KS, Sherman County, KS, Thomas County, KS, Arthur County, NE, Chase County, NE, Cheyenne County, NE, Deuel County, NE, Dundy County, NE, Frontier County, NE, Garden County, NE, Grant County, NE, Hayes County, NE, Hitchcock County, NE, Hooker County, NE, Keith County, NE, Kimball County, NE, Lincoln County, NE, McPherson County, NE, Morrill County, NE, Perkins County, NE

The radar

The North Platte radar (KLNX), 136 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:54 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
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
70%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 22, 4:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLBFDeuel, Garden, Keith51 min
May 22, 4:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGLDRawlins32 min
May 22, 5:31 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLBFFrontier3 hr

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, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 68 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 2021-05-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 308 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 2021-05-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 246 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
308 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-258 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
550 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
246 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
264 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

131 
WWUS20 KWNS 222052
SEL5  
SPC WW 222052
KSZ000-NEZ000-230400-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 195
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
255 PM MDT Sat May 22 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  Northwest Kansas
  Southwest Nebraska

* Effective this Saturday afternoon and evening from 255 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...Strong to severe thunderstorms will continue to develop
generally northeastward across the region, especially in vicinity of
a front that extends from northeast Colorado into southwest Nebraska
including areas near/north of Ogallala. Large hail and damaging
winds are possible, and a tornado risk may also exist, especially
near the aforementioned boundary near Ogallala.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 55
statute miles east and west of a line from 90 miles northwest of
North Platte NE to 40 miles east southeast of Goodland KS. For a
complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline
update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5).

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.

&&

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 193...WW 194...

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
22025.

...Guyer

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 21, 7:30 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCheyenne, Elbert, Kit Carson, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan and 4 more90 min
May 22, 11:51 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Arapahoe, Crowley, Denver, Douglas, Elbert and 8 more114 min
May 22, 1:20 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAdams, Arapahoe, Bent, Cheyenne, Crowley, Denver and 17 more8 hr
May 22, 2:34 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCPhillips, Sedgwick, Washington116 min
May 22, 5:51 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBent, Cheyenne, Crowley, Elbert, Kiowa, Kit Carson and 10 more114 min
May 22, 6:31 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCPhillips, Sedgwick119 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Nebraska, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Kansas, 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.