Alert archive / Kansas / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 202

May 24, 202110 counties in Kansas

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at May 24, 2021, 10:46 PM CDT for 10 counties in Kansas. It was in force for 2 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 24, 2021, 10:46 PM CDT (03:46 UTC)
Expired
May 25, 2021, 12:59 AM CDT
In force
2 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt

Counties Clark County, KS, Comanche County, KS, Finney County, KS, Ford County, KS, Grant County, KS, Gray County, KS, Haskell County, KS, Kiowa County, KS, Meade County, KS, Seward County, KS

The radar

The Dodge City radar (KDDC), 36 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:50 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
40%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
50%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
50%
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 24, 11:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCGrant, Haskell33 min
May 24, 11:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCHaskell, Seward36 min
May 25, 12:14 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDDCGray, Haskell, Meade, Seward29 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 00:00Z, 3.8 hours before the alert went out and 42 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, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 2021-05-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 520 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, Dodge City, at 00:00Z on 2021-05-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 49 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
520 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-135 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1195 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
49 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
69 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

472 
WWUS20 KWNS 250338
SEL2  
SPC WW 250338
KSZ000-250700-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 202
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
1035 PM CDT Mon May 24 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  Southwestern Kansas

* Effective this Monday night and Tuesday morning from 1035 PM
  until 200 AM CDT.

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

SUMMARY...A couple supercells with a history of severe to
significant/2-inch hail may persist for a few more hours over the
watch area with aid from a low-level jet, before strengthening
capping overcomes internal lift and weakens the convection.  A
tornado cannot be ruled out for another hour or so, especially with
the lead storm, but the main threat is transitioning to hail, with
locally severe gusts also possible.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 30
statute miles north and south of a line from 35 miles west southwest
of Garden City KS to 60 miles east southeast of Dodge City KS. 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.

&&

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 201...

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 550. Mean storm motion vector
29025.

...Edwards

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 24, 7:33 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarton, Ellis, Gove, Graham, Jewell, Lincoln and 9 more57 min
May 24, 8:07 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCFinney, Grant, Gray, Hamilton, Haskell, Kearny and 4 more83 min
May 24, 11:41 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCGreeley, Sherman, Wallace, Wichita94 min
May 25, 4:04 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCheyenne, Decatur, Graham, Norton, Rawlins, Sheridan and 3 more116 min

Nearby

Severe 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.