Alert archive / South Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 21, NWS Aberdeen, SD

May 17, 1996Spink County, South Dakota

NWS Aberdeen, SD issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 17, 1996, 4:09 PM CDT for Spink County, South Dakota. It was in force for 66 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
May 17, 1996, 4:09 PM CDT (21:09 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 1996, 5:15 PM CDT
In force
66 min
Issued by
NWS Aberdeen, SD
Area
Whole counties

County Spink County, SD

The radar

The Aberdeen radar (KABR), 58 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:10 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 was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 17, 5:00 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 70Redfield, SD

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 12:00Z, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 6 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, Aberdeen, SD at 12:00Z on 1996-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1289 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, Aberdeen, SD at 12:00Z on 1996-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 137 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
1289 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-330 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
656 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
137 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
52 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KABR 172108
SVRABR
SDC115-172215-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
409 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1996

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ABERDEEN SD HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 515 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA

   ...SPINK COUNTY
 
AT 408 PM CDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS INDICATED BY ABERDEEN
DOPPLER RADAR 39 MILES NORTHWEST OF HURON OR 9 MILES WEST OF REDFIELD
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IS EXPECTED TO REACH...
REDFIELD                            AROUND 422 PM CDT
ATHOL                               AROUND 429 PM CDT
ASHTON                              AROUND 431 PM CDT
NORTHVILLE                          AROUND 442 PM CDT
MELLETTE                            AROUND 445 PM CDT
BRENTFORD                           AROUND 451 PM CDT
MANSFIELD                           AROUND 453 PM CDT
TURTON                              AROUND 457 PM CDT
CONDE                               AROUND 503 PM CDT
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 60
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL 3/4 INCH OR LARGER...DEADLY LIGHTNING AND
VERY HEAVY R(AIN THAT CAN QUICKLY FLOOD A LOW LYING AREA. IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM TAKE ACTION NOW TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY...
YOURSELF AND YOUR PROPERTY.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 17, 10:46 AM CDT, 5 hours 23 minutes before
MNZ039-046-SDZ005>008-010-011-017>023-171850-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
1047 AM CDT FRI MAY 17 1996

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE OVER NORTHEASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA
AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE NORTHEAST OUT OF NEBRASKA
THIS AFTERNOON AND SHOULD MOVE INTO WESTERN MINNESOTA THIS EVENING.
AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM THUNDERSTORMS WILL ERUPT OVER EASTERN SOUTH
DAKOTA AND WESTERN MINNESOTA.

SOME OF THOSE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SEVERE AND COULD EVEN PRODUCE
TORNADOES.  THE HIGHEST THREAT OF TORNADOES WILL BE OVER EXTREME
EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA AND WESTERN MINNESOTA.

RESIDENTS OVER EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA SHOULD
STAY CLOSE TO A RADIO OR TELEVISION AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS.  EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND COUNTY DISPATCH
OFFICES SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION OF SKYWARN THIS
AFTERNOON AfND EVENING.

TDK
Special weather statement, May 17, 2:52 PM CDT, 1 hour 17 minutes before
MNZ039-046-SDZ007-008-011-019>023-172025-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
252 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1996

A STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR
THE COUNTIES IN NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA AND PARTS OF WEST
CENTRAL MINNESOTA.  THE COUNTIES THAT ARE AFFECTED ARE:

CLARK...GRANT...CODINGTON...HAMLIN...DAY...MARSHALL...DEUEL AND
ROBERTS COUNTIES OF NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA.  TRAVERSE AND BIG
STONE COUNTIES OF WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA.

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 bFOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

SALMONS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Aberdeen, SD issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 10:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRCorson59 min
May 16, 10:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRCorson58 min
May 16, 11:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRDewey59 min
May 16, 11:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRCampbell57 min
May 16, 11:48 PM CDTTornado WarningABRCorson, Dewey32 min
May 17, 12:23 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRCampbell, Corson, Walworth52 min
May 17, 12:43 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRMcPherson47 min
May 17, 2:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRDay63 min
May 17, 2:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRMarshall62 min
May 17, 2:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRMarshall61 min
May 17, 3:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRHand29 min
May 17, 4:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRBrown63 min
May 17, 4:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRDay62 min
May 17, 4:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRMarshall63 min
May 17, 4:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRCodington, Grant49 min
May 17, 5:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRClark46 min
May 17, 5:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRMarshall49 min
May 17, 5:27 PM CDTTornado WarningABRCodington, Grant33 min
May 17, 5:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRDay48 min
May 17, 5:42 PM CDTTornado WarningABRGrant, Roberts48 min
May 17, 5:42 PM CDTTornado WarningABRCodington48 min
May 17, 5:42 PM CDTTornado WarningABRMarshall48 min
May 17, 6:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRDeuel49 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South Dakota, 1996Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1996

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.