Alert archive / South Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 27, NWS Aberdeen, SD

July 17, 1996Clark County, Codington County, South Dakota

NWS Aberdeen, SD issued this tornado warning at Jul 17, 1996, 10:14 PM CDT for Clark County, Codington County, South Dakota. It was in force for 31 min. 2 reports 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
Jul 17, 1996, 10:14 PM CDT (03:14 UTC)
Expired
Jul 17, 1996, 10:45 PM CDT
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Aberdeen, SD
Area
Whole counties

Counties Clark County, SD, Codington County, SD

The radar

The Aberdeen radar (KABR), 96 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:16 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
Jul 17, 10:16 PM CDTHail 0.75Garden City, SD
Jul 17, 10:31 PM CDTTornado F0Henry, 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 00:00Z, 3.2 hours before the alert went out and 74 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 00:00Z on 1996-07-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 4029 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 00:00Z on 1996-07-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 109 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
4029 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1079 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
109 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
168 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
4.3
Supercell composite
17.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KABR 180312
TORABR
SDC025-029-180345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
1014 PM CDT WED JUL 17 1996

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ABERDEEN SD HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1045 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...

IN NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA

   ...NORTHEASTERN CLARK COUNTY
   ...WESTERN CODINGTON COUNTY
 
THE COMMUNITIES MOST THREATENED BY THIS TORNADO...
BETWEEN BRADLEY AND GARDEN CITY THROUGH 1025 PM CDT.

AT 1010 PM CDT...A DEVELOPING TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY ABERDEEN
DOPPLER RADAR AND SPOTTER REPORTS 2 MILES NORTHEAST OF GARDEN CITY
MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...SEEK SHELTER IN A
BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR
ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...
PILLOWS OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS.

HG/MM

&

What forecasters said that day

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

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 17, 4:52 PM CDT, 5 hours 22 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
455 PM CDT WED JUL 17 1996

TIME(CDT)    ...CITY LOCATION....   STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS....
             ...COUNTY LOCATION...

0442 PM      2 N ISABEL             SD      1.75 HAIL
07/17/96     DEWEY

TDK
Local storm report, Jul 17, 5:05 PM CDT, 5 hours 9 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
507 PM CDT WED JUL 17 1996

TIME(CDT)    ...CITY LOCATION....   STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS....
             ...COUNTY LOCATION...

0410 PM      8 NE GLAD VALLEY        SD      .75 HAIL
07/17/96     CORSON

TDK
Local storm report, Jul 17, 7:53 PM CDT, 2 hours 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
753 PM CDT WED JUL 17 1996

TIME(CDT)    ...CITY LOCATION....   STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS....
             ...COUNTY LOCATION...

0706 PM      4 NE GROTON             SD     1.00 HAIL
07/17/96     BROWN

0736 PM      6 E 1 N GROTON          SD     TORNADO
07/17/96     BROWN                          BRIEF TOUCHDOWN

0740 PM      15 E GROTON             SD     TORNADO
07/17/96     DAY                            BRIEF TOUCHDOWN

MGM
Local storm report, Jul 17, 7:57 PM CDT, 2 hours 17 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
755 PM CDT WED JUL 17 1996

TIME(CDT)    ...CITY LOCATION....   STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS....
             ...COUNTY LOCATION...

0753 PM      PIERPONT                SD     TORNADO
07/17/96     DAY

TDK
Local storm report, Jul 17, 8:01 PM CDT, 2 hours 13 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
801 PM CDT WED JUL 17 1996

TIME(CDT)    ...CITY LOCATION....   STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS....
             ...COUNTY LOCATION...

0800 PM      2 E PIERPONT            SD     TORNADO
07/17/96     DAY                            LARGE TORNADO

MGM

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 17, 7:24 PM CDTTornado WarningABRDay46 min
Jul 17, 7:54 PM CDTTornado WarningABRDay46 min
Jul 17, 8:25 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningABRMarshall35 min
Jul 17, 8:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRMarshall35 min
Jul 17, 8:40 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningABRDay, Roberts50 min
Jul 17, 8:40 PM CDTTornado WarningABRDay, Roberts50 min
Jul 17, 9:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRDay47 min
Jul 17, 9:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningABRClark49 min
Jul 17, 10:50 PM CDTTornado WarningABRCodington45 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in South Dakota, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes 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.