Alert archive / South Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 8, NWS Aberdeen, SD
NWS Aberdeen, SD issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1996, 9:33 PM CDT for Codington County, Hamlin County, South Dakota. It was in force for 47 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
- May 18, 1996, 9:33 PM CDT (02:33 UTC)
- Expired
- May 18, 1996, 10:20 PM CDT
- In force
- 47 min
- Issued by
- NWS Aberdeen, SD
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Codington County, SD, Hamlin County, SD
The radar
The Aberdeen radar (KABR), 119 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:36 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 9:45 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 87 | Lake Norden, SD | |
| May 18, 9:50 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Hazel, 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, 2.6 hours before the alert went out and 96 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2021 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 68 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 46 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 100 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KABR 190233 TORABR SDC029-057-190320- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD 933 PM CDT SAT MAY 18 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ABERDEEN SD HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1020 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA ...SOUTHERN CODINGTON COUNTY ...HAMLIN COUNTY AT 930 PM CDT...A TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY ABERDEEN DOPPLER RADAR AND SPOTTER REPORTS 13 MILES SOUTHEAST OF CLARK OR 5 MILES SOUTH OF HENRY MOVING EAST AT 34 MPH. THE COMMUNITIES MOST THREATENED BY THIS TORNADO... HENRY AROUND 939 PM CDT HAZEL AROUND 941 PM CDT GROVER AROUND 947 PM CDT THOMAS AROUND 953 PM CDT FOLEY AROUND 957 PM CDT WATERTOWN AROUND 1003 PM CDT APPLEBY AROUND 1007 PM CDT RAUVILLE AROUND 1009 PM CDT 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. DEE
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
Special weather statement, May 18, 8:32 PM CDT, 1 hour 1 minute before
SDZ008-011-018-035>037-045-048-051-190700- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD 832 PM CDT SAT MAY 18 1996 ...TORNADO WATCH FOR CENTRAL AND PARTS OF NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA... ...TORNADO WATCH FOR PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA... A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT THIS EVENING UNTIL 1 AM CDT FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA...SECTIONS OF NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA...AND PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA. SOME COMMUNITIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH ARE...REDFIELD..SISSETON... CLARK...PIERRE...MILBANK...MILLER...WATERTOWN...AND ORTONVILLE. TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...STRONG WINDS...AND DEADLY LIGHTING ARE POSSIBLE IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THEH LATEST INFORMATION ON THE TORNADO WATCH. BUCKLEW
Special weather statement, May 18, 8:41 PM CDT, 52 minutes before
SDZ008-011-018-035>037-045-048-051-190700- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTED TO INCLUDE WEBSTER NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD 832 PM CDT SAT MAY 18 1996 ...TORNADO WATCH FOR CENTRAL AND PARTS OF NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA... ...TORNADO WATCH FOR PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA... A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT THIS EVENING UNTIL 1 AM CDT FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA...SECTIONS OF NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA...AND PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA. SOME COMMUNITIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH ARE...REDFIELD..SISSETON... CLARK...PIERRE...MILBANK...MILLER...WATERTOWN...WEBSTER AND ORTONVILLE. TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...STRONG WINDS...AND DEADLY LIGHTING ARE POSSIBLE IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATxCH AREA. STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON THE TORNADO WATCH. BUCKLEW
The office that day
Everything else NWS Aberdeen, SD issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 7:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ABR | Hughes, Hyde | 50 min |
| May 18, 7:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ABR | Hand | 48 min |
| May 18, 7:52 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ABR | Lyman | 48 min |
| May 18, 8:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ABR | Clark | 48 min |
| May 18, 9:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ABR | Codington, Hamlin | 46 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.