Alert archive / South Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 11, NWS Columbia, SC
NWS Columbia, SC issued this tornado warning at May 29, 1996, 5:55 PM EDT for Lancaster County, South Carolina. It was in force for 45 min. 3 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 29, 1996, 5:55 PM EDT (21:55 UTC)
- Expired
- May 29, 1996, 6:40 PM EDT
- In force
- 45 min
- Issued by
- NWS Columbia, SC
- Area
- Whole counties
County Lancaster County, SC
The radar
The Columbia radar (KCAE), 90 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:56 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 29, 6:11 PM EDT | Hail 1.75 | Lancaster, SC | |
| May 29, 6:15 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 60 | Lancaster, SC | |
| May 29, 6:20 PM EDT | Hail 1.75 | Heath Springs, SC |
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
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 171 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
- 974 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 87 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 186 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- -0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KCAE 292156 TORCAE SCC057-292240- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 555 PM EDT WED MAY 29 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN COLUMBIA HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 640 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTH CAROLINA ...SOUTHERN LANCASTER COUNTY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES A POSSIBLE TORNADO MOVING INTO WESTERN LANCASTER COUNTY JUST EAST OF FT LAWN AROUND 605 PM. THIS STORM IS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH AND WILL BE MOVING TOWARD THE TOWN OF HEATH SPRINGS BY 630 PM. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF AVAILABLE. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE O6F STURDY FURNITURE. OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES.
The office that day
Everything else NWS Columbia, SC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 6:23 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Kershaw | 67 min |
| May 29, 7:26 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | CAE | Kershaw, Lee | 49 min |
| May 29, 7:52 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CAE | Lancaster | 38 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in South Carolina, 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.