Alert archive / Wyoming / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Cheyenne, WY

July 13, 1996Platte County, Wyoming

NWS Cheyenne, WY issued this tornado warning at Jul 13, 1996, 7:38 PM MDT for Platte County, Wyoming. It was in force for 37 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
Jul 13, 1996, 7:38 PM MDT (01:38 UTC)
Expired
Jul 13, 1996, 8:15 PM MDT
In force
37 min
Issued by
NWS Cheyenne, WY
Area
Whole counties

County Platte County, WY

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 13, 7:40 PM MDTThunderstorm WindWheatland, WY

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

Rapid City, SD (KUNR), launched 00:00Z, 1.6 hours before the alert went out and 274 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, Rapid City, SD at 00:00Z on 1996-07-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 34 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, Rapid City, SD at 00:00Z on 1996-07-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 50 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
34 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-61 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2161 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
68 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
50 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
97 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 KCYS 140141
TORCYS
WYC031-140215-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
738 PM MDT SAT JUL 13 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHEYENNE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  815 PM MDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHEAST WYOMING
 
   ...SOUTHERN PLATTE COUNTY INCLUDING CHUGWATER...
 
AT 735 PM MDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT A TORNADAO WAS LIKELY
FORMING 13 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WHEATLAND MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 45 MPH.
 
THIS WARNING REPLACES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR PLATTE COUNTY.
 
DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED STRONG ROTATION IN THIS STORM.  IT HAS THE
POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY MOMENT!
 
IF YOU ARE IN A CAR OR MOBILE HOME...ABANDON IT!  GO IN A NEARBY
STURDY BUILDING! AS A LAST RESORT LIE FLAT IN A DITCH AND COVER YOUR
HEAD.
 
WCJIN-WYSE.
 
BAKER

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, Jul 13, 2:17 PM MDT, 5 hours 21 minutes before
WYZ067>070-132130-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
217 PM MDT SAT JUL 13 1996

...A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF WYOMING
UNTIL 900 PM...

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN KANSAS CITY HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH
FOR THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF WYOMING.  THIS WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL
900 PM.  THIS WATCH INCLUDES THE CITIES OF CHEYENNE...TORRINGTON...
WHEATLAND AND PINE BLUFFS.

A TORNADO WATCH MEANS THAT WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE FAVROABLE FOR THE
FORMATION OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND EVEN TORNADOES.

AT 210 PM...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED IN EXTREME SOUTHWEST
LARAMIE COUNTY.  OTHER THUNDERSTORMS WERE SCATTERED ABOUT SOUTHEAST
WYOMING...BUT WERE NOT AS STRONG.
<
NOW IS THE TIME TO PREPARE FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
AND TORNADOES.  PLEASE REVIEW SAFETY RULES AND LOCATE A NEARBY PLACE
OF SAFETY.  IOF A STORM APPROACHES...MOVE TO A SAFE SHELTER.

WCJIN-WYSE
WEILAND
Special weather statement, Jul 13, 3:51 PM MDT, 3 hours 47 minutes before
WYZ068-132215-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
350 PM MDT SAT JUL 13 1996

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING CONTINUES FOR EASTERN GOSHEN COUNTY UNTIL
4 PM MDT. AT 348 PM RADnAR SHOWED ONE STORM JUST EAST OF TORRINGTON AND
ANOTHER STORM 18 MILES NORTH OF TORRINGTON. THESE STORMS CONTINUED TO
MOVE SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

HARRISON
Local storm report, Jul 13, 5:52 PM MDT, 1 hour 46 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTION TO HAIL SIZE SECOND REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WYOMING
544 PM MDT SAT JUL 13 1996

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

0330 PM    CHEYENNE                  WY   .75 INCH HAIL
07/13/96   LARAMIE                        10NW CHEYENNE AT TELEPHONE
                                          AND HORSE CREEK ROADS

0335 PM    CHEYENNE                  WY   .75 INCH HAIL
07/13/96   LARAMIE                        THREE QUARTER TO FIVE
                                          EIGHTHS HAIL 2W CHEYENNE

0346 PM    CHEYENNE                  WY   1.25 INCH HAIL
07/13/96   LARAMIE                        ONE AND A QUARTER INCH
                                          HAIL 9SW CHEYENNE

0515 PM    GLENDO                    WY   1.75 INCH HAIL

07/13/96   PLATTE                         GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL AT
                p                          GLENDO (NUMBER OF OCCURRENCES)
Local storm report, Jul 13, 6:29 PM MDT, 1 hour 9 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WYOMING
625 PM MDT SAT JUL 13 1996

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

0330 PM    CHEYENNE                  WY   .75 INCH HAIL
07/13/96   LARAMIE                        10NW CHEYENNE AT TELEPHONE
                                          AND HORSE CREEK ROADS

0335 PM    CHEYENNE                  WY   .75 INCH HAIL
07/13/96   LARAMIE                        THREE QUARTER TO FIVE
                                          EIGHTHS HAIL 2W CHEYENNE

0346 PM    CHEYENNE                  WY   1.25 INCH HAIL
07/13/96   LARAMIE                        ONE AND A QUARTER INCH
                                          HAIL 9SW CHEYENNE

0515 PM    GLENDO                    WY   1.75 INCH HAIL
07/13/96   PLATTE                         GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL AT
                                          GLENDO (NUMBER OF OCCURRENCES)

0600PM     FT. LARAMIE               WY   1.75 INCH HAIL
07/13/96   GOSHEN                         GOLFBALL SIZED HAIL AT OLD
                                          FT. LARAMIE HISTORIC SITE

0610PM     FT. LARAMIE               WTY   1.25 INCH HAIL
07/13/96   GOSHEN                         AT TOWN OF FT. LARAMIE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Cheyenne, WY issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 13, 6:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSGoshen30 min
Jul 13, 6:33 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSGoshen27 min
Jul 13, 6:38 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSConverse37 min
Jul 13, 6:59 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSGoshen16 min
Jul 13, 7:01 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSPlatte29 min
Jul 13, 7:15 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSLaramie30 min
Jul 13, 7:27 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSPlatte33 min
Jul 13, 7:29 PM MDTTornado WarningCYSLaramie16 min
Jul 13, 8:00 PM MDTTornado WarningCYSLaramie30 min
Jul 13, 8:25 PM MDTTornado WarningCYSLaramie35 min
Jul 13, 9:01 PM MDTTornado WarningCYSLaramie29 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Wyoming, 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.