Alert archive / Wyoming / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 28, NWS Cheyenne, WY

July 31, 1996Laramie County, Wyoming

NWS Cheyenne, WY issued this tornado warning at Jul 31, 1996, 2:52 PM MDT for Laramie County, Wyoming. It was in force for 38 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 31, 1996, 2:52 PM MDT (20:52 UTC)
Expired
Jul 31, 1996, 3:30 PM MDT
In force
38 min
Issued by
NWS Cheyenne, WY
Area
Whole counties

County Laramie County, WY

The nearest sounding before it

Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 202 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, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 1996-07-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 66 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Denver, CO at 12:00Z on 1996-07-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 49 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 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
66 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-290 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1655 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
49 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
61 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 312054
TORCYS
WYC021-312130-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
252 PM MDT WED JUL 31 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHEYENNE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  330 PM MDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHEAST WYOMING
 
   ...EASTERN LARAMIE COUNTY
 
AT 250 PM MDT A POTENTIAL TORNADO WAS INDICATED TO BE 15 MILES NORTHEAST
OF CHEYENNE WYOMING. THE THUNDERSTORM ASSOCIATED WITH THIS APPARENT
TORNADO WAS MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH. THE PRESENT PATH OF THIS STORM WOULD
PLACE IT EIGHT MILES NORTH OF BURNS WYOMING BY 310 PM MDT.
 
 
DOPPLER RADAR DETECTED STRONG ROTATION IN THIS STORM.  IT HAS THE
POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY MOMENT!
 
 
WCJIN-WYSE
WTP

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 31, 9:19 AM MDT, 5 hours 33 minutes before
WYZ059>070-NEZ001>003-019>021-054-055-312300-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
920 AM MDT WED JUL 31 1996

THE SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL IN THE COUNTY WARNING AREA OF THE CHEYENNE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IS MEDIUM THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING...MAINLY IN THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NECESSARY FOR THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE.

DISCUSSION...THE AIRMASS OVER SOUTHEAST WYOMING IS EXPECTED TO DRY OUT
SOME DURING THE DAY AS A SURFACE LOWS PRESSURE TROUGH MOVES E OF THE
STATE WITH DOWNSLOPE WESTERLY FLOW DEVELOPING AT THE SURFACE DURING THE
AFTERNOON.  THE AIRMASS OVER THE NEBRASKA WILL REMAIN MOIST TODAY AS
SOUTHEAST UPSLOPE WINDS KEEP DEW POINTS IN THE UPPER 50S.  BETTER
INSTABILITIES AND CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL ENERGY ARE PROGED OVER THE
NEBRASKA PANHANDLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.  THE WIND PROFILE WILL
ALSO REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR THE FORMATION OF SOME SUPER CELLS OVER THE
NEBRASKA PANHANDLE.

THIS OUTLOOK IS FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN SOUTHEAST WYOMING AND
THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE:

WY...ALBANY   CARBON   CONVERSE   GOSHEN   LARAMIE   NIOBRARA   PLATTE
NE...BANNER   BOX BUTTE   CHEYENNE   DAWES   KIMBALL   MORRILL   SIOUX
     STCOTTS BLUFF

WCJIN-WYSE-WYNE
PAL
Special weather statement, Jul 31, 12:17 PM MDT, 2 hours 35 minutes before
WYZ059-064-066-067-069-070-311900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
1210 PM MDT WED JUL 31 1996

AT 1205 PM MDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING
OVER EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WYOMING.  ONE STORM THAT DEVELOPED
OVER EASTERN NATRONA COUNTY WAS MOVING INTO THE WEST END OF CONVERSE
COUNTY AND WAS LOCATED 15 MILES WEST OF GLENROCK OR 35 MILES WEST
NORTHWEST OF DOUGLAS.  A SECOND STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED
25 MILES NORTHWEST OF WHEATLAND IN PLATTE COUNTY.  A THIRD STORM
WAS LOCATED OVER NORTH CHEYENNE.  THIS STORM WAS PRODUCING SMALL
HAIL...1/2 INCH IN DIAMETER.  STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT
20 MILES AN HOUR.

SMALL HAIL...XBRIEF HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS
TO 45 MILES AN HOUR CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS UNTIL 115 PM.

WCJIN-WYSE-WYNE
PAL
Special weather statement, Jul 31, 2:23 PM MDT, 29 minutes before
NEZ001-019-020-054-312115-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY
216 PM MDT WED JUL 31 1996

A NUMBER OR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER THE EAST WYOMING
PLAINS THIS AFTERNOON.  A TORNADO WARNING RMAINS IN EFFECT OF STORMS IN
NIOBRARA COUNTY WYOMING.  A SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WARNING IS CURRENTLY
IN EFFECT FOR A STORM IN SOUTHERN GOSHEN COUNTY WYOMING.  STRONG STORMS
WERE ALSO INDICATED IN EASTERN LARAMIE COUNTY.

THESE STOTRMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL ENTER
SIOUX...SCOTTS BLUFF AND KIMBALL COUNTIES BETWEEN 230 TO 300 PM.

A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE UNTIL
9 PM MDT.

PAL

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 30, 6:44 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSGoshen31 min
Jul 30, 7:04 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSLaramie26 min
Jul 31, 1:43 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSConverse62 min
Jul 31, 2:00 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSGoshen, Platte60 min
Jul 31, 2:04 PM MDTTornado WarningCYSNiobrara56 min
Jul 31, 2:28 PM MDTTornado WarningCYSConverse32 min
Jul 31, 2:40 PM MDTTornado WarningCYSGoshen50 min
Jul 31, 3:07 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSGoshen, Niobrara68 min
Jul 31, 3:28 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSGoshen47 min
Jul 31, 3:35 PM MDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningCYSLaramie40 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.