Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 5, NWS Cheyenne, WY
NWS Cheyenne, WY issued this tornado warning at May 30, 1996, 4:58 PM MDT for Banner County, Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska. It was in force for 32 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 30, 1996, 4:58 PM MDT (22:58 UTC)
- Expired
- May 30, 1996, 5:30 PM MDT
- In force
- 32 min
- Issued by
- NWS Cheyenne, WY
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Banner County, NE, Scotts Bluff County, NE
The radar
The Cheyenne radar (KCYS), 110 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:57 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 30, 5:30 PM MDT | Hail 1.75 | Gering, NE | |
| May 30, 5:30 PM MDT | Hail 2.5 | Gering, NE | |
| May 30, 5:35 PM MDT | Hail 2.75 | Scottsbluff, NE |
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
Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 12:00Z, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 207 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
- 104 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -437 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1441 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 29 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 82 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 47 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 KCYS 302259 RRA TORCYS NEC007-157-302330- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 458 PM MDT THU MAY 30 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHEYENNE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 530 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE ...NORTHWESTERN BANNER COUNTY ...SOUTHWESTERN SCOTTS BLUFF COUNTY A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 25 MILES WEST OF SCOTTSBLUFF. THIS THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT 20 MPH. THE COMMUNITIES OF SCOTTS BLUFF AND HARRISBURG ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS WARNING AT THIS TIME! LARGE HAIL TO TWO INCHES IN DIAMETER...WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH... HEAVY RAIN...AND EVEN POSSIBLY A TORNADO ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM. GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR! LRE
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 30, 12:56 PM MDT, 4 hours 2 minutes before
WYZ065>066-067-302000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 1255 PM MDT THU MAY 30 1996 AT 1250 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 25 MILES NORTHWEST OF LARAMIE IN ALBANY COUNTY WYOMING. THE STORM WAS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 TO 30 MILES AN HOUR. SMALL HAIL...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED FROM THIS STORM UNTIL 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON. WCJIN-WYSE PAL
Special weather statement, May 30, 2:56 PM MDT, 2 hours 2 minutes before
WYZ060-067-068-069-070-NEZ001-002-003-019-020-021-054-055-302300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 254 PM MDT THU MAY 30 1996 ...A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING AND THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE UNTIL 9 PM THIS EVENING... THE AIRMASS OVER SOUTHEAST WYOMING AND THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE IS QUITE MOIST AND UNSTABLE THIS AFTERNOON. FORECASTED SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING HAVE ALREADY STARTED DEVELOPING. A STORM OVER PLATTE COUNTY WYOMING HAS ALREADY BECOME SEVERE WITH THREE QUARTER INCH HAIL REPORTED EARLIER. MEANWHILE THE WIND ENVIRONMENT IS FAVORABLE FOR THE THE POSSIBLE FORMATION OF SOME TORNADOES. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM THIS EVENING FOR SOUTHERN NIOBRARA...PLATTE...GOSHEN AND LARAMIE COUNTIES OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING. THE TORNADO WATCH ALSO INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE... BANNER...BOX BUTTE...CHEYENNE...DAWES...DEUEL...GARDEN... KIMBALL...MORRILL...SCOTTS BLUFF...SHERIDAN...AND SIOUX. WCJIN-WYSE-WYNE PAL &
Special weather statement, May 30, 4:35 PM MDT, 23 minutes before
WYZ055-058>060-310030- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 434 PM MDT THU MAY 30 1996 ...A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR PARTS OF NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL WYOMING THROUGH 1100 PM... THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR A SMALL PART OF EAST CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST WYOMING UNTIL 1100 PM. THIS WATCH INCLUDES WESTON AND NIOBRARA COUNTIES IN WYOMING. SOME CITIES IN THE WATCH ARE LUSK AND NEWCASTLE. A WATCH MEANS THAT WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE FAVROABLE FOR THE FORMATION OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS AND POSSIBLY TORNADOES. AT 425 PM...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED IN SOUTHERN GOSHEN COUNTY IN WYOMING. PEOPLE IN THE WATCH AREA SHOULD BE ALERT TO THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING...SOME OF WHICH MAY PRODUCE TORNADOES. IF A STORM APPROACHES MOVE TO AN INDOOR SHELTER AND BOATER SHOULD BE PREPARED TO MOVE OFF OF THE WATER QUICKLY. ANOTHER TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 PM FOR MUCH OF SOUTHEAST WYOMING. WCJIN-WYNE- WEILAND
Special weather statement, May 30, 4:51 PM MDT, 7 minutes before
NEZ019>021-054-055-310030- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHEYENNE WY 447 PM MDT THU MAY 30 1996 ...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF THE NEBRASKA PANHANDLE AND SOUTHEAST WYOMING UNTIL 900 PM THIS EVENING... THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHEAST COLORADO HAVE BEEN SEVERE AND SINCE 430 PM ARE STARTING TO MOVE INTO SOUTHWEST CHEYENNE COUNTY. BY 600 PM... INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE OVER MUCH OF CHEYENNE COUNTY AS WELL AS THE EAST PART OF KIMBALL COUNTY. THESE STORMS HAVE A HISTORY OF PRODUCING HAIL THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH TO ONE INCH DIAMETER HAIL AND AND THE WIND ENVIRONMENT REMAINED FAVORABLE FOR THE POSSIBLE FORMATION OF TORNADOES. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. BE AWARE OF CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THESE STORMS TAKE COVER INSIDE A BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. THESE ARE DANGEROUS STORMS AND ALL NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN. JMR
The office that day
Everything else NWS Cheyenne, WY issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 5:23 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | CYS | Banner, Scotts Bluff | 27 min |
| May 30, 5:41 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Morrill | 34 min |
| May 30, 5:58 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | CYS | Scotts Bluff | 32 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Nebraska, 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.