Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 10, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX

September 21, 1996DeWitt County, Texas

NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this tornado warning at Sep 21, 1996, 12:40 AM CDT for DeWitt County, Texas. It was in force for 65 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
Sep 21, 1996, 12:40 AM CDT (05:40 UTC)
Expired
Sep 21, 1996, 1:45 AM CDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
Area
Whole counties

County DeWitt County, TX

The radar

The Austin/San Antonio radar (KEWX), 95 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:41 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Sep 21, 12:59 AM CDTTornado F1Cuero, TX
Sep 21, 1:15 AM CDTHail 0.75Cuero, TX

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

Corpus Christi, TX (KCRP), launched 00:00Z, 5.7 hours before the alert went out and 150 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, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 1996-09-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 234 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Corpus Christi, TX at 00:00Z on 1996-09-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -46 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
234 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-264 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1539 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-46 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-7 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 KSAT 210544
TORSAT
TXC123-210645-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
1240 AM CDT SAT SEP 21 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  145 AM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...DE WITT COUNTY
 
DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR HOCHEIM MOVING SOUTHEAST
AT 20 MPH.
 
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM...ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH
OF THIS TORNADO...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF A STURDY BUILDING.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES.

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

Local storm report, Sep 20, 8:46 PM CDT, 3 hours 54 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED FOR TIME/DATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TEXAS
845 PM CDT FRI SEP 20 1996

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

720  PM    CASSIE                    TX   FUNNEL CLOUD OVER LAKE
09/20/96   BURNET                         REPORT FROM SHERIFF.

809  PM    SMITHWICK                 TX   TORNADO
09/20/96   BURNET                         REPORTED BY PUBLIC VIA MEDIA

1130 PM    GEORGETOWN                TX   FLOODING
09/19/96   WILLIANSAON                    STREET FLOODING.

1155 PM    GEORGETOWN                TX   1.75 HAIL
09/19/96   WILLIAMSON                     REPORTED BY DPS.

1215 AM    GEORGETOWN                TX   WIND DAMAGE
09/20/96   WILLIAMSON                     NUMEROUS TREES BLOWN DOWN.

1215 AM    GEORGETOWN                TX   FLOODING
09/20/96   WILLIAMSON                     MORE STREET FLOODING.

1217 AM    LAGO VISTA                TX   1.00 HAIL
09/20/96   TRAVIS                         REPORTED BY DPS.

0100 AM    AUSTIN                    TX   .75 HAIL
09/20/96   TRAVIS                         TRAVIS COUNTY SHRIFF.

0135 AM    BASTROP                   TX   .75 HAIL
09/20/96   BASTROP                        REPORTED BY DPS.

0135 AM    BASTROP                   TX   FLOODING
09/20/96   BASTROP                        1 FT OF WATER ON ROADS.

0200 AM    HORSESHOE BAY             TX   WIND DAMAGE
09/20/96   BURNET                         MINOR ROOF DAMAGE.

0200 AM    MARBLE FALLS              TX   FLOODING
09/20/96   BURNET                         FLOODING ON ALL LOW WATER
                                          CROSSINGS.

0220 AM    LOCKHART                  TX   WIND DAMAGE
09/20/96   CALDWELL                       TREES BLOWN DOWN.

0400 AM    GONZALES                  TX   FLOODING
09/20/96   GONZALES                       HEAVY STREET FLOODING.
:
Local storm report, Sep 20, 8:47 PM CDT, 3 hours 53 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TEXAS
845 PM CDT FRI SEP 20 1996

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

720  PM    CASSIE                    TX   FUNNEL CLOUD OVER LAKE
09/20/96   BURNET                         REPORT FROM SHERIFF.

809  PM    SMITHWICK                 TX   TORNADO
09/20/96   BURNET                         REPORT<ED BY PUBLIC VIA MEDIA
Local storm report, Sep 20, 9:35 PM CDT, 3 hours 5 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TEXAS
935 PM CDT FRI SEP 20 1996

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

720  PM    CASSIE                    TX   FUNNEL CLOUD OVER LAKE
09/20/96   BURNET                         REPORT FROM SHERIFF.

809  PM    SMITHWICK                 TX   TORNADO
09/20/96   BURNET                         REPORTED BY PUBLIC VIA MEDIA

855  PM    LAGO VISTA                TX   TORNADO
09/20/96   TRAVIS                         REPORTED BY POLICE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 20, 7:46 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningEWXTravis, Williamson3 hr
Sep 20, 7:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXTravis, Williamson3 hr
Sep 20, 7:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXBurnet64 min
Sep 20, 8:18 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXBurnet, Travis57 min
Sep 20, 8:56 PM CDTTornado WarningEWXTravis64 min
Sep 20, 9:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXHays59 min
Sep 20, 9:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXBastrop, Lee117 min
Sep 20, 10:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXHays65 min
Sep 20, 10:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXCaldwell59 min
Sep 20, 10:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXComal, Guadalupe55 min
Sep 21, 12:08 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningEWXLavaca52 min
Sep 21, 12:09 AM CDTTornado WarningEWXLavaca51 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Texas, 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.