Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX

September 20, 1996Travis County, Texas

NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX issued this tornado warning at Sep 20, 1996, 8:56 PM CDT for Travis County, Texas. It was in force for 64 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
Sep 20, 1996, 8:56 PM CDT (01:56 UTC)
Expired
Sep 20, 1996, 10:00 PM CDT
In force
64 min
Issued by
NWS Austin/San Antonio, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Travis County, TX

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Sep 20, 8:58 PM CDTTornado F1Lago Vista, TX
Sep 20, 9:35 PM CDTHail 2North Portion, TX
Sep 20, 9:55 PM CDTThunderstorm WindSoutheast Austin, 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

Fort Worth, TX (KFWD), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 281 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 1996-09-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1680 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, Fort Worth, TX at 00:00Z on 1996-09-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 90 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
1680 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-32 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
961 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
90 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
125 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.9
Supercell composite
4.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KSAT 210158 RRA
TORSAT
TXC453-210300-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
856 PM CDT FRI SEP 20 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...TRAVIS COUNTY
 
AT 855 PM...DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE A TORNADIC THUNDERSTORM
TO THE NORTHWEST OF BEE CAVE. THIS STORM IS MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT
25 MPH.
 
 
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW
SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD.
 
TORNADOES WHICH OCCUR AFTER DARK ARE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS.  GET TO
A PLACE OF SAFETY NOW!  STAY AWAY FROM DOORS AND WINDOWS...BUT GET
OUT OF MOBILE HOMES AND CARS.
 
IF YOU SEE SEVERE WEATHER TAKING PLACE...CALL YOUR REPORT TO
THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR IMMEDIATE RELAY TO THEh
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

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, 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
Sep 21, 12:40 AM CDTTornado WarningEWXDeWitt65 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.