Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 8, NWS Sioux Falls, SD
NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 17, 1996, 8:45 PM CDT for O'Brien County, Iowa. It was in force for 30 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 17, 1996, 8:45 PM CDT (01:45 UTC)
- Expired
- May 17, 1996, 9:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 30 min
- Issued by
- NWS Sioux Falls, SD
- Area
- Whole counties
County O'Brien County, IA
The radar
The Sioux Falls radar (KFSD), 105 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:47 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 17, 8:51 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Sanborn, IA | |
| May 17, 8:55 PM CDT | Hail 1.75 | Sanborn, IA | |
| May 17, 9:00 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Sanborn, IA |
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
Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 206 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
- 3864 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -15 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1845 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -24 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 32 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KFSD 180145 SVRFSD IAC141-180215- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 845 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SIOUX FALLS HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 915 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTHWEST IOWA ...WESTERN O'BRIEN COUNTY AT 842 PM CDT...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS DETECTED BY SIOUX FALLS DOPPLER RADAR 25 MILES SOUTH OF SIBLEY OR NEAR PHILBY MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. THIS STORM CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE VICINITY OF... ARCHER AROUND 855 PM CDT SANBORN AROUND 905 PM CDT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55 MPH... DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OFTEN DO PRODUCE TORNDAOES WITH LITTLE OR NO WAR.NING. REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHWEST IOWA UNTIL 11 PM CDT. CHAPMAN
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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, May 17, 7:05 PM CDT, 1 hour 40 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
705 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1996
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0410 PM WESSINGTON SD 0.75 INCH HAIL
05/17/96 BEADLE
CHAPMANSpecial weather statement, May 17, 7:13 PM CDT, 1 hour 32 minutes before
SDZ007-011-019-020-022-023-039-040-054>056-060>062-180200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 710 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1996 ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 383 CANCELLED FOR FAR EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA EXCEPT CONTINUED UNTIL 9 PM CDT EXTREME NORTHEAST... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS CANCELLED THE PART OF TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 383 THAT WAS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF FAR EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA... EXCEPT FOR THE EXTREME NORTHEAST WHEREf THE WATCH CONTINUES UNTIL 9 PM CDT FOR ROBERTS AND GRANT COUNTIES. WILLIAMS
Special weather statement, May 17, 8:11 PM CDT, 34 minutes before
SDZ008-021-180200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 810 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1996 ...TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 383 CANCELLED FOR EXTREME NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS CANCELLED THE PART OF TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 383 THAT WAS IN EFFECT FOR EXTREME NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA. WILLIAMS
The office that day
Everything else NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 8:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Sioux | 32 min |
| May 17, 8:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Osceola | 33 min |
| May 17, 9:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Dickinson | 31 min |
| May 17, 9:20 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Woodbury | 35 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 1996Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.