Alert archive / Texas / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 14, NWS Fort Worth, TX

April 21, 1996Shackelford County, Texas

NWS Fort Worth, TX issued this tornado warning at Apr 21, 1996, 4:56 PM CDT for Shackelford County, Texas. It was in force for 64 min. 1 report 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
Apr 21, 1996, 4:56 PM CDT (21:56 UTC)
Expired
Apr 21, 1996, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
64 min
Issued by
NWS Fort Worth, TX
Area
Whole counties

County Shackelford County, TX

The radar

The Dyess AFB radar (KDYX), 24 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:55 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
Apr 21, 5:43 PM CDTHail 1.75Ft Griffin, 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 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 193 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 12:00Z on 1996-04-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1461 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Fort Worth, TX at 12:00Z on 1996-04-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 188 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1461 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-133 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
596 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
188 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
193 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
2.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KABI 212157
TORABI
TXC417-212300-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABILENE TX
456 PM CDT SUN APR 21 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ABILENE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  600 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS......
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS
 
   ...NORTHERN SHACKELFORD COUNTY
 
AT 450 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
POSSIBLE TORNADO 10 TO 15 MILES WEST OF ALzBANY MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40
MPH.
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...GO TO A BASEMENT OR
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING.

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, Apr 21, 12:23 PM CDT, 4 hours 33 minutes before
TXZ091>167-174-175-220300-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH TEXAS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
1153 AM CDT SUN APR 21 1996

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT OVER THE NORTHERN ONE-HALF OF NORTH TEXAS.  THE MODERATE RISK
IS FOR THAT AREA GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF A HASKALL-EASTLAND-
HILLSBORO-ATHENS-TYLER LINE.  MINERAL WELLS...SHERMAN...PARIS...
GRAHAM...SULPHUR SPRINGS AND THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH METROPLEX ARE
INCLUDED IN THE MODERATE RISK AREA.

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH TONIGHT OVER
THE REST OF NORTH TEXAS.  INCLUDED IN THE SLIGHT RISK AREA ARE THE
CITIES OF WACO...TEMPLE...KILLEAN...AND HAMILTON.

AT NOON A LOW PRESSURE CENTER WAS DEVELOPING BETWEEN AMARILLO AND
LUBBOCK...WITH A DRY LINE EXTENDING SOUTHEAST FROM THE LOW NEAR A
MATADOR-SNYDER-OZONA LINE.  THE SURFACE LOW WILL MOVE EAST TO NEAR
CHILDRESS BY 7PM WITH THE DRY LINE ALONG A HASKALL-ABILENE-SAN ANGELO
LINE.

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL FORM BY MID-AFTERNOON ALONG AND EAST OF
THE LOW AND DRY LINE...WITH THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO CENTRAL
SECTIONS OF NORTH TEXAS THIS EVENING.  THE MAIN THREATS FROM THESE
STORMS WILL BE FROM LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. THERE WILL ALSO BE
A THREAT OF TORNADOES...ESPECIALLY EAST THE SURFACE LOW.  SOME
TORNADO THREAT WILL CONTINUE INTO TONIGHT...MAINLY IN THE MODERATE
RISK AREA ACROSS NORTHERN SECTIONS OF NORTH TEXAS.  IN ADDITION...A
FLASH FLOOD THREAT IS LIKELY BY TONIGHT AND EARLY MONDAY...GENERALLY
IN NORTH AND NORTHEAST SECTIONS OF NORTH TEXAS.

LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES...STORM SPOTTER GROUPS...EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS...AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES SHOULD BE READY
FOR ACTIVATION IN WESTERN SECTIONS THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY
EVENING...CENTRAL SECTIONS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AND
EASTERN AREAS TONIGHT.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR UPDATES ON THIS POTENTIALLY
DANGEROUS SEVERE WEATHER EVENT.  AN UPDATED SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
WILL BE ISSUED BY LATE AFTERNOON.
Special weather statement, Apr 21, 12:38 PM CDT, 4 hours 18 minutes before
TXZ091>167-174-175-220300-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH TEXAS...CORRECTED...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
1233 PM CDT SUN APR 21 1996

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT OVER THE NORTHERN ONE-HALF OF NORTH TEXAS.  THE MODERATE RISK
IS FOR THAT AREA GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF A HASKALL-EASTLAND-
HILLSBORO-ATHENS-TYLER LINE.  MINERAL WELLS...SHERMAN...PARIS...
GRAHAM...SULPHUR SPRINGS AND THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH METROPLEX ARE
INCLUDED IN THE MODERATE RISK AREA.

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH TONIGHT OVER
THE REST OF NORTH TEXAS.  INCLUDED IN THE SLIGHT RISK AREA ARE THE
CITIES OF WACO...TEMPLE...KILLEAN...AND HAMILTON.

AT NOON A LOW PRESSURE CENTER WAS DEVELOPING BETWEEN AMARILLO AND
LUBBOCK...WITH A DRY LINE EXTENDING SOUTHEAST FROM THE LOW NEAR A
MATADOR-SNYDER-OZONA LINE.  THE SURFACE LOW WILL MOVE EAST TO NEAR
CHILDRESS BY 7PM WITH THE DRY LINE ALONG A HASKALL-ABILENE-SAN ANGELO
LINE.

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL FORM BY MID-AFTERNOON ALONG AND EAST OF
THE LOW AND DRY LINE...WITH THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO CENTRAL
SECTIONS OF NORTH TEXAS THIS EVENING.  THE MAIN THREATS FROM THESE
STORMS WILL BE FROM LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. THERE WILL ALSO BE
A THREAT OF TORNADOES...ESPECIALLY EAST OF THE SURFACE LOW.  SOME
TORNADO THREAT WILL CONTINUE INTO TONIGHT...MAINLY IN THE MODERATE
RISK AREA ACROSS NORTHERN SECTIONS OF NORTH TEXAS.  IN ADDITION...A
FLASH FLOOD THREAT IS LIKELY BY TONIGHT AND EARLY MONDAY...GENERALLY
IN NORTH AND NORTHEAST SECTIONS OF NORTH TEXAS.

STORM SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS SHOULD BE READY
FOR ACTIVATION IN WESTERN SECTIONS THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING...
CENTRAL SECTIONS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AND EASTERN AREAS
TONIGHT.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR UPDATES ON THIS POTENTIALLY
DANGEROUS SEVERE WEATHER EVENT.  AN UPDATED SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
WILL BE ISSUED BY LATE AFTERNOON.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Fort Worth, TX issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 20, 7:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHenderson68 min
Apr 21, 3:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDThrockmorton46 min
Apr 21, 3:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDJones, Taylor58 min
Apr 21, 3:41 PM CDTTornado WarningFWDJones, Taylor64 min
Apr 21, 3:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDCallahan, Shackelford67 min
Apr 21, 4:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHaskell59 min
Apr 21, 4:14 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDThrockmorton61 min
Apr 21, 4:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDJones59 min
Apr 21, 5:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDHaskell69 min
Apr 21, 5:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDThrockmorton63 min
Apr 21, 5:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDYoung60 min
Apr 21, 6:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDThrockmorton62 min
Apr 21, 6:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDJack49 min
Apr 21, 6:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFWDYoung46 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.