Alert archive / Nebraska / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 22, NWS Hastings, NE

August 4, 1996Hall County, Nebraska

NWS Hastings, NE issued this tornado warning at Aug 4, 1996, 7:50 PM CDT for Hall County, Nebraska. It was in force for 40 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
Aug 4, 1996, 7:50 PM CDT (00:50 UTC)
Expired
Aug 4, 1996, 8:30 PM CDT
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS Hastings, NE
Area
Whole counties

County Hall County, NE

The radar

The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 62 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:51 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
Aug 4, 8:00 PM CDTTornado F0Grand Is, 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

N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE (KLBF), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 178 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 00:00Z on 1996-08-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3040 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, N. Platte/Lee Bi, NE at 00:00Z on 1996-08-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 38 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
3040 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-28 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1320 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
38 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
81 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.7
Supercell composite
6.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KGRI 050050
TORGRI
NEC079-050130-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
750 PM CDT SUN AUG 4 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HASTINGS NE  HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  830 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA
 
   ...HALL COUNTY
 
...PERSONS IN ALDA AND WOOD RIVER SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IN A BASEMENT OR
TORNADO SHELTER NOW!
 
AT 750 PM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A POSSBILE TORNADO 12 MILES
NORTHWEST OF HASTINGS...OR JUST SOUTH OF THE WOOD RIVER INTERCHANGE.
THIS STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH AND WILL APPROACH GRAND ISLAND
AROUND 810 PM.
 
PERSONS IN THE WARNED AREA SHOULD TAKE SHELTER IN A BASEMENT IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR.  CARS AND MOBILE HOMES SHOULD BE ABANDONED.
 
MLM/JAB

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.

NWS Hastings, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Aug 4, 2:28 PM CDT, 5 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 4, 2:28 PM CDT, 5 hours 22 minutes before
CENTRAL NEBRASKA/NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
226 PM CDT SUN AUG 4 1996

SEVERE WEATHER THREAT TONIGHT OF IMMEDIATE CONCERN.

KUEX 88D WITH THUNDERSTORMS REPEATING OVER SAME AREA FROM LXN TO
GREELEY.  NEXT TRIGGER MECHANISM APPEARS TO LINE OF RETURN FROM LBF TO
MCK.  THIS ALSO SEEN ON 1KM VIS SHOT.  THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TO
INCREASE OVER NEBRASKA CWA BY LATE AFTERNOON.  WIND PROFILE AND HIGH
INSTABILITY MAY SUPPORT ISOLATED SUPERCELLS.  WILL LIKELY MENTION
POSSIBLE OF SEVERE IN NORTH CENTRAL ZONES TONIGHT WITH CYCLOGENISIS IN
NORTHWEST KANSAS STRENGTHENING SFC MOISTURE CONVERG.

VERY QUICK LOOK AT MODELS...ONLY AVN/ETA GRIDS...GIVES THIS
INTERPRETATION.  BOTH AVN/ETA GRIDDED DATA MOVE H7 WAV FROM COLORADO UP
INTO CWA BY TONIGHT.  FINE UPPER DIVERGENCE IN RR QUAD OF JET FROM
NORTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA TO NORTH DAKOTA.  THE COMBINATION OF FAVORALBE
JET DYNAMICS AND WAVE MAY QUICK MORE INTENSE STORMS TOWARD MIDNIGHT.
THIS COULD VERY WELL BE THE BEGINNING OF THE TALKED ABOUT MCS MOVING
INTO IOWA REGION.

FRONT NEVER REALLY COMES ON THROUGH AS UPPER FLOW LEAVES LITTLE TO PUSH
IT.  ACTUALLY...ANOTHER COLD POOL OF -25C H5 AIR OVER BRITISH COLUMBIA
ATTM WILL DIVE INTO BACK SIDE OF TROF.  EXPECT THIS TO ACTUALLY BE COLD
PUSH...AS LEAD FRONT WILL WASH OUT...RETREAT OR WHAT HAVE YOU.  THE
SECOND FRONT LOOKS LIKE IT MAY WORK IN HERE TUESDAY...FURTHER NORTH
WILL HAVE BEST DYNAMICS AT FIRST GLANCE.

GUIDANCE WISE...WENT A BIT WARMER THAN PREVIOUS FORECAST GIVING SLOWING
FRONT.  WILL BE VERY WARM AND HUMID SOUTH TONIGHT.  PER CALL WITH TOP
WILL HIGHLIGHT THIS.  AMOUNT OF SUNSHINE NORTH TOMORROW STILL IN
QUESTION AND WILL PLAY LROLE IN TEMPS.  LIKE THE FWC POPS BETTER.

GRI 070/088 63             HBR 071/091 63
ODX 068/086 73             BEL 073/094 43
LXN 066/084 62

MORITZ

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 4, 3:30 PM CDT, 4 hours 20 minutes before
KSZ005>007-017>019-NEZ039>041-046>049-060>064-072>077-082>087-050500-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HASTINGS NE
329 PM CDT SUN AUG 4 1996

...SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA AND FOR A PART
   OF NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS...

SPOTTER ACTION...IT IS EXPECTED SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE NEEDED
ACROSS THE AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT.

SYNOPSIS...

THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP LATE THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL NEBARSKA AND NORTH CENTRAL
KANSAS.

AT 315 PM...A TORNADO WATCH WAS IN EFFECT FOR NEARLY ALL OF SOUTH
CENTRAL NEBRASKA UNTIL 800 PM.

TEMPERATURES IN THE UPPER 80S TO LOWER 90S...AND SURFACE DEWPOINTS IN
THE LOWER 70S HAVE COMBINED TO FORM A VERY UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER THE
REGION.  ONE AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THE REST OF THE
AFTERNOON NORTH AND WEST OF A LINE FROM CENTRAL CITY NEBRASKA TO
PHILLIPSBURG KANSAS.  A FEW OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE AS
THEY MOVE QUICKLY NORTHEAST.  THUNDERSTORMS SOUTH AND EAST OF THAT LINE
WILL LIKELY OCCUR AFTER 500 PM.

BY THIS EVENING...A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL PUSH NORTH INTO
NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS AND SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA.  THIS DISTURBANCE WILL
TEAM WITH INCREASING LIFT IN THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE AND TRIGGER NUMEROUS
THUNDERSTORMS.  WIND PROFILES AND THE HIGH INSTABILITY WILL HELP
PRODUCE AN ENVIRONMENT FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...SOME OF
WHICH WILL PRODUCE LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND POSSIBLY TORNADOES.

EVEN THOUGH THE INITIAL TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM IN
SOUTH CENTRAL NEBRASKA...THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY FOR SEVERE WEATHER
TO CONTINUE INTO THE NIGHT OVER THE AREA. ( ALL INTERESTED PARTIES
SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS POTENT WEATHER SITUATION BE PREPARED TO
TAKE ACTION.  LISTEN TO LOCAL MEDIA OR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADIO
FOR THE LATEST STATEMENTS AND FORECASTS.

MORITZ

The office that day

Everything else NWS Hastings, NE issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 4, 7:20 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDHall, Howard, Merrick40 min
Aug 4, 11:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDBuffalo, Kearney, Phelps35 min
Aug 5, 12:23 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGIDFranklin, Webster37 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.