Alert archive / Colorado / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 48, NWS Goodland, KS
NWS Goodland, KS issued this tornado warning at Aug 4, 1996, 7:56 PM MDT for Yuma County, Colorado. It was in force for 49 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
- Aug 4, 1996, 7:56 PM MDT (01:56 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 4, 1996, 8:45 PM MDT
- In force
- 49 min
- Issued by
- NWS Goodland, KS
- Area
- Whole counties
County Yuma County, CO
The radar
The Goodland radar (KGLD), 94 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:56 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 8:05 PM MDT | Hail 1.5 | Yuma, CO | |
| Aug 4, 8:20 PM MDT | Hail 0.88 | Wray, CO | |
| Aug 4, 8:30 PM MDT | Hail 0.88 | Vernon, CO |
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
Denver, CO (KDNR), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 70 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
- 1224 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -42 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2383 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 59 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 29 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 211 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 6.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KGLD 050153 TORGLD COC125-050245- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 756 PM MDT SUN AUG 4 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GOODLAND KS HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 845 PM MDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTHEAST COLORADO ...SOUTHERN YUMA COUNTY AT 755 PM MDT...A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS INDICATED BY GOODLAND DOPPLER RADAR 42 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WRAY OR 11 MILES NORTHWEST OF JOES MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH. THE TORNADO IS CURRENTLY EXPECTED TO REMAIN OVER RURAL AREAS. GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR! VJN
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 Goodland, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at Aug 4, 1:02 PM MDT, 6 hours 54 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 4, 1:02 PM MDT, 6 hours 54 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 102 PM MDT (202 PM CDT) SUN AUG 4 1996 SHRT TERM CHALLENGE WILL DEFINITELY BE SVR WX CHCS LT THIS AFT INTO TNGT. ETA GRIDDED DATA INDCS STRONG H7-H4 Q-VEC CNVRG BGNG OVR NE CO AND SPREADING ACROSS MOST OF THE CWA BY EVE WITH ACCOMPANYING LLVL MOISTURE CNVRG. FEEL ATTM...SPC MAY EXTEND ITS MODERATE AND SLIGHT RISKS FTHR S AND SLIGHTLY WEST INTO OUR CWA AS CAPE VALUES TO 4000 J AND MORE FAVORABLE WND PROFILES DVLP LTR TDA. INCRNG MID AND UPR LVL WNDS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE LARGEST HELICITY INCREASES OVR OUR AREA...ALTHOUGH ...AS SFC LOW DEEPENS MORE OVR WRN KS BY EVE...WNDS SHOULD BACK AT THE SFC...GIVING MORE LLVL CYCLONIC TURNING....SPCLY NERN COUNTIES. ATTM WILL WEIGHT HIER POPS TNGT ACROSS NE COUNTIES AND CALL FOR SOME STMS SVR WITH LARGE HAIL AS IT JUST IS A MATTER OF TM BEFORE OTHER WATCHES ARE ISSUED. IN THE OUT PERIODS...MODELS CONT TO FLIP FLOP ON THE AMOUNT OF COOLING XPCD BEHIND THE FNT. LTST ETA AND SPCLY THE NGM NOW INDC HI TEMPS RECOVERING QUICKLY ON MONDAY AS THE FNT BEGINS TO WASH OUT ACROSS CENTRAL KS. ATTM...WILL LKLY GO WITH TEMPS 1 CAT LWR THAN THIS MORNINGS FWC...MNLY DUE XPCD NRLY SFC WNDS BEHIND THE FNT AND GROUNDS THAT WILL LKLY BE MOISTENED AGN BY ADDITIONAL RNFL TNGT. WITH GD MID AND UPR LVL SUBSIDENCE XPCD ON MONDAY...SEE NO REASON FOR POPS ON MONDAY AND MONDAY NGT. WILL LEAVE POPS OUT ON TUE GVN THAT ITS 4TH PD AND SEE LTL FORCING TO RESULT IN PRECIP ATTM. HIGHS ON TUE SHOULD RECOVER CLSR TO FWC HIGHS. SEE CCF PTN FOR POP AND TEMP DETAILS. GLD 61/88/63/93 500 HLC 67/92/69/95 610 CBK 63/89/66/94 5-0 MCK 64/89/67/92 610 TRB 63/91/64/95 400 ITR 59/87/62/91 400 VJN
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 4, 5:12 PM MDT, 2 hours 44 minutes before
KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-050520- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 514 PM MDT (614 PM CDT) SUN AUG 4 1996 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS POSTED FOR ALL OF NORTHWEST KANSAS UNTIL 11 PM MDT (MIDNIGHT CDT)... CLUSTERS OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MAKING A RUN AT THE FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT FROM THE SOUTHWEST. LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT OVER THE FORECAST AREA. IN THE SHORT-TERM...AREAS EAST OF A TRIBUNE TO HOXIE LINE CAN EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO BE IN THE VICINITY THROUGH 9 PM MDT (10 PM CDT). UPSTREAM OVER PARTS OF SOUTHWEST KANSAS...HAIL TO ONE INCH HAS BEEN REPORTED. LATER TONIGHT...A STRONG UPPER-LEVEL SYSTEM WILL FURTHER ENHANCE ACTIVITY OVER MUCH OF NORTHWEST KANSAS. AT SIGNS OF AN IMPENDING STORM...TOWERING THUNDERHEADS...DARKENING SKIES...LIGHTNING AND INCREASING WINDS...MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY. TUNE IN NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL RADIO OR TV STATION FOR THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION. VOJTESAK
Special weather statement, Aug 4, 6:17 PM MDT, 1 hour 39 minutes before
NEZ079>081-050120- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS 617 PM MDT (717 PM CDT) SUN AUG 4 1996 ...TORNADO WATCH FOR EXTREME SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA UNTIL 1 AM MDT (2 AM CDT)... THIS REPLACES THE WATCH THAT WAS IN EFFECT FOR RED WILLOW COUNTY UNTIL 8 PM CDT. DANGEROUS THUNDERSTORMS THREATEN TO MOVE IN FROM COLORADO THIS EVENING. BY THE TIME YOU SEE STORMS APPROACHING...YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT TO DO IN CASE WARNINGS ARE ISSUED. IF YOU PLAN TO BE OUTDOORS THIS EVENING...CHECK THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION AND KEEP A WEATHER EYE ON THE SKY. JJK
The office that day
Everything else NWS Goodland, KS issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 7:36 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Yuma | 64 min |
| Aug 4, 7:52 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | GLD | Yuma | 48 min |
| Aug 4, 8:39 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | GLD | Yuma | 36 min |
| Aug 4, 9:09 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GLD | Yuma | 61 min |
| Aug 4, 9:43 PM MDT | Tornado Warning | GLD | Yuma | 47 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Colorado, 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.