Alert archive / Kansas / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 8, NWS Wichita, KS

June 4, 1996Cowley County, Sumner County, Kansas

NWS Wichita, KS issued this tornado warning at Jun 4, 1996, 7:51 PM CDT for Cowley County, Sumner County, Kansas. It was in force for 39 min. 5 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
Jun 4, 1996, 7:51 PM CDT (00:51 UTC)
Expired
Jun 4, 1996, 8:30 PM CDT
In force
39 min
Issued by
NWS Wichita, KS
Area
Whole counties

Counties Cowley County, KS, Sumner County, KS

The radar

The Wichita radar (KICT), 53 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:55 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
Jun 4, 8:03 PM CDTHail 1.75Caldwell, KS
Jun 4, 8:04 PM CDTHail 1.75Caldwell, KS
Jun 4, 8:07 PM CDTHail 1.75Argonia, KS
Jun 4, 8:07 PM CDTHail 1.75Argonia, KS
Jun 4, 8:07 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 61Argonia, KS

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

Norman, OK (KOUN), launched 00:00Z, 0.9 hours before the alert went out and 225 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, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 1996-06-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 614 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, Norman, OK at 00:00Z on 1996-06-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 66 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
614 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-102 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1707 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
66 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
204 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KICT 050052
TORICT
KSC035-191-050130-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
751 PM CDT TUE JUN 4 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WICHITA HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  830 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS
 
   ...WESTERN COWLEY COUNTY...EASTERN SUMNER COUNTY
 
AT 749 PM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A POTENTIAL
TORNADO 5 MILES WEST OF GEUDA SPRINGS OR 10 MILES NORTHWEST OF ARKANSAS
CITY. THE TORNADO WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.
 
AT 745 PM CDT...TRAINED STORM SPOTTERS REPORTED A BRIEF TORNADO
5 MILES WEST OF GEUDA SPRINGS. FUNNEL CLOUDS WERE STILL BEING OBSERVED
IN THE AREA.
 
 
 
IF YOU LIVE IN GEUDA SPRINGS OR ARKANSAS CITY...TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY
 
THIS UPGRADES THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FOR THESE AREAS.
 
THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS STORM.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE IN THE
PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF AVAILABLE.
OTHERWISE... GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A
STURDIER BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
 
 
RENO
&

The office that day

Everything else NWS Wichita, KS issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 4, 7:10 PM CDTTornado WarningICTSumner50 min
Jun 4, 7:13 PM CDTTornado WarningICTSumner47 min
Jun 4, 7:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTSumner29 min
Jun 4, 7:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTCowley, Sumner25 min
Jun 4, 8:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTSumner68 min
Jun 4, 8:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTChautauqua, Cowley40 min
Jun 5, 4:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTWoodson47 min
Jun 5, 5:12 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTWoodson33 min
Jun 5, 5:16 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningICTWoodson29 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kansas, 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.