Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 4, NWS Wilmington, OH
NWS Wilmington, OH issued this tornado warning at May 8, 1996, 5:47 PM EDT for Ohio County, Switzerland County, Indiana. It was in force for 28 min. 2 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 8, 1996, 5:47 PM EDT (21:47 UTC)
- Expired
- May 8, 1996, 6:15 PM EDT
- In force
- 28 min
- Issued by
- NWS Wilmington, OH
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Ohio County, IN, Switzerland County, IN
The radar
The Cincinnati radar (KILN), 118 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:46 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 8, 5:55 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Countywide, IN | |
| May 8, 5:55 PM EDT | Thunderstorm Wind 50 | Countywide, IN |
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
Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 12:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 120 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
- 89 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -15 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 611 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 13 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 3 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 22 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KILN 082149 TORILN INC115-155-082215- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH 547 PM EDT (447 PM EST) WED MAY 8 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 615 PM EDT (515 PM EST) FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN SOUTHEAST INDIANA ...OHIO COUNTY...SWITZERLAND COUNTY AT 445 PM EST LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES IN RIPLEY COUNTY REPORTED A TORNADO TOUCHDOWN JUST NORTH OF CANAAN IN JEFFERSON COUNTY. THE THE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING THIS TORNADO WAS MOVING TOWARD THE EAST- SOUTHEAST AT 40 MPH AND WILL MOVE THROUGH ABERDEEN AND FAIRVIEW BY 515 PM EST. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...A BASEMENT OR STORM CELLAR OFFERS THE BEST PROTECTION. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. A GOOD ALTERNATIVE SHELTER IS AN INTERIOR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. &
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 Wilmington, OH wrote its last area forecast discussion before this tornado warning went out at May 8, 2:13 PM EDT, 3 hours 34 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 8, 2:13 PM EDT, 3 hours 34 minutes before
FORECAST COORDINATION MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH 213 PM EDT WED MAY 8 1996 LATEST SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS WARM FRONT ACROSS CNTRL OH...BUT ONLY A LITTLE CLEARING HAS OCCURRED SOUTH OF THIS BOUNDARY. ADAP SHOWS ATMOSPHERE TO BE WEAKLY UNSTABLE FROM SFC PARCEL AND SOME MOISTURE CONVERGENCE OCCURRING OVER SWRN OH. EXPECT LARGE MCS TO MOVE INTO AREA LATE PM INTO THE EVENING HOURS. FLASH FLOOD WATCH WL BE EXTENDED THROUGH 400 AM THU PER COORDINATION WITH CLE. WARM FRONT WL CONT TO LIFT NWD OVERNIGHT REACHING NRN OH BY THU AM. MODELS SHOW BEST LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE AND MOISTURE OVER NRN AREAS SO HIGHEST POPS THERE. HOWEVER...FOR CMH-DAY AND SOUTH CONDITIONS WL BE UNSTABLE AND WITH POSSIBLE OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES WL INCLUDE CHC POPS THERE FOR THU PER COORDINATION WITH CLE. WL LEAVE SOUTH DRY FOR THU NIGHT WITH POPS INCLUDED FOR NORTH. CHC TRW AGAIN FOR FRI. PM HIGHS MAY BE A DEGREE OR TWO HIGH FOR NEXT FEW DAYS...BUT WL STICK CLOSE TO MOS TEMPS. CVG 64/83/65/82 7303 CMH 61/81/64/81 7324 DAY 61/80/63/81 7324 WILKINSON
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 8, 2:53 PM EDT, 2 hours 54 minutes before
KYZ089>092-094-095-INZ073-075-080-090100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH 253 PM EDT (153 PM EST) WED MAY 8 1996 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEASTERN INDIANA UNTIL 900 PM EDT (800 PM EST)... A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS EASTERN ILLINOIS WAS INTENSIFYING THIS AFTERNOON AND MOVING EASTWARD INTO WESTERN INDIANA. THE ATMOSPHERE ACROSS SOUTHERN INDIANA AND NORTHERN KENTUCKY WAS BECOMING UNSTABLE WHICH WILL ALLOW THESE STORMS TO MAINTAIN THEIR STRENGTH WHEN THEY ARRIVE LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS WHIC^H COULD CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. RESIDENTS OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEASTERN INDIANA SHOULD KEEP AN EYE TO THE SKY AND STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER UPDATES. WILKINSON
Special weather statement, May 8, 4:45 PM EDT, 1 hour 2 minutes before
KYZ089>092-094-095-INZ073-075-080-090100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH 253 PM EDT (153 PM EST) WED MAY 8 1996 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEASTERN INDIANA UNTIL 900 PM EDT (800 PM EST)... A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS EASTERN ILLINOIS WAS INTENSIFYING THIS AFTERNOON AND MOVING EASTWARD INTO WESTERN INDIANA. THE ATMOSPHERE ACROSS SOUTHERN INDIANA AND NORTHERN KENTUCKY WAS BECOMING UNSTABLE WHICH WILL ALLOW THESE STORMS TO MAINTAIN THEIR STRENGTH WHEN THEY ARRIVE LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS WHICH COULD CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. RESIDENTS OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEASTERN INDIANA SHOULD KEEP AN EYE TO THE SKY AND STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR THE LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER UPDATES. SANDLER...RESENT FOR COMMUNICATION TEST...
The office that day
Everything else NWS Wilmington, OH issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 4:59 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILN | Ripley | 41 min |
| May 8, 5:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILN | Switzerland | 30 min |
| May 8, 5:30 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILN | Dearborn, Ohio | 30 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Indiana, 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.