Alert archive / Indiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 122, NWS Indianapolis, IN

July 17, 1996Clinton County, Howard County, Tipton County, Indiana

NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 17, 1996, 10:31 PM EST for Clinton County, Howard County, Tipton County, Indiana. It was in force for 44 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
Jul 17, 1996, 10:31 PM EST (03:31 UTC)
Expired
Jul 17, 1996, 11:15 PM EST
In force
44 min
Issued by
NWS Indianapolis, IN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Clinton County, IN, Howard County, IN, Tipton County, IN

The radar

The Indianapolis radar (KIND), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:32 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
Jul 17, 10:40 PM ESTThunderstorm WindRossville, 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 00:00Z, 3.5 hours before the alert went out and 231 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 1996-07-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2041 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 1996-07-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 18 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
2041 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1007 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
18 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
85 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.5
Supercell composite
2.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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, Jul 17, 4:45 PM EST, 5 hours 46 minutes before
INZ021>023-028>031-035>042-172300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
445 PM EST WED JUL 17 1996

...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN INDIANA UNTIL 1000
PM EST...

AT 430 PM EST STATE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT REPORTED DIME SIZE HAIL AND
40 MPH WINDS ABOUT 35 MILES NORTHWEST OF INDIANAPOLIS NEAR THE TOWN
OF THORNTOWN IN NORTHWEST BOONE COUNTY.

AT 440 PM EST RADAR INDICATED THAT THIS THUNDERSTORM HAD MOVE,D TO
NEAR FRANKFORT.  THIS THUNDERSTORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH AND
SHOULD REACH THE TOWN OF KOKOMO SHORTLY 500 PM EST.

JEH
Special weather statement, Jul 17, 5:59 PM EST, 4 hours 32 minutes before
INZ001>034-038-040-041-180000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
600 PM EST WED JUL 17 1996

...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN INDIANA UNTIL 1000
PM EST...

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM LAFAYETTE TO
MUNCIE TO PORTLAND. CITIES IN THE TORNADO WATCH INCLUDE GARY...SOUTH
BEND... FORT WAYNE...LAFAYETTE...KOKOMO...MUNCIE AND ANDERSON.

AT 555 PM EST RADAR INDICATED VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM JUST
SOUTH OF LAKE MICHIGAN TO ABOUT 20 MILES EAST OF KOKOMO.

THERE WERE ALSO STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER EAST CENTRAL INDIANA JUST
TO THE SOUTH OF RICHMOND.  ALL OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING
NORTHEAST AT AROUND 30 MPH.

0JEH
Special weather statement, Jul 17, 7:18 PM EST, 3 hours 13 minutes before
INZ001>034-038-040-041-180230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
716 PM EST WED JUL 17 1996

...A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN INDIANA UNTIL 1000
PM EST...

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM LAFAYETTE TO
MUNCIE TO PORTLAND. CITIES IN THE TORNADO WATCH INCLUDE GARY...SOUTH
BEND... FORT WAYNE...LAFAYETTE...KOKOMO...MUNCIE AND ANDERSON.

AT 710 PM EST RADAR INDICATED A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED
ABOUT 25 MILES NORTHEAST OF LAFAYETTE.  THIS STORM WAS MOVING
SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH AND WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHERN CARROLL AND
SOUTHERN CASS COUNTIES.

SO FAR THERE HAVE BEEN NO REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER WITH
THUNDERSTORM.  HOWEVER GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL IS POSSIBLE FROM
THE LOGANSPORT AREA TO MONTICELLO.

MEANWHILE MOST OF THE OTHER STORMS WERE OCCURRING TO THE SOUTH AND
SOUTHWEST OF CHICAGO AND ACROSS EXTREME NORTHERN INDIANA.  THESE
THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT AROUND 30 MPH.

JEH
Special weather statement, Jul 17, 9:04 PM EST, 1 hour 27 minutes before
INZ001>005-008>050-054>059-066-180800-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
905 PM EST WED JUL 17 1996

...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MUCH OF NORTHERN
AND CENTRAL INDIANA UNTIL 300 AM EST.

THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REPLACES THE TORNADO WATCH THAT WAS IN
EFFECT FOR NORTHERN INDIANA.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS FOR THAT PART OF INDIANA ALONG
AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM CLINTON TO 30 MILES SOUTH OF RICHMOND.

HOWEVER...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH DOES NOT INCLUDE STEUBEN AND
LAGRANGE COUNTIES OF EXTREME NORTHEAST INDIANA.

SOME CITIES INCLUDED IN THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH ARE...
SOUTH BEND...FORT WAYNE...LAFAYETTE...KOKXOMO...MUNCIE...ANDERSON...
INDIANAPOLIS AND RUSHVILLE.

JEH

The office that day

Everything else NWS Indianapolis, IN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 17, 8:27 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDCarroll, Cass, Howard63 min
Jul 17, 8:27 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDMiami63 min
Jul 17, 9:40 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDMadison, Tipton50 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Indiana, 1996Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.