Alert archive / Indiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 142, NWS Indianapolis, IN

October 17, 1996Greene County, Owen County, Indiana

NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Oct 17, 1996, 8:50 PM EST for Greene County, Owen County, Indiana. It was in force for 25 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 17, 1996, 8:50 PM EST (01:50 UTC)
Expired
Oct 17, 1996, 9:15 PM EST
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS Indianapolis, IN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Greene County, IN, Owen County, IN

The radar

The Indianapolis radar (KIND), 80 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:54 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 181 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, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 1996-10-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 1996-10-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -226 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
577 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
62 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-226 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-122 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KIND 180151
SVRIND
INC055-119-180215-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
850 PM EST THU OCT 17 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN INDIANAPOLIS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  915 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHWEST INDIANA
 
   ...EASTERN GREENE COUNTY
 
IN WEST CENTRAL INDIANA
 
   ...SOUTHEASTERN OWEN COUNTY
 
AT 850 PM EST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM 30 MILES WEST OF BLOOMINGTON...NEAR SWITZ CITY. THE STORM
WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH TOWARDS THE TOWNS OF
BLOOMFIELD...WORTHINGTON...AND FREEMAN.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.
 
CES/DE

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, Oct 17, 3:39 PM EST, 5 hours 11 minutes before
INZ002>089-180230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
340 PM EST THU OCT 17 1996

...THERE WILL BE THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING AND MUCH COOLER AIR
TOMORROW...

THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE OVER WEST INDIANA EARLY THIS EVENING. SEVERE
STORMS WITH DAMAGING WIND AND LARGE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE. THUNDERSTORMS
WILL MOVE OVER EAST INDIANA LATER IN THE EVENING. STRONG STORMS ARE
POSSIBLE OVER EAST INDIANA.

A COLD FRONT WILL PASS THROUGH OUR STATE THIS EVENING. VERY MILD
SOUTH WINDS WILL CHANGE TO COOLER WEST AND NORTHWEST WINDS. THE
COOLER AIR WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE OVER THE STATE TOMORROW. TOMORROWS
TEMPERATURES WILL BE 20 TO 30 DEGREES COOLER THAN TODAYS...IN THE
MIDDLE B40S TO AROUND 50 DEGREES OVER NORTH INDIANA AND IN THE 50S
OVER THE SOUTH.

FROST AND FREEZING TEMPERATURES WILL OCCUR OVER MUCH OF INDIANA
TOMORROW NIGHT. LOW TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE IN THE LOWER TO MIDDLE
30S.

DS
Special weather statement, Oct 17, 6:06 PM EST, 2 hours 44 minutes before
INZ019-021-028-029-030-031-032-033-034-035-036-037-038-039-040-
041-042-043-044-045-046-047-048-049-051-052-053-054-055-056-057-
060-061-062-063-064-065-067-068-069-070-071-076-077-081-082-083-
084-085-086-087-088-089-171800-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
605 AM EST (705 AM EDT) THU OCT 17 1996

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST...

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED UNTIL 1 AM EST FOR PARTS OF
SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL INDIANA.

THE WATCH INCLUDES THAT PART OF INDIANA SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES
NORTHWEST OF LAFAYETTE TO 40 MILES NORTHEAST OF MUNCIE AND NORTHWEST OF LINE FROM RICHMOND TO LOUISVILLE.

SOME CITIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH ARE INDIANAPOLIS...BLOOMINGTON...
TERRE HAUTE...COLUMBUS...EVANSVILLE...LAFAYETTE AND KOKOMO.

AT 6 PM EST...THUNDERSTORMS...SOME SEVERE...STRETCHED FROM CHICAGO TO
NEAR ST. LOUIS AND WERE MOVING EAST. THIS LINE OF STORMS WILL MOVE
ACROSS INDIANA THROUGH 1 AM EST.

CONLEY
Special weather statement, Oct 17, 7:19 PM EST, 1 hour 31 minutes before
INZ019-021-028>049-051>057-060>065-067>071-076-081>089-180230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
718 PM EST THU OCT 17 1996

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST...

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH CONTINUES UNTIL 1 AM EST FOR PARTS OF
SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL INDIANA.

THE WATCH INCLUDES THAT PART OF INDIANA SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 40 MILES
NORTHWEST OF LAFAYETTE TO 40 MILES NORTHEAST OF MUNCIE AND NORTHWEST
OF LINE FROM RICHMOND TO LOUISVILLE.

SOME CITIES INCLUDED IN THE WATCH ARE INDIANAPOLIS...BLOOMINGTON...
TERRE HAUTE...COLUMBUS...EVANSVILLE...LAFAYETTE AND KOKOMO.

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING OVER WEST AND NORTHWEST INDIANA.
THE STORMS< WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

CES

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 17, 7:28 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDFountain, Parke, Vermillion32 min
Oct 17, 7:48 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDTippecanoe42 min
Oct 17, 8:00 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDMontgomery30 min
Oct 17, 8:11 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDBoone, Clinton34 min
Oct 17, 8:14 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDClay, Owen31 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.