Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Indianapolis, IN

April 19, 1996Fountain County, Parke County, Vermillion County, Indiana

NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this tornado warning at Apr 19, 1996, 4:51 PM EST for Fountain County, Parke County, Vermillion County, Indiana. It was in force for 69 min. 7 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: Apr 19, 1996, 4:51 PM EST (21:51 UTC)
Expired: Apr 19, 1996, 6:00 PM EST
In force: 69 min
Issued by: NWS Indianapolis, IN
Area: Whole counties

Counties Fountain County, IN, Parke County, IN, Vermillion County, IN

The radar

The Indianapolis radar (KIND), 90 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:55 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

Time	Report	Where
Apr 19, 5:20 PM EST	Hail 2.75	St Bernice, IN
Apr 19, 5:30 PM EST	Hail 2.75	Rockville, IN
Apr 19, 5:31 PM EST	Hail 1	Clinton, IN
Apr 19, 5:32 PM EST	Hail 2.75	Blanford, IN
Apr 19, 5:49 PM EST	Hail 2.75	Rockville, IN
Apr 19, 5:53 PM EST	Hail 1.75	Mecca, IN
Apr 19, 5:56 PM EST	Hail 1	Bellmore, 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

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 9.9 hours before the alert went out and 113 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 2232 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 33 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 34 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 192152
TORIND
INC045-121-165-192300-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
451 PM EST FRI APR 19 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN INDIANAPOLIS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  600 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL INDIANA
 
   ...SOUTHERN FOUNTAIN COUNTY...NORTHERN PARKE COUNTY
   ...VERMILLION COUNTY
 
AT 450 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
POSSIBLE TORNADO APPROACHING THE INDIANA STATE LINE 35 MILES NORTHWEST
OF TERRE HAUTE INDIANA. THE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING THE TORNADO WILL MOVE
INTO VERMILLION COUNTY BY 500 PM EST. PEOPLE IN VERMILLION COUNTY SHOULD
MOVE TO SAFE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
 
THE TORNADO WILL MOVE INTO NORTHERN PARKE AND SOUTHERN FOUNTAIN COUNTIES
BY 530 PM EST.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BA(SEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
 
GCL

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 18, 10:37 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Parke, Putnam	53 min
Apr 19, 12:33 AM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Clay, Vigo	42 min
Apr 19, 5:40 PM EST	Tornado Warning	IND	Parke	50 min
Apr 19, 5:55 PM EST	Tornado Warning	IND	Putnam	50 min
Apr 19, 6:22 PM EST	Tornado Warning	IND	Hendricks	68 min
Apr 19, 6:36 PM EST	Tornado Warning	IND	Morgan	54 min
Apr 19, 6:54 PM EST	Tornado Warning	IND	Johnson, Marion	66 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Indiana, 1996 Every tornado warning in 1996 Tornadoes 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.