Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 15, NWS Indianapolis, IN
NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this tornado warning at May 8, 1996, 3:55 PM EST for Lawrence County, Indiana. It was in force for 35 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
- May 8, 1996, 3:55 PM EST (20:55 UTC)
- Expired
- May 8, 1996, 4:30 PM EST
- In force
- 35 min
- Issued by
- NWS Indianapolis, IN
- Area
- Whole counties
County Lawrence County, IN
The radar
The Indianapolis radar (KIND), 98 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:59 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, 4:00 PM EST | Thunderstorm Wind | Lawrenceport, 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, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 240 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 KIND 082055 TORIND INC093-082130- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 355 PM EST WED MAY 8 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN INDIANAPOLIS HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 430 PM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA ...SOUTHERN LAWRENCE COUNTY AT 355 PM EST...A TORNADO WAS SPOTTED BY STATE POLICE NEAR MITCHELL AND HEADING TOWARD SPRING MILL STATE PARK. 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 BASEMENT 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. CONLEY &
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.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 8, 1:38 PM EST, 2 hours 17 minutes before
INZ043>045-051>054-060>064-067>073-075>089-090100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 138 PM EST WED MAY 8 1996 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 8 PM EST... A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN INDIANA UNTIL 8 PM EST. THE WATCH INCLUDES THAT PART OF INDIANA SOUTH OF A LINE FROM COVINGTON TO MOORESVILLE TO 10 MILES NORTH OF COLUMBUS TO LAWRENCEBURG. SOME CITIES IN THE WATCH AREA ARE TERRE HAUTE...BEDFORD... BLOOMINGTON...COLUMBUS AND NORTH VERNON. AT 130 PM EST...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER EASTERN ILLINOIS AND MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30 MPH. THESE STORMS PRODUCED DAMAGING WINDS IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS DURING THE PAST HOUR. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS SEVERE WEATHER CAN OCCUR IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA. IF YOU ARE IN THE WATCH AREA...KEEP TABS ON THE WEATHER SITUATION BY LISTENING TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL TV OR RADIO FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. CONLEY
Special weather statement, May 8, 2:24 PM EST, 1 hour 31 minutes before
INZ043-044-082000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 224 PM EST WED MAY 8 1996 ...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR VERMILLION AND PARKE COUNTIES CONTINUES UNTIL 245 PM EST... AT 220 PM A LINE OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDS FROM COVINGTON TO NEAR TERRE HAUTE AND WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30 MPH. THESE STORMS WILL PRODEUCE TORRENTIAL RAINS...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND POSSIBLE HAIL. PERSONS IN THE WARNING AREA SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE ADDITIONAL WARNINGS. RPG
Special weather statement, May 8, 2:52 PM EST, 1 hour 3 minutes before
INZ043-044-082030- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 251 PM EST WED MAY 8 1996 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS FOR SOUTHERN VERMILLION AND PARKE COUNTY EXPIRED... THE< SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS FOR SOUTHERN VERMILLION AND PARKE COUNTIES EXPIRED AT 245 PM EST. NO SEVERE WEATHER WAS REPORTED TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THOSE COUNTIES. CONLEY
Special weather statement, May 8, 3:09 PM EST, 46 minutes before
INZ037-039-046-047-048-055-082215- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 310 PM EST WED MAY 8 1996 A LINE OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING TOWARD THE INDIANAPOLIS METRO AREA. IT WILL MOVE INTO WESTERN MARION COUNTY BETWEEN 315 AND 330 PM EST. TORRENTIAL RAINS...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. IT WILL MOVE TO THE EAST OF THE METRO AREA BY 430 PM. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS AND FLOODING OF UNDERPASSES AND LOW LYING AREAS. HAINES
Special weather statement, May 8, 3:36 PM EST, 19 minutes before
INZ045-053-082100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 336 PM EST WED MAY 8 1996 AT 330 PM EST THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR OWEN AND PUTNAM COUNTIES HAS EXPIRED.V THE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE MOVED EAST. ONLY LIGHT SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED IN THE AREA THIS EVENING. HAINES
The office that day
Everything else NWS Indianapolis, IN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 5:16 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | IND | Greene, Knox, Sullivan | 3 hr |
| May 8, 5:16 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | IND | Daviess, Martin | 3 hr |
| May 8, 8:22 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | IND | Daviess, Greene, Knox, Martin | 4 hr |
| May 8, 8:22 AM EST | Flash Flood Warning | IND | Sullivan | 4 hr |
| May 8, 1:47 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IND | Parke, Vermillion | 58 min |
| May 8, 2:03 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IND | Vigo | 57 min |
| May 8, 2:17 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IND | Clay, Sullivan | 58 min |
| May 8, 2:31 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IND | Owen, Putnam | 59 min |
| May 8, 2:47 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IND | Greene | 58 min |
| May 8, 2:59 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IND | Morgan | 61 min |
| May 8, 3:06 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IND | Monroe | 69 min |
| May 8, 3:11 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IND | Knox | 64 min |
| May 8, 3:15 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IND | Daviess | 60 min |
| May 8, 3:38 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | IND | Lawrence | 67 min |
| May 8, 3:47 PM EST | Flash Flood Warning | IND | Bartholomew, Jackson | 58 min |
| May 8, 3:47 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IND | Bartholomew, Jackson | 58 min |
| May 8, 4:03 PM EST | Tornado Warning | IND | Jennings | 27 min |
| May 8, 4:47 PM EST | Tornado Warning | IND | Henry, Rush | 28 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.