Alert archive / Kentucky / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Louisville, KY

May 4, 1996Bullitt County, Kentucky

NWS Louisville, KY issued this tornado warning at May 4, 1996, 12:13 AM EDT for Bullitt County, Kentucky. It was in force for 17 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 4, 1996, 12:13 AM EDT (04:13 UTC)
Expired
May 4, 1996, 12:30 AM EDT
In force
17 min
Issued by
NWS Louisville, KY
Area
Whole counties

County Bullitt County, KY

The radar

The Louisville radar (KLVX), 22 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:17 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
May 4, 12:20 AM EDTHail 1.5Mt Washington, KY

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

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 00:00Z, 4.2 hours before the alert went out and 220 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1996-05-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 821 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 00:00Z on 1996-05-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 81 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
821 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-130 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1702 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
81 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
270 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
2.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSDF 040415
TORSDF
KYC029-040430-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
1213 AM EDT SAT MAY 4 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LOUISVILLE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1230 AM EDT
FOR PERSONS IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN NORTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY
 
   ...NORTHERN BULLITT COUNTY
 
AT 1210 AM EDT...A POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS LOCATED IN NORTHERN BULLITT
COUNTY...JUST NORTHEAST OF MOUNT WASHINGTON.
 
THE SEVERE STORM PRODUCING THE POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS MOVING EAST AT
35 MPH AND WILL EXIT ALL OF NORTHERN BULLITT COUNTY BY 1230 AM EDT.
 
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.
 
STUREY

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

Local storm report, May 3, 10:35 PM EDT, 1 hour 38 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
1035PM EDT FRI MAY 4 1996

TIME(EDT)  LOCATION...               ST   EVENT...
DATE       COUNTY...                      REMARKS...

945 PM     HOLLAND                   KY   3/4 INCH HAIL
5/4/96     DUBOIS

1002 PM    HUNTINGBURG               IN   3/4 INCH HAIL
5/4/96     DUBOIS

CMC
Local storm report, May 3, 10:55 PM EDT, 1 hour 18 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
1051PM EDT FRI MAY 4 1996

TIME(EDT)  LOCATION...               ST   EVENT...
DATE       COUNTY...                      REMARKS...

1030 PM    WEST FORK                 IN   3/4 INCH HAIL
5/4/96     CRAWFORD

1045 PM    3 MI W OF AUSTIN          IN   1 INCH HAIL
5/4/96     SCOTT

CMC
Local storm report, May 3, 11:32 PM EDT, 41 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
1130PM EDT FRI MAY 4 1996

TIME(EDT)  LOCATION...               ST   EVENT...
DATE       COUNTY...                      REMARKS...

1120 PM    RAMSEY                    IN   1 INCH HAIL
5/4/96     HARRISON

CMC

The office that day

Everything else NWS Louisville, KY issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 3, 11:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKJefferson50 min
May 3, 11:57 PM EDTTornado WarningLMKJefferson33 min
May 4, 12:04 AM EDTTornado WarningLMKSpencer41 min
May 4, 12:09 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKShelby51 min
May 4, 12:14 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKBath, Menifee, Montgomery61 min
May 4, 12:26 AM EDTTornado WarningLMKSpencer34 min
May 4, 12:30 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKClark, Powell60 min
May 4, 12:37 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKBourbon, Harrison, Scott53 min
May 4, 12:44 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKAnderson46 min
May 4, 12:50 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKFranklin40 min
May 4, 12:58 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKFayette, Jessamine, Woodford47 min
May 4, 1:05 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKMercer40 min
May 4, 1:30 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKClark, Estill, Madison, Montgomery, Powell45 min
May 4, 4:28 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKHarrison47 min
May 4, 4:53 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKFleming, Nicholas37 min
May 4, 5:37 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKRowan23 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Kentucky, 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.