Alert archive / Kentucky / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 16, NWS Louisville, KY
NWS Louisville, KY issued this tornado warning at May 4, 1996, 12:26 AM EDT for Spencer County, Kentucky. It was in force for 34 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
- May 4, 1996, 12:26 AM EDT (04:26 UTC)
- Expired
- May 4, 1996, 1:00 AM EDT
- In force
- 34 min
- Issued by
- NWS Louisville, KY
- Area
- Whole counties
County Spencer County, KY
The radar
The Louisville radar (KLVX), 54 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:27 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
Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 00:00Z, 4.4 hours before the alert went out and 204 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
- 298 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -26 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1273 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 64 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 143 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 0.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KSDF 040428 TORSDF KYC215-040500- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 1226 AM EDT SAT MAY 4 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LOUISVILLE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 100 AM EDT FOR PERSONS IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY ...SPENCER COUNTY AT 1225 AM EDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO IN WESTERN SPENCER COUNTY...JUST SOUTH OF WILSON AND ELK CREEK...WHICH IS ABOUT 15 MILES SOUTHEAST OF LOUISVILLE. THE STORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH AND WILL PASS NEAR THE TOWNS AND CITIES OF TAYLORSVILLE AND WAKEFIELD BY 1245 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 51 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 31 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, 54 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 11:25 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Jefferson | 50 min |
| May 3, 11:57 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | LMK | Jefferson | 33 min |
| May 4, 12:04 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | LMK | Spencer | 41 min |
| May 4, 12:09 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Shelby | 51 min |
| May 4, 12:13 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | LMK | Bullitt | 17 min |
| May 4, 12:14 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Bath, Menifee, Montgomery | 61 min |
| May 4, 12:30 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Clark, Powell | 60 min |
| May 4, 12:37 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Bourbon, Harrison, Scott | 53 min |
| May 4, 12:44 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Anderson | 46 min |
| May 4, 12:50 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Franklin | 40 min |
| May 4, 12:58 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Fayette, Jessamine, Woodford | 47 min |
| May 4, 1:05 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Mercer | 40 min |
| May 4, 1:30 AM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Clark, Estill, Madison, Montgomery, Powell | 45 min |
| May 4, 4:28 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Harrison | 47 min |
| May 4, 4:53 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Fleming, Nicholas | 37 min |
| May 4, 5:37 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Rowan | 23 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.