Alert archive / Missouri / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 44, NWS St. Louis, MO

April 19, 1996Saint Louis County, City of Saint Louis, Missouri; Saint Clair County, Illinois

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 19, 1996, 7:03 PM CDT for Saint Louis County, City of Saint Louis, Missouri; Saint Clair County, Illinois. It was in force for 42 min. 2 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, 7:03 PM CDT (00:03 UTC)
Expired
Apr 19, 1996, 7:45 PM CDT
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Whole counties

Counties Saint Clair County, IL, City of Saint Louis, MO, Saint Louis County, MO

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 45 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:05 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
Apr 19, 7:10 PM CDTHail 1.75Maplewood, MO
Apr 19, 7:25 PM CDTHail 1O Fallon, IL

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 00:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 222 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 1996-04-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1505 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, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 1996-04-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 213 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
1505 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-39 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
765 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
213 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
268 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
2.4
Supercell composite
11.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSTL 200005
SVRSTL
ILC163-MOC189-510-200045-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
703 PM CDT FRI APR 19 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  745 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS
 
   ...WESTERN ST. CLAIR COUNTY
 
 
IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI
 
   ...SOUTHERN ST. LOUIS COUNTY
 
  AND THE INDEPENDENT CITY OF
 
   ...ST. LOUIS CITY
 
AT 705 PM...THE ST LOUIS DOPPLE RADAR INDICATED A STORNG STORM IN
WESTERN PORTION OF ST LOUIS COUNTY. THIS STORM WAS MOVING TO THE
NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH AND WAS LOCATED NEAR CLAYTON...AND WS MOVING IN THE 
SOF ST LOUIS CITY WITHIN 15 MINUTES.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM! BE PREPARED FOR DAMAGING WINDS...HAIL
AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. STAY INSIDE AND AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
 
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA.
IF OUTDOORS...SEEK INSIDE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. STAY AWAY FROM
WINDOWS.

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, Apr 19, 3:56 PM CDT, 3 hours 7 minutes before
ILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-095>102-MOZ009-010-018-019-026-027-
034>036-041-042-048>052-059>065-200400-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
400 PM CDT FRI APR 19 1996

...A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL
MISSOURI...

STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS PORTIONS OF EASTERN
MISSOURI DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS.  A TORNADO
WATCH WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM CDT FOR THE NORTHEAST AND EAST
CENTRAL PORTION.  THE WATCH INCLUDES THE ST LOUIS METROPOLITAN AREA...
COLUMBIA...JEFFERSON CITY...MEXICO...AND THE HANNIBAL...QUINCY AREA.

PLEASE STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND COMMERCIAL RADIO AND TV
STATIONS FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
Special weather statement, Apr 19, 6:25 PM CDT, 38 minutes before
ILZ098-MOZ036-052-060-061-200215-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
625 PM CDT FRI APR 19 1996

...TORNADO WATCH IS CANCELLED FOR A PORTION OF EAST CENTRAL
MISSOURI...

THE6 TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR PIKE COUNTY MISSOURI ALONG
WITH LINCOLN...WARREN...AND ST CHARLES COUNTIES.  THE THREAT OF
SEVERE WEATHER HAS MOVED TO THE EAST OF THE AREA.

The office that day

Everything else NWS St. Louis, MO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 19, 7:04 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXIron, Saint Francois56 min
Apr 19, 7:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXCrawford, Washington49 min
Apr 19, 7:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXReynolds50 min
Apr 19, 7:43 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXSainte Genevieve47 min
Apr 19, 7:55 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXSainte Genevieve, Saint Francois50 min
Apr 19, 8:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXIron49 min
Apr 19, 8:28 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXIron, Reynolds47 min
Apr 19, 8:38 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXMadison52 min
Apr 19, 8:45 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLSXIron3 hr
Apr 19, 8:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXMadison, Sainte Genevieve, Saint Francois48 min
Apr 19, 9:03 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLSXMadison, Saint Francois3 hr
Apr 19, 9:03 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXReynolds42 min
Apr 19, 9:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXIron, Reynolds43 min
Apr 19, 9:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXMadison42 min
Apr 19, 7:32 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXClinton, Saint Clair43 min
Apr 19, 7:33 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXRandolph42 min
Apr 19, 7:49 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXMarion41 min
Apr 19, 8:04 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXRandolph, Washington41 min
Apr 19, 8:24 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXFayette, Marion51 min
Apr 19, 8:45 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXWashington30 min
Apr 19, 8:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXClinton, Saint Clair54 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Missouri, 1996Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.