Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 21, NWS St. Louis, MO

April 19, 1996Randolph County, Washington County, Illinois

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this tornado warning at Apr 19, 1996, 8:04 PM CDT for Randolph County, Washington County, Illinois. It was in force for 41 min. 4 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, 8:04 PM CDT (01:04 UTC)
Expired
Apr 19, 1996, 8:45 PM CDT
In force
41 min
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Whole counties

Counties Randolph County, IL, Washington County, IL

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 108 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:08 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, 8:12 PM CDTTornado F0Tilden, IL
Apr 19, 8:15 PM CDTTornado F0Bremen, IL
Apr 19, 8:20 PM CDTHail 0.75Lively Grove, IL
Apr 19, 8:40 PM CDTHail 0.75Nashville, 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, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 234 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 200105
TORSTL
ILC189-157-200145-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
804 PM CDT FRI APR 19 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  845 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS
 
   ...SOUTHERN WASHINGTON COUNTY
 
IN SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS
 
   ...NORTHERN RANDOLPH COUNTY
 
AT 805 PM...ST LOUIS DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO JUST SOUTH OF RED
BUD. THIS TORNADO WAS MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. THE CITIES IN
THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO ARE NASHVILLE AND LIVELEY GROVE.
 
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...TAKE COVER IN A BASEMENT
OR INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST LEVEL.
 
SEEK SHELTER NOW IN A BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM. YOUR LIFE AND
THE LIVES OF THOSE AROUND YOU MAY DEPEND ON YOUR ACTIONS.
VA/FG

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, Apr 19, 3:56 PM CDT, 4 hours 8 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, 1 hour 39 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.
Special weather statement, Apr 19, 8:02 PM CDT, 2 minutes before
ILZ099-100-MOZ062>064-200400-

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

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

THE TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR MADISON AND JERSEY COUNTIES
IN ILLINOIS AND ST LOUIS AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES IN MISSOURI ALONG
WITH ST LOUIS CITY.  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, 7:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXSaint Clair42 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, 8:24 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

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 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.