Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 41, NWS St. Louis, MO

December 23, 1996Crawford County, Washington County, Missouri

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this tornado warning at Dec 23, 1996, 10:27 AM CST for Crawford County, Washington County, Missouri. It was in force for 63 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
Dec 23, 1996, 10:27 AM CST (16:27 UTC)
Expired
Dec 23, 1996, 11:30 AM CST
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Whole counties

Counties Crawford County, MO, Washington County, MO

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 89 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:30 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
Dec 23, 10:45 AM CSTTornado F0Dillard, MO

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

Springfield, MO (KSGF), launched 12:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 267 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, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 1996-12-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 237 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Springfield, MO at 12:00Z on 1996-12-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 414 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
237 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-72 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
818 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
68 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
414 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
442 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSTL 231626 RRA
TORSTL
MOC055-221-231730-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
1027 AM CST MON DEC 23 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1130 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI
 
   ...SOUTHERN CRAWFORD COUNTY...SOUTHERN WASHINGTON COUNTY
 
AT 1025 AM CST NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
POSSIBLE TORNADIS STORM NEAR THE TOWN OF DILLARD...OR ABOUT 20 MILES
SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF STEELVILLE.
 
TOWNS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE COURTOIS AND POTOSI.
THIS STORM WAS MOVING TO THE EAST NORTHEAST AT 35 TO 40 MPH.
 
PEDIGO/RP
 
IF YOU ARE IN THEZ PATH OF THIS STORM...TAKE COVER IN A BASEMENT
OR INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST LEVEL.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 23, 10:59 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXMontgomery, Warren61 min
Dec 23, 11:03 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXLincoln42 min
Dec 23, 11:19 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXJefferson41 min
Dec 23, 11:43 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXLincoln62 min
Dec 23, 12:10 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXFranklin65 min
Dec 23, 1:40 PM CSTTornado WarningLSXIron, Washington35 min
Dec 23, 2:15 PM CSTTornado WarningLSXSaint Francois, Washington30 min
Dec 23, 2:38 PM CSTTornado WarningLSXSainte Genevieve37 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Missouri, 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.