Alert archive / Wisconsin / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 19, NWS Milwaukee, WI

August 5, 1996Dane County, Wisconsin

NWS Milwaukee, WI issued this tornado warning at Aug 5, 1996, 6:50 PM CDT for Dane County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 25 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
Aug 5, 1996, 6:50 PM CDT (23:50 UTC)
Expired
Aug 5, 1996, 7:15 PM CDT
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS Milwaukee, WI
Area
Whole counties

County Dane County, WI

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 184 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, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 1996-08-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 279 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, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 1996-08-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 128 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
279 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-254 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1076 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
128 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
159 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMKE 052349
TORMKE
WIC025-060015-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
650 PM CDT MON AUG 5 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  715 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN
 
   ...DANE COUNTY
 
AT 645 PM... A SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD 6 MILES
SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF MADISON. THE FUNNEL HAD NOT TOUCHED DOWN BUT A BRIEF
SHORT TOUCHDOWN IS POSSIBLE.
 
THE STORM PRODUCING THE FUNNEL CLOUD WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
IF YOU ARE IN THE MADISON METROPOLITAN AREA... TAKE SHELTER NOW.
 
 
GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR!
 
 
 
&

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, Aug 5, 5:42 PM CDT, 1 hour 8 minutes before
WIZ026-028-029-032>034-041>044-046-047-051-053>072-072200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
540 PM CDT MON AUG 5 1996

...INDICIES NEARING HEAT ADVISORY LEVELS ON TUESDAY...

HEAT INDICIES IN THE 98 TO 104 DEGREE RANGE ARE FORECAST FOR PORTIONS
OF WEST CENTRAL AND MUCH OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN ON TUESDAY.  THE AREA IS
ROUGHLY SOUTH OF A LINE FROM MINNEAPOLIS TO EAU CLAIRE TO FOND DU LAC TO
JUST SOUTH OF SHEBOYGAN.  A FEW OF THE CITIES THAT WILL EXPERIENCE THE
HEAT AND HUMIDITY INCLUDE MILWAUKEE...MADISON...LACROSSE AND EAU CLAIRE.

ALTHOUGH HEAT INDICIES IN THE 98 TO 104 DEGREE RANGE ARE BELOW THE
CRITERIA FOR HEAT ADVISORIES...THEY ARE STILL HIGH ENOUGH TO PRODUCE
HEAT EXHAUSTION AND HEAT STROKE.  PERSONS MOST LIKELY TO BE AFFECTED BY
THE HEAT AND HUMIDITY ARE THE ELDERLY...INFANTS...AND CHILDREN UP TO
4 YEARS OF AGE.  PERSONS ON CERTAIN MEDICATIONS THAT LOWER BLOOD
PRESSURE ARE ALSO AT RISK AND PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN INNER CITY HOUSING
WITHOUT AIR CONDITIONING.

PERSONS ATTENDING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES LIKE THE WISCONSIN STATE FAIR
SHOULD BE AWARE THAT PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO DIRECT SUNSHINE CAN ALSO
PRODUCE SUN STROKE WITH HOT AND STAGNANT CONDITIONS.

ADVANCE PRECAUTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN BY PERSONS WHO WILL HAVE
DIFFICULTY COPING WITH THE EXPECTED HEAT AND HUMIDITY.  CONDITIONS
ARE NOT EXPECTED TO CHANGE MUCH DURING THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

GARCIA
Special weather statement, Aug 5, 6:36 PM CDT, 14 minutes before
WIZ005-010-017-018-029-034-041-060200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
635 PM CDT MON AUG 5 1996

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH PREVIOUSLY IN EFFECT HAS BEEN CANCELLED
FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL AND WESTERN WISCONSIN.  THE THREAT OF
SEVERE WEATHER HAS ENDED WEST OF A LINE FROM FOREST COUNTY SOUTHWEST
TO VERNON COUNTY.

GARCIA

The office that day

Everything else NWS Milwaukee, WI issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 5, 2:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXIowa, Sauk57 min
Aug 5, 3:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXColumbia, Dane61 min
Aug 5, 4:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXGreen Lake51 min
Aug 5, 4:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXDodge, Fond du Lac63 min
Aug 5, 4:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXJefferson50 min
Aug 5, 5:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXSheboygan61 min
Aug 5, 5:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXIowa, Sauk64 min
Aug 5, 5:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXDodge, Fond du Lac45 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Wisconsin, 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.