Alert archive / Ohio / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Pittsburgh, PA

May 10, 1996Columbiana County, Ohio

NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued this tornado warning at May 10, 1996, 8:15 PM EDT for Columbiana County, Ohio. It was in force for 60 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 10, 1996, 8:15 PM EDT (00:15 UTC)
Expired
May 10, 1996, 9:15 PM EDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Area
Whole counties

County Columbiana County, OH

The radar

The Pittsburgh radar (KPBZ), 54 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:17 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

Pittsburgh, PA (KPIT), launched 00:00Z, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 70 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 00:00Z on 1996-05-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 26 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, Pittsburgh, PA at 00:00Z on 1996-05-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 104 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
26 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-26 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2036 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
104 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
179 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KPIT 110016
TORPIT
OHC029-110115-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
815 PM EDT FRI MAY 10 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PITTSBURGH HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  915 PM EDT
FOR THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL OHIO
 
   ...COLUMBIANA COUNTY
 
DOPPLER RADAR IN PITTSBURGH INDICATED A TORNADO 10 MILES NORTHWEST OF
THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF COLUMBIANA COUNTY. MOVEMENT IS EAST AT 40 MPH.
THE STORM IS MOVING TOWARD SALEM OHIO. OTHER WIND STORMS MAY DEVELOP
SOUTH OF SALEM. FREQUENT LIGHTNING HAS BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS STORM.
 
THIS DANGEROUS STORM CAN CAUSE VERY DAMAGING WIND...TORNADOES...
LARGE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNINGV...TORRENTIAL RAIN AND FLASH FLOODING.
SEEK SAFETY IN STRONG BUILDINGS AWAY FROM WINDOWS. IF CAUGHT
OUTSIDE...CROUCH DOWN AND COVER YOUR HEAD. ABANDON VEHICLES. NEVER
TRY TO OUTRUN TORNADOES. NEVER CROSS FLOODING TO GO TO HIGH GROUND.

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, May 10, 3:07 PM EDT, 5 hours 8 minutes before
MDZ001-OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023-
029>032-WVZ001>004-012-021>023-041-110800-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
305 PM EDT FRI MAY 10 1996

...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED AGAIN TONIGHT...

WARM AND HUMID AIR IS MOVING NORTHWARD ACROSS THE REGION. THIS IS
IN RESPONSE TO A STRONG COLD FRONT WHICH IS SLOWLY MAKING ITS WAY
EASTWARD THROUGH THE MIDWEST. AS THIS FRONT CONTINUES TO PUSH
EASTWARD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION
TONIGHT.

THE POTENTIAL EXISTS THAT SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD PRODUCE
LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...WHICH COULD CAUSE STREAMS AND CREEKS
TO REACH OR EXCEDE BANKFULL. WITH THE BEST THREAT FOR HEAVY
RAIN...LATER TONIGHT.

IF YOU LIVE NEAR A STREAM BE ALERT TO THE PRESENT WATER LEVEL
AND WATCH FOR ADDITIONAL RISES IF RAIN DOES OCCUR.

IN RESPONSE TO THE HEAVY RAIN THREAT A FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN
ISSUED FOR THE REGION TONIGHT. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO
...THE WEATHER CHANNEL OR YOUR LOCAL TELEVISION AND RADIO
STATIONS FOR FURTHER UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

RRR/DS/JMP
Special weather statement, May 10, 5:52 PM EDT, 2 hours 23 minutes before
MDZ001-OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023-
029>032-WVZ001>004-012-022>023-041-110000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
550 PM EDT FRI MAY 10 1996

...FLOOD WATCH FOR STREAMS AND CREEKS CONTINUES TONIGHT FOR THE ENTIRE
   AREA....

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH TIL 10 PM FOR WESTERN PA NORTH OF
   OF PITTSBURGH...

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH TIL 11 PM FOR THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE OF
   WEST VIRGINIA AND EAST-CENTRAL OHIO...

THE FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT TONIGHT FOR ALL OF WESTERN PA...EAST-
CENTRAL OHIO...EXTREME NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA...INCLUDING THE PANHANDLE
...AND GARRETT COUNTY MARYLAND.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT TIL 10 PM FOR THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES IN WESTERN PA...

MERCER... VENANGO... FOREST... CLARION... JEFFERSON... LAWRENCE...
BUTLER... ARMSTRONG... AND INDIANA.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT TIL 11 PM FOR THESE COUNTIES
IN EAST-CENTRAL OHIO...

COSHOCTON... MUSKINGUM... TUSCARAWAS...  GUERNSEY... CARROLL...
COLUMBIANA... JEFFERSON... HARRISON... BELMONT... NOBLE... AND MONROE.

AND IN NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA...

HANCOCK... BROOKE... OHIO... MARSHALL... AND WETZEL.

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING EASTWARD INTO EAST-CENTRAL OHIO AND
NORTHWEST PA.  MORE STORMS ARE APPROACHING FROM WESTERN OHIO.

DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS...AND FREQUENT
LIGHTNING CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS.

REHAK/SISK

The office that day

Everything else NWS Pittsburgh, PA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 10, 8:34 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZCarroll, Harrison56 min
May 10, 8:47 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPBZGuernsey58 min
May 11, 9:30 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZTuscarawas4 hr
May 11, 9:55 AM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZCarroll, Columbiana3 hr
May 11, 1:00 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZCarroll, Columbiana3 hr
May 11, 4:05 PM EDTFlash Flood WarningPBZColumbiana6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Ohio, 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.