Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Lincoln, IL

May 15, 1986Edgar County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at May 15, 1986, 8:10 PM CDT for Edgar County, Illinois. It was in force for 35 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
May 15, 1986, 8:10 PM CDT (01:10 UTC)
Expired
May 15, 1986, 8:45 PM CDT
In force
35 min
Issued by
NWS Lincoln, IL
Area
Whole counties

County Edgar County, IL

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 15, 8:20 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 69Edgar, IL
May 15, 8:30 PM CDTTornado F2Edgar, 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. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Salem-Leckrone, IL (KSLO), launched 00:00Z, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 152 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, Salem-Leckrone, IL at 00:00Z on 1986-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1239 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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, Salem-Leckrone, IL at 00:00Z on 1986-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 127 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1239 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
892 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
127 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
192 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.9
Supercell composite
5.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSPI 160110
TORSPI
ILC045-160145-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD IL
810 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 845 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF

EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EDGAR

AT 8 05 PM CDT STATE POLICE REPORT A CONFIRMED TOUCHDOWN OF
TORNADO BETWEEN OAKLAND AND BORDON. THE TORNADO WAS MOVING TO
THE NORTHEAST.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES..GO TO A SAFE PLACE IMMEDIATELY..
AND YOU SHOULD ASK THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT TO RELAY YOUR SEVERE
WEATHER REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

 ATTN ISP DIST...10
 DAVIS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Lincoln, IL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 15, 7:48 PM CDTTornado WarningILXColes27 min
May 15, 8:43 PM CDTTornado WarningILXEdgar32 min
May 16, 4:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMacoupin, Morgan59 min
May 16, 5:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMacon, Sangamon56 min
May 16, 5:29 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMacon, Sangamon31 min
May 16, 5:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXChampaign, Piatt51 min
May 16, 6:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXDeWitt, Macon56 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 1986Every tornado warning in 1986Tornadoes in 1986

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.