Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 1986
Tornado Warning 1, NWS Northern Indiana
NWS Northern Indiana issued this tornado warning at May 6, 1986, 6:24 PM EST for Blackford County, Grant County, Indiana. It was in force for 81 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 6, 1986, 6:24 PM EST (23:24 UTC)
- Expired
- May 6, 1986, 7:45 PM EST
- In force
- 81 min
- Issued by
- NWS Northern Indiana
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Blackford County, IN, Grant County, IN
The radar
The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.
The nearest sounding before it
Dayton/James M C, OH (KDAY), launched 12:00Z, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 128 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1560 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 24 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 212 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 200 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KFWA 062324 TORFWA INC053-009-062345- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WAYNE IN 724 PM EDT TUE MAY 6 1986 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 745 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF EAST CENTRAL INDIANA...GRANT AND BLACKFORD AT 615PM EST A TORNADO WAS REPORTED ON THE GROUND 5 MILES SOUTH OF VAN BUREN IN GRANT COUNTY BY THE SHERIFF THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY ! THIS STORM IS ACCOMPANIED BY INTENSE LIGHTNING AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS. REMEMBER A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAN PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH..LARGE HAIL..DEADLY LIGHTNING..AND HEAVY RAIN THAT CAN QUICKLY FLOOD A LOW LYING AREA. REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. HAYES
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 6, 2:46 PM EST, 3 hours 38 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SOUTH BEND IN 245 PM EST TUE MAY 6 1986 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 8PM EST FOR MOST OF NORTHERN INDIANA AND SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN.... AT 235 PM EST..A THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN..DANGEROUS LIGHTNING..AND SMALL HAIL WAS LOCATED 20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SOUTH BEND NEAR NAPANEE INDIANA. THIS THUNDERTORM WAS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH AND WILL MOVE ACROSS SOUTHERN ELKHART AND NORTHERN KOSCUISKO COUNTIES OF NORTH CENTRAL INDIANA BY 330 PM EST. OTHER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS..SOME PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN..WERE SCATTERED ACROSS NORTHERN INDIANA AND SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN FROM CHICAGO ILLINOIS TO KALAMAZOO MICHIGAN AND ANGOLA INDIANA. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. MOWERY
Special weather statement, May 6, 2:53 PM EST, 3 hours 31 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WAYNE IN 245 PM EST TUE MAY 06 1986 ...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EST FOR A PORTION OF NORTHEAST INDIANA... AT 243 PM EST THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING IN EXTREME NORTHERN INDIANA. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS OCCURRING 20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF LIGONIER IN NORTHEAST INDIANA. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH AND CONTAINED STRONG GUSTY WINDS..HEAVY RAINS..AND SMALL HAIL. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WILL MOVE INTO LAGRANGE COUNTY BY 315 PM EST. SELL
Special weather statement, May 6, 4:31 PM EST, 1 hour 53 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SOUTH BEND IN 430 PM EST TUE MAY 6 1986 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EST FOR MOST OF NORTHERN INDIANA AND SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN... AT 430 PM EST...THUNDERSTORMS WITH SMALL HAIL..DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.. AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS WERE OVER SOUTHERN ELKHART AND NORTHERN KOSCIUSKO COUNTIES IN INDIANA..NEAR NAPANEE INDIANA. ANOTHER THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED JUST SOUTH OF PLYMOUTH jINDIANA AND NEAR WALKERTON INDIANA..15 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST OF SOUTH BEND. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST AROUND 35 MPH. MOWERY
Special weather statement, May 6, 6:13 PM EST, 11 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SOUTH BEND, IN 610 PM EST TUE MAY 06 1986 THE SEVERE THUNDERTORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTH CENRAL INDIANA AND SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN.. IN INDIANA LAPORTE..ST JOSEPH..ELKHART..STARKE..MARSHALL..KOSCIUSKO.. PULASKI..AND FULTON. IN MICHIGAN..BERRIEN..CASS..AND ST JOSEPH. SAVAGE
The office that day
Everything else NWS Northern Indiana issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 3:23 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX | LaGrange, Noble | 37 min |
| May 6, 4:35 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX | Noble | 25 min |
| May 6, 5:04 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX | DeKalb | 26 min |
| May 6, 5:45 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX | Huntington, Whitley | 30 min |
| May 6, 6:00 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX | Allen | 30 min |
| May 6, 6:45 PM EST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IWX | Jay | 60 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Indiana, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.