Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1986

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 18, NWS St. Louis, MO

May 16, 1986Saint Charles County, Missouri; Calhoun County, Jersey County, Illinois

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 16, 1986, 4:00 PM CDT for Saint Charles County, Missouri; Calhoun County, Jersey County, Illinois. It was in force for 45 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
May 16, 1986, 4:00 PM CDT (21:00 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 1986, 4:45 PM CDT
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Whole counties

Counties Calhoun County, IL, Jersey County, IL, Saint Charles County, MO

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 16, 4:00 PM CDTHail 1St. Charles, 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. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Salem-Leckrone, IL (KSLO), launched 12:00Z, 9.0 hours before the alert went out and 150 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 12:00Z on 1986-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 425 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, Salem-Leckrone, IL at 12:00Z on 1986-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 45 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
425 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-104 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
643 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
45 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
79 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSTL 162102
SVRSTL
MOC183-ILC083-013-162145-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
400 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 445 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF
EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI AND SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS...

EASTERN ST. CHARLES COUNTY IN MISSOURI AND JERSEY COUNTY AND SOUTHERN
CALHOUN COUNTY IN ILLINOIS.

JUST BEFORE 4 PM CDT A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS OVER ST. CHARLES
MISSOURI..MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.  THE STORM PRODUCED HAIL FROM
ONE HALF INCH TO ONE INCH IN DIAMETER IN PARTS OF ST. CHARLES.

REMEMBER A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAN PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS
OF 60 MPH..LARGE HAIL..DEADLY LIGHTNING..AND HEAVY RAIN THAT CAN
QUICKLY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS.

PLEASE REPORT ANY SEVERE WEATHER TO YOUR NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
OR THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

MCCARTHY

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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 16, 1:48 PM CDT, 2 hours 12 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
147 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 1986

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHEAST MISSOURI AT THE IOWA LINE...

AT 145 PM CDT..RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ON
THE IOWA..MISSOURI LINE IN SCHUYLER COUNTY..STRETCHING SOUTHWEST TO
JUST WEST OF KIRKSVILLE.  THEY WERE MOVING TO THE EAST NORTHEAST
AT 25 TO 30 MPH AND COULD PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAIN..STRONG WINDS
AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL HAIL.

OTHER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSHOWERS WERE SCATTERED OVER PARTS OF
SCOTLAND AND CLARK COUNTIES OF EXTREME NORTHEAST MISSOURI..AND
A FEW SHOWERS HAD JUST DEVELOPED AROUND 130 PM AROUND COLUMBIA.

MCCARTHY
Special weather statement, May 16, 2:35 PM CDT, 1 hour 25 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
235 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 1986

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS SCATTERED OVER EAST CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST
MISSOURI...

AT 230 PM CDT..RADAR SHOWED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN EXTREME NORTHEAST
MISSOURI NEAR THE IOWA LINE IN SCOTLAND AND CLARK COUNTIES..EXTENDING TO
JUST EAST OF KIRKSVILLE.  OTHER STRONG STORMS DEVELOPED RAPIDLY BETWEEN
130 AND 230 PM OVER EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI..IN THE AREA BOUNDED BY
HANNIBAL..COLUMBIA..ROLLA AND PERRYVILLE MISSOURI.  A FEW OF THESE
STORMS WERE OVER WEST SECTIONS OF THE ST. LOUIS AREA.

THE STORMS COULD PRODUCE BRIEF HEAVY RAIN..GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL AS
THEY MOVE TO THE NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

MCCARTHY

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 5:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXMadison42 min
May 16, 5:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXCalhoun25 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 1986Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Missouri, 1986Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.