Alert archive / Wisconsin / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1986

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 18, NWS Milwaukee, WI

July 6, 1986Milwaukee County, Wisconsin

NWS Milwaukee, WI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 6, 1986, 8:03 PM CDT for Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 42 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
Jul 6, 1986, 8:03 PM CDT (01:03 UTC)
Expired
Jul 6, 1986, 8:45 PM CDT
In force
42 min
Issued by
NWS Milwaukee, WI
Area
Whole counties

County Milwaukee County, WI

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
Jul 6, 8:30 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 52Milwaukee, WI

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

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 163 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 00:00Z on 1986-07-07Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 00:00Z on 1986-07-07The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 11 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1867 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
11 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
76 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMKE 070103
SVRMKE
WIC079-070145-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND SPECIAL MARINE WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
803 PM CDT SUN JUL 6 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND 
SPECIAL MARINE WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 845 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE 
FOLLOWING COUNTY OF

SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...MILWAUKEE
...INCLUDING THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS OF LAKE MICHIGAN.       
.                    

AT 800 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A CLUSTER OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
FROM JUST SOUTHEAST OF THE CITY OF WAUKESHA TO NEAR WIND LAKE...
13 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF MILWAUKEE. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE
MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

AT 755 PM CDT...WIND LAKE IN RACINE COUNTY...REPORTED A WIND
GUST IN EXCESS OF 50 MILES AN HOUR.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...AND
DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL FROM A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM MAY TRIGGER FLASH FLOODING IN LOW LYING OR URBAN AREAS.
IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES...SEEK SAFE SHELTER.

TRM

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, Jul 6, 4:00 PM CDT, 4 hours 3 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE, WI
400 PM CDT SUN JUL 06 1986

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY ACROSS SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...

AT 345 PM CDT...RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY FROM NEAR
STURTEVANT..OR 14 MILES SOUTH OF MILWAUKEE IN RACINE COUNTY..BACK
ACROSS NORTHWEST KENOSHA COUNTY..THROUGH CENTRAL WALWORTH COUNTY NEAR
DELAVAN..INTO NORTHEAST ILLINOIS NEAR ROCKFORD.

THUNDERSTORMS WERE FIRING GENERALLY ALONG A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY
WHICH WAS LOCATED IN THIS AREA.

MOVEMENT OF THESE STORMS WAS NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS PARTS OF WALWORTH..WAUKESHA..
MILWAUKEE..RACINE AND KENOSHA COUNTIES PLUS THE ADJACENT WATERS OF
LAKE MICHIGAN THROUGH 600 PM CDT.
^
VERY HEAVY RAIN..FREQUENT AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING..GUSTY WINDS AND
EVEN SOME SMALL HAIL WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.
^
BOATERS ON LAKE MICHIGAN FROM MILWAUKEE TO KENOSHA SHOULD BE PREPARED
TO S>EEK SAFE HARBOR..AS THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP ACROSS THIS AREA.

STAY TUNED TO THIS STATION..OR LOCAL TELEVISION AND RADIO..FOR
FURTHER UPDATES.

STUREY
Special weather statement, Jul 6, 6:34 PM CDT, 1 hour 29 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE, WI
632 PM CDT SUN JUL 06 1986

...THUNDERSTORMS ARE MARCHING INTO SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN FROM ILLINOIS...

AT 620 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR AND SURFACE WEATHER OBSERVATIONS INDICATE
A NEW AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS IS SPREADING INTO SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN FROM
ILLINOIS. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES
AN HOUR.

THEY ARE NOW MOVING INTO ROCK AND WALWORTH COUNTIES AND WILL BE SPREAD-
ING INTO KENOSHA AS WELL AS ROCK COUNTY WITHIN THE HOUR. AT THERE
CURRENT SPEED...THEY WOULD REACH SOUTHERN MILWAUKEE COUNTY BETWEEN 730
AND 8 PM.

VERY HEAVY RAINS..GUSTY WINDS..AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE
WITH THESE STORMS. PERSONS IN SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN ARE ADVISED TO
KEEP ABREAST OF THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO
TAKE SHELTER SHOULD THREATENING WEATHER APPROACH.
MORRIS
Special weather statement, Jul 6, 7:04 PM CDT, 59 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MADISON WI
700 PM CDT SUN JUL 6 1986

AT 656 PM CDT...VERY STORNG THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINS
WERE LOCATED OVER JANESVILLE 30 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MADISON.

THE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR AND SHOULD
MOVE THROUGH THE WHITEWATER AREA BY 730 PM CDT.

A FEW ISOLATED LIGHT RAINSHOWERS WERE OVER EXTREME SOUTHWEST
WISCONSIN OVER LAFAYETTE AND GREEN COUNTIES. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST
AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

PRZEKURAT
Special weather statement, Jul 6, 7:39 PM CDT, 24 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE, WI
739 PM CDT MON JUL 06 1986

AT 730 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR AND SURFACE WEATHER OBSERVATIONS INDICATE
A LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER ALL OF SOUTHEAST WISCON-
SIN. THE HEAVIEST ACTIVITY IS NOW OVER KENOSHA COUNTY..JUST SOUTH OF
KENOSHA AND OVER WALWORTH COUNTY..JUST NORTH OF DELEVAN.

SHERIFFS OFFICES IN BOTH COUNTIES REPORT VERY HEAVY RAIN AND PLENTY OF
LIGHTNING BUT VERY LITTLE IN THE WAY OF STRONG GUSTY WINDS. AT THIS
TIME...NO STREET FLOODING WAS REPORTED EITHER.

THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT AROUND
25 MILES AN HOUR.

VERY HEAVY RAINS...SMALL HAIL...MINOR STREET FLOODING AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING IS LIKELY WITH THESE STORMS. GUSTY WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE.

PERSONS IN SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN ARE ADVISED TO KEEP ABREAST OF THE
LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER SHOULD
THREATENING WEATHER APPROACH.

MORRIS
Special weather statement, Jul 6, 7:40 PM CDT, 23 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE, WI
740 PM CDT SUN JUL 06 1986

AT 730 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR AND SURFACE WEATHER OBSERVATIONS INDICATE
A LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER ALL OF SOUTHEAST WISCON-
SIN. THE HEAVIEST ACTIVITY IS NOW OVER KENOSHA COUNTY..JUST SOUTH OF
KENOSHA AND OVER WALWORTH COUNTY..JUST NORTH OF DELEVAN.

SHERIFFS OFFICES IN BOTH COUNTIES REPORT VERY HEAVY RAIN AND PLENTY OF
LIGHTNING BUT VERY LITTLE IN THE WAY OF STRONG GUSTY WINDS. AT THIS
TIME...NO STREET FLOODING WAS REPORTED EITHER.

THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT AROUND
25 MILES AN HOUR.

VERY HEAVY RAINS...SMALL HAIL...MINOR STREET FLOODING AND DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING IS LIKELY WITH THESE STORMS. GUSTY WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE.

PERSONS IN SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN ARE ADVISED TO KEEP ABREAST OF THE
LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE SHELTER SHOULD
THREATENING WEATHER APPROACH.

MORRIS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 6, 7:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXRacine, Waukesha35 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Wisconsin, 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.