Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Warnings in 1986
Tornado Warning 16, NWS Paducah, KY
NWS Paducah, KY issued this tornado warning at May 15, 1986, 10:05 PM CDT for Scott County, Missouri. It was in force for 55 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 15, 1986, 10:05 PM CDT (03:05 UTC)
- Expired
- May 15, 1986, 11:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 55 min
- Issued by
- NWS Paducah, KY
- Area
- Whole counties
County Scott County, MO
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
Salem-Leckrone, IL (KSLO), launched 00:00Z, 3.1 hours before the alert went out and 187 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
- 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
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KPAH 160305 TORPAH MOC201-160400- BULLETIN EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 1005 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1986 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 11 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SCOTT AT 10 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO LOCATED NEAR COMMERCE MISSOURI..AROUND 7 MILES TO THE SOUTHEAST OF CAPE GIRARDEAU. MOVEMENT WAS TO THE EAST AT AROUND 10 MILES AN HOUR. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS REPORTS OF TORNADOES ACROSS SOUTHEAST MISSOURI ALL EVENING LONG. PERSONS IN SCOTT COUNTY SHOULD TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY..ESPECIALLY IN AND NEAR COMMERCxE MISSOURI. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...YOU SHOULD GO TO A BASEMENT SHELTER IF AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE GO TO A CENTRAL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. ABANDON CARS AHD MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING. CAMPBELL
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 15, 7:34 PM CDT, 2 hours 31 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EVANSVILLE IN 735 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1986 ...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL INDIANA AS WELL AS EXTREME NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNTIL 9 PM CDT. ...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR PARTS OF NORTHERN AND ALL OF WESTERN KENTUCKY... AT 730 PM CDT THERE WERE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTHWEST INDIANA AND SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN THE PETERSBURG INDIANA AREA AND NEAR HARRISBURG ILLINOIS. THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE VERY HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS. THE GENERAL AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS WAS ABOUT 80 MILES WIDE FROM COLUMBUS INDIANA TO 50 MILES SOUTHWEST OF PADUCAH KENTUCKY. THEY WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN MOVING THROUGH THE SAME GENERAL AREA MOST OF THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME FLOODING OF LOW AREAS IS LIKELY AS MORE HEAVY RAIN MOVES THjROUGH DURING THE NIGHT. BLOCK
Special weather statement, May 15, 8:36 PM CDT, 1 hour 29 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EVANSVILLE IN 835 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1986 ...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL INDIANA AS WELL AS EXTREME NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNTIL 9 PM CDT. ...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR PARTS OF NORTHERN AND ALL OF WESTERN KENTUCKY... AT 830 PM CDT THERE WERE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTHWEST INDIANA AND SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN HAMILTON AND WAYNE COUNTIES NEAR FAIRFIELD AND MCLEANSBORO. THERE WAS ANOTHER VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR WASHINGTON INDIANA IN DAVIESS COUNTY. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALL MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. THE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE BECOMING FEWER BUT REMAINED POTENTIALY DANGEROUS. THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN MOVING THROUGH THE SAME GENERAL AREA MOST OF THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME FLOODING OF LOW AREAS IS POSSIBLE. BLOCK
Special weather statement, May 15, 9:33 PM CDT, 32 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EVANSVILLE IN 930 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1986 ...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL INDIANA AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS UNTIL 200 AM CDT. AT 930 PM CDT THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL ABOUT 25 MILES WEST OF PADUCAH KENTUCKY. THEY WERE MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH TOWARD WESTERN KENTUCKY. THE ONLY OTHER THUNDERSTORM WITH HEAVY RAIN WAS IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS ABOUT 20 MILES NORTHWEST OF MARION. IT WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. OTHERWISE THERE WERE WIDELY SCATTERED...MOSTLY LIGHT SHOWERS IN WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA. BLOCK
The office that day
Everything else NWS Paducah, KY issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 7:01 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | PAH | New Madrid, Scott, Stoddard | 59 min |
| May 15, 8:01 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | PAH | Scott | 59 min |
| May 15, 9:00 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | PAH | Cape Girardeau | 60 min |
| May 15, 9:00 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | PAH | Scott | 60 min |
| May 15, 10:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Cape Girardeau | 60 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Missouri, 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.