Alert archive / Missouri / Tornado Warnings in 1986

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Paducah, KY

May 15, 1986Scott County, Stoddard County, Missouri

NWS Paducah, KY issued this tornado warning at May 15, 1986, 5:05 PM CDT for Scott County, Stoddard County, Missouri. It was in force for 55 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, 5:05 PM CDT (22:05 UTC)
Expired: May 15, 1986, 6:00 PM CDT
In force: 55 min
Issued by: NWS Paducah, KY
Area: Whole counties

Counties Scott County, MO, Stoddard 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 15, 5:51 PM CDT	Tornado F0	Stoddard, MO
May 15, 6:00 PM CDT	Tornado F0	Stoddard, 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, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 203 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 10 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -77 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 593 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 303 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 342 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 KPAH 152205
TORPAH
MOC207-201-152300-

BULLETIN EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
505 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE   
UNTIL  6  PM CDT  FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF             

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...STODDARD AND SCOTT

AT 5 PM STATE POLICE IN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI REPORTED THAT A TORNADO WAS
ON THE GROUND NEAR BLOOMFIED IN STODDARD COUNTY..AROUND 25 MILES TO
THE SOUTHWEST OF CAPE GIRARDEAU.   MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHEAST.

PERSONS IN THE TOWNS OF BELL CITY..ORAN..AND BENTON SHOULD TAKE COVER
IMMEDIATELY.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...YOU SHOULD GO TO A BASEMENT
SHjELTER 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, 12:46 PM CDT, 4 hours 19 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EVANSVILLE IN
1245 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1986

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR
PARTS OF NORTHERN AND ALL OF WESTERN KENTUCKY...

A STATIONERY FRONT WITH WARM..MOIST..UNSTABLE AIR WAS OVER THE
OHIO RIVER VALLEY. A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE APPROACHING FROM THE
WEST WILL INTERACT WITH THE FRONT AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS TO PRODUCE
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH TONIGHT. ABUNDANT MOISTURE WILL ALLOW
THUNDERSTORMS TO DROP HEAVY RAINS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES OVER PARTS OF
THE AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT. SOME LOCATIONS MAY EXCEED 3 INCHES OF
RAINFALL THROUGH THIS PERIOD.

AT 1230 PM CDT..A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAD DEVELOPED OVER PARTS
OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND EXTREME WESTERN KENTUCKY..FROM 15 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF MOUNT VERNON ILLINOIS..TO 20 MILES WEST OF PADUCAH.

THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAINS..DANGEROUS LIGHTNING..
GUSTY SURFACE WINDS AND SOME HAIL. SOME FLOODING OF URBAN AND LOW LYING
ARES WILL OCCUR. THE STORMS WILL APPROACH THE WABASH RIVER BY 130 PM
CDT THIS AFTERNOON.

ELSEWHERE..RAINSHOWERS WERE SCATTERED OVER PARTS OF WESTERN KENTUCKY.

MOVEMENT OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WAS NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR AND
THE INTENSITY HAD INCREASED RAPIDLY.
WRIGHT

Special weather statement, May 15, 12:51 PM CDT, 4 hours 14 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EVANSVILLE IN
1245 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1986

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR
PARTS OF NORTHERN AND ALL OF WESTERN KENTUCKY...

A STATIONERY FRONT WITH WARM..MOIST..UNSTABLE AIR WAS OVER THE
OHIO RIVER VALLEY. A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE APPROACHING FROM THE
WEST WILL INTERACT WITH THE FRONT AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS TO PRODUCE
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH TONIGHT. ABUNDANT MOISTURE WILL ALLOW
THUNDERSTORMS TO DROP HEAVY RAINS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES OVER PARTS OF
THE AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT. SOME LOCATIONS MAY EXCEED 3 INCHES OF
RAINFALL THROUGH THIS PERIOD.

AT 1230 PM CDT..A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAD DEVELOPED OVER PARTS
OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND EXTREME WESTERN KENTUCKY..FROM 15 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF MOUNT VERNON ILLINOIS..TO 20 MILES WEST OF PADUCAH.

THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAINS..DANGEROUS LIGHTNING..
GUSTY SURFACE WINDS AND SOME HAIL. SOME FLOODING OF URBAN AND LOW LYING
AREAS WILL OCCUR. THE STORMS WILL APPROACH THE WABASH RIVER BY 130 PM
CDT THIS AFTERNOON.

ELSEWHERE..RAINSHOWERS WERE SCATTERED OVER PARTS OF WESTERN KENTUCKY.

MOVEMENT OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WAS NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR AND
THE INTENSITY HAD INCREASED RAPIDLY.
WRIGHT

Special weather statement, May 15, 1:40 PM CDT, 3 hours 25 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EVANSVILLE IN
145 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1986

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR
PARTS OF NORTHERN AND ALL OF WESTERN KENTUCKY...

A STATIONERY FRONT WITH WARM..MOIST..UNSTABLE AIR WAS OVER THE
OHIO RIVER VALLEY. A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE APPROACHING FROM THE
WEST WILL INTERACT WITH THE FRONT AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS TO PRODUCE
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH TONIGHT. ABUNDANT MOISTURE WILL ALLOW
THUNDERSTORMS TO DROP HEAVY RAINS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES OVER PARTS OF
THE AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT. SOME LOCATIONS MAY EXCEED 3 INCHES OF
RAINFALL THROUGH THIS PERIOD.

AT 130 PM CDT..A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS OVER PARTS
OF SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST INDIANA..FROM 30 MILES
NORTHWEST OF EVANSVILLE..TO 30 MILES NORTHEAST OF PADUCAH.

THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAINS..DANGEROUS LIGHTNING..
GUSTY SURFACE WINDS AND SOME HAIL. SOME FLOODING OF URBAN AND LOW LYING
AREAS WILL OCCUR. THE STORMS WILL MOVE INTO THE GREATER EVANSVILLE
AREA BY 200 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON.

ELSEWHERE..RAINSHOWERS WERE SCATTERED OVER PARTS OF WESTERN KENTUCKY
AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS.

MOVEMENT OF THE THUNDERSTORMS WAS NORTHEAST AT 50 MILES AN HOUR AND
THE INTENSITY HAD NOT CHANGED.
WRIGHT

Special weather statement, May 15, 2:39 PM CDT, 2 hours 26 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EVANSVILLE IN
235 PM CDT THU MAY 15 1986

...A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED 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 230 PM CDT THERE WAS A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM 20 MILES
NORTHEAST OF VINCENNES INDIANA TO EVANSVILLE TO JUST NORTH OF PADUCAH
KENTUCKY. THIS LINE WAS MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH AND WAS CAUSING VERY
HEAVY RAIN...SOME SMALL HAIL AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS. IT WILL MOVE
ACROSS SOUTHERN INDIANA AND NORTHERN KENTUCKY DURING THE EVENING.

THIS LINE WAS PART OF A LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
THAT COVERED A LARGE PART OF SOUTHWEST INDIANA AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS.
THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45.
BLOCK

Special weather statement, May 15, 3:33 PM CDT, 1 hour 32 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EVANSVILLE IN
335 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 330 PM CDT THERE WERE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTHWEST INDIANA AND
SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. THE STORM WERE ON A LINE FROM NEAR BEDFORD INDIANA
TO PRINCETON INDIANA TO JUST NORTH OF PADUCAH KENTUCKY. THEY WERE
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH BUY THE GENERAL AREA WAS REMAINING NEARLY
STATIONARY. EXTREMELY HEAVY RAIN AND SOME SMALL HAIL HAVE BEEN REPORTED
WITH THESE STORMS.

OTHERWISE THERE WAS A LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THAT WAS
ABOUT 80 MILES WIDE FROM INDIANAPOLIS TO CAPE GIRARDEAU MISSOURI.
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN WAYNE AND EDWARDS COUNTY ILLINOIS.
BLOCK

The office that day

Everything else NWS Paducah, KY issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 14, 11:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PAH	New Madrid, Stoddard	45 min
May 15, 6:05 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	PAH	Mississippi, New Madrid, Scott	55 min
May 15, 6:05 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	PAH	Stoddard	55 min
May 15, 6:55 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	PAH	Mississippi	65 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Missouri, 1986 Every tornado warning in 1986 Tornadoes 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.