Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 3, NWS Quad Cities, IA

May 21, 1987Henry County, Illinois

NWS Quad Cities, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 21, 1987, 6:39 PM CDT for Henry County, Illinois. It was in force for 21 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 21, 1987, 6:39 PM CDT (23:39 UTC)
Expired
May 21, 1987, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
21 min
Issued by
NWS Quad Cities, IA
Area
Whole counties

County Henry County, IL

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

Peoria Regional, IL (KPIA), launched 12:00Z, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 88 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, Peoria Regional, IL at 12:00Z on 1987-05-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 795 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, Peoria Regional, IL at 12:00Z on 1987-05-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 45 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
795 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-86 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1074 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
45 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
112 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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 21, 3:44 PM CDT, 2 hours 55 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DUBUQUE IA
345 PM CDT THU MAY 21 1987

...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 9 PM FOR GRANT AND LAFAYETTE COUNTIES IN
SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN...

AT 340 PM CDT THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING RAPIDLY IN GRANT COUNTY
IN EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN WISCONSIN.  THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING
TO THE NORTHEAST AT 30 TO 40 MILES AN HOUR.

NO SEVERE WEATHER HAS BEEN REPORTED FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS AS OF
340 THIS AFTERNOON.

JPERSONS IN SOUTHWESTERN WISCONSIN SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
SEVERE WEATHER AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE COVER IF THREATENING WEATHER
APPROACHES

ASMUS
Special weather statement, May 21, 4:30 PM CDT, 2 hours 9 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DUBUQUE IA
430 PM CDT THU MAY 21 1987

...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 9 PM FOR GRANT AND LAFAYETTE COUNTIES IN
SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN...

...TORNADO WATCH FOR DELAWARE...DUBUQUE...JACKSON...AND JONES
COUNTIES IN NORTHEAST IOWA UNTIL 10 PM CDT...

AT 425 PM CDT THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING RAPIDLY ACROSS NORTHEAST
IOWA AND SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE
NORTHEAST AT 30 TO 40 MILES AN HOUR.

NO SEVERE WEATHER HAD BEEN REPORTED FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS AS OF
425 THIS AFTERNOON.

PERSONS IN TRI-STATE AREA SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SEVERE WEATHER
AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE COVER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.

 A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPEMENT
OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES IN AND NEAR THE WATCH AREA.  A
TORNADO WARNING OR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING MEANS ACTUAL
CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN SIGHTED AND IMMEDIATE ACTION SHOULD zBE TAKEN.

ASMUS
Special weather statement, May 21, 5:25 PM CDT, 1 hour 14 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DUBUQUE IA
525 PM CDT THU MAY 21 1987

...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 9 PM FOR GRANT AND LAFAYETTE COUNTIES IN
SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN...
...TORNADO WATCH FOR DELAWARE...DUBUQUE...JACKSON...AND JONES
COUNTIES IN NORTHEAST IOWA UNTIL 10 PM CDT...

AT 520 PM CDT THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING RAPIDLY FROM EASTERN
MISSOURI...ACROSS EASTERN IOWA INTO SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN. THESE
THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALL MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 30 TO 40 MILES AN
HOUR.

NO STRONG THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WAS INDICATED IN THE DUBUQUE
TRI-STATE AREA...HOWEVER THERE WERE SOME SCATTERED THUNDERSHOWERS.

NO SEVERE WEATHER HAD BEEN REPORTED FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS AS OF
520 THIS AFTERNOON.

PERSONS IN TRI-STATE AREA SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SEVERE WEATHER
AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE COVER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE
DEVELOPEMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES IN AND NEAR THE
WATCH AREA.  A TORNADO WARNING OR A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING MEANS
ACTUAL CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN SIGHTED AND IMMEDIATE ACTION SHOULD BE
TAKEN.

ASMUS
Special weather statement, May 21, 6:18 PM CDT, 21 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOLINE IL
617 PM CDT THU MAY 21 1987

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING THROUGH SOUTHEAST IOWA...

AT 615 PM CDT A BAND OF THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM SOUTHEAST
IOWA INTO NORTHEAST MISSOURI.

THE STRONGEST WAS LOCATED JUST WEST OF MOUNT PLEASANT IN SOUTHEAST
IOWA.  OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALONG THE WASHINGTON/LOUISA
COUNTY LINE OR ABOUT 50 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE QUAD CITIES.

SOME BRIEF HE^AVY RAIN..SMALL HAIL AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS MAY
ACCOMPANY THESE THUNDERSTORMS.

MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHEAST ABOUT 25 MPH.

WIGGINS
Special weather statement, May 21, 6:21 PM CDT, 18 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DUBUQUE IA
620 PM CDT THU MAY 21 1987

...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 9 PM FOR GRANT AND LAFAYETTE COUNTIES IN
SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN...
...TORNADO WATCH FOR DELAWARE...DUBUQUE...JACKSON...AND JONES
COUNTIES IN NORTHEAST IOWA UNTIL 10 PM CDT...

AT 615 PM CDT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING OUT OF NORTHERN
DUBUQUE COUNTY...IN NORTHEAST IOWA...INTO SOUTHWESTERN GRANT COUNTY
...IN SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN.  THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE
NORTHEAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN AND BREIF GUSTY WINDS AS
THEY MOVE ACROSS GRANT COUNTY WISCONSIN.  NO INDICATIONS OF SEVERE
WEATHER HAD BEEN NOTICED FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS.

NO SEVERE WEATHER HAD BEEN REPORTED FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS AS OF
615 THIS AFTERNOON.

PERSONS IN TRI-STATE AREA SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SEVERE WEATHER
AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE COVER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THE
DEVELOPEMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES IN AND NEAR THE
WATCH AREA.  A TORNADO WARNING OR A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING MEANS
ACTUAL CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN SIGHTED AND IMMEDIATE ACTION SHHOULD BE
TAKEN.

ASMUS

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 1987Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1987

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.