Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 24, NWS Lincoln, IL

August 8, 1987Christian County, Sangamon County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at Aug 8, 1987, 8:04 PM CDT for Christian County, Sangamon County, Illinois. It was in force for 26 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 8, 1987, 8:04 PM CDT (01:04 UTC)
Expired
Aug 8, 1987, 8:30 PM CDT
In force
26 min
Issued by
NWS Lincoln, IL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Christian County, IL, Sangamon 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 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 114 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 00:00Z on 1987-08-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1337 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 00:00Z on 1987-08-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 160 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
1337 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-23 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
940 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
160 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
318 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.4
Supercell composite
11.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSPI 090104
TORSPI
ILC167-021-090130-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD IL
804 PM CDT SAT AUG 8 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 830 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF

CENTRAL ILLINOIS...SANGAMON AND CHRISTIAN

AT 7 50 PM CDT JACKSONVILLE CITY POLICE..30 MILES WEST OF
SPRINGFIELD ILLINOIS REPORTED A TORNADO FORMING 1 MILE SOUTH
OF JACKSONVILLE MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST.

THIS STORM TOOK TREES OUT BY ROOTS AND TOOK ROOFS OFF FARM
BUILDINGS.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...GO TO A BASEMENT SHELTER
IF AVAILABLE...OTHERWISE TO A CENTRAL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING.

IF YOU ARE IN AN AREA THREATENED BY THE STORM..GO TO A REINFORCED
SHELTER AND PREPARE FOR DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY
RAIN AND DANGEROUS LIGHTING.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.

 ATTN ISP DIST...9
 DAVIS

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, Aug 8, 7:23 PM CDT, 41 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD IL
7 20 PM CDT SAT AUG 8 1987

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS

AT 7 15 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER WEST
CENTRAL ILLINOIS.

THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS JUST SOUTHWEST OF PALMYRA ILLINOIS
...35 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SPRINGFIELD.

OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED 30 WEST OF SPRINGFIELD
ILLINOIS IN THE JACKSONVILLE AREA.

THE STORMS WEREj MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

THESE STORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND
SMALL HAIL.
DAVIS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Lincoln, IL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 8, 8:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXChristian, Sangamon69 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 1987Every tornado warning in 1987Tornadoes 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.