Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Lincoln, IL

May 21, 1987Fulton County, McDonough County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at May 21, 1987, 8:27 PM CDT for Fulton County, McDonough County, Illinois. It was in force for 63 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: May 21, 1987, 8:27 PM CDT (01:27 UTC)
Expired: May 21, 1987, 9:30 PM CDT
In force: 63 min
Issued by: NWS Lincoln, IL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Fulton County, IL, McDonough County, IL

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 21, 9:10 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 61	Fulton, IL

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

Peoria Regional, IL (KPIA), launched 00:00Z, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 75 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: 2351 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1819 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 55 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 98 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 KPIA 220127 RRA
TORPIA
ILC109-057-220230-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEORIA IL
827 PM CDT THU MAY 21 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 930 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF

WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...NORTHEAST MCDONOUGH AND NORTHWEST FULTON

AT 820 PM RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR MACOMB IN
CENTRAL MCDONOUGH COUNTY.

THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST BETWEEN THE CITIES OF CUBA AND
AVON IN NORTHWEST FULTON COUNTY.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS 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 LIGHTNING.

ATTN ISP DIST 14

NADOLSKI

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 21, 7:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	McDonough, Schuyler	62 min
May 21, 8:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Cass, Morgan	63 min
May 21, 9:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Bureau, Stark	60 min
May 21, 9:23 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Peoria	27 min
May 21, 9:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Lee	47 min
May 21, 9:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Cass, Morgan, Sangamon	62 min
May 21, 9:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Menard	62 min
May 21, 9:47 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	McLean, Mason, Tazewell, Woodford	58 min
May 21, 10:09 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Logan, Sangamon	31 min
May 21, 10:09 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	DeWitt, Macon	66 min
May 21, 10:24 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Macon, Piatt	26 min
May 21, 10:44 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	McLean	41 min
May 21, 11:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Champaign, Vermilion	54 min
May 21, 11:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Winnebago	23 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 1987 Every tornado warning in 1987 Tornadoes 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.