Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 1987

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Indianapolis, IN

July 15, 1987Carroll County, Cass County, Indiana

NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this tornado warning at Jul 15, 1987, 5:28 PM EST for Carroll County, Cass County, Indiana. It was in force for 32 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 15, 1987, 5:28 PM EST (22:28 UTC)
Expired
Jul 15, 1987, 6:00 PM EST
In force
32 min
Issued by
NWS Indianapolis, IN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Carroll County, IN, Cass County, IN

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

Dayton/James M C, OH (KDAY), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 210 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, Dayton/James M C, OH at 12:00Z on 1987-07-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Dayton/James M C, OH at 12:00Z on 1987-07-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 47 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1633 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
40 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 KIND 152230
TORIND
INC015-017-152300-

BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
528 PM EST WED JUL 15 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 600 PM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTIES OF

NORTH CENTRAL INDIANA...NORTHEAST CARROLL SOUTHWEST CASS

AT 525 PM EST AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS REPOTED A TORNADO ABOUT 10 MILES
WEST OF LOGANSPORT OR ABOUT 30 MILES NORTHEAST OF LAFAYETTE.

THIS TORNADO WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH AND WILL PASS NEAR OR JUST
TO THE SOUTHWEST OF LOGANSPORT.

IF YOU ARE CAUGHT OUTSIDE...SEEK SHELTER IN A NEARBY REINFORCED
BUILDING.  AS A LAST RESORT...SEEK SHELTER IN A CULVERT...DITCH OR
LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

DO NOT USE YOUR CAR TO TRY TO OUTRUN A TORNADO.  CARS ARE EASILY
TOSSED AROUND BY TORNADO WINDS.  IF YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE PATH OF
A TORNADO...LEAVE THE CAR AND GO TO A STRONG BUILDING.  IF NO
STRUCTURE IS NEARBY...SEEK SHELTER IN A DITCH OR LOW SPOT.

HENDRICKSON

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, Jul 15, 3:42 PM EST, 1 hour 46 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
340 PM EST WED JUL 15 1987

IN INDIANA THIS  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM   WATCH IS IN EFFECT
UNTIL 900 PM  EST AND INCLUDES THAT PART OF INDIANA...

SOUTH OF A LINE FROM KENTLAND TO 20 MILES NORTH OF PERU...WEST OF A
LINE FROM 20 MILES NORTH OF PERU TO 10 MILES NORTH OF MADISON...AND
NORTH OF A LINE FROM 10 MILES NORTH OF MADISON TO MOUNT CARMEL
ILLINOIS.

SOME CITIES INCLUDED ARE... LAFAYETTE...LOGANSPORT AND KOKOMO...TERRE
HAUTE...INDIANAPOLIS...VINCENNES AND VERNON.

REMEMBER...A WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE
WEATHER IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD
BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR
LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
STEIGERWALDT
Special weather statement, Jul 15, 4:21 PM EST, 1 hour 7 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
420 PM EST WED JUL 15 1987

IN INDIANA THIS  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM   WATCH IS IN EFFECT
UNTIL 900 PM  EST AND INCLUDES ALL COUNTIES SOUTH OF A LINE FROM MOUNT
CARMEL ILLINOIS TO 20 MILES NORTHWEST OF CINCINNATI OHIO...EXCEPT FOR
POSEY COUNTY IN THE EXTREME SOUTHWEST PART OF INDIANA.

SOME CITIES INCLUDED ARE... EVANSVILLE...ENGLISH AND MADISON.

REMEMBER...A WA=TCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE
WEATHER IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD
BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR
LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
STEIGERWALDT

The office that day

Everything else NWS Indianapolis, IN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 15, 3:25 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDParke35 min
Jul 15, 3:32 PM ESTTornado WarningINDParke, Vermillion28 min
Jul 15, 3:46 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDBrown34 min
Jul 15, 4:12 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDClay33 min
Jul 15, 4:20 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDBartholomew40 min
Jul 15, 5:11 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDJackson, Jennings29 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Indiana, 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.