Alert archive / Wisconsin / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 10, NWS Milwaukee, WI

May 21, 1987Walworth County, Waukesha County, Wisconsin

NWS Milwaukee, WI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 21, 1987, 8:13 PM CDT for Walworth County, Waukesha County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 57 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, 8:13 PM CDT (01:13 UTC)
Expired: May 21, 1987, 9:10 PM CDT
In force: 57 min
Issued by: NWS Milwaukee, WI
Area: Whole counties

Counties Walworth County, WI, Waukesha County, WI

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, 8:16 PM CDT	Hail 1.75	Waukesha, WI

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

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 00:00Z, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 184 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: 2886 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1006 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 122 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 187 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 8.3

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, 5:28 PM CDT, 2 hours 45 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
525 PM CDT WED MAY 20 1987

....TORNADO WATCH FOR MUCH OF WISCONSIN UNTIL 9 PM CDT...

AT 525 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
JUST NORTHWEST OF WAUSAU AND ANOTHER STORM NORTHWEST OF MOSINEE
IN MARATHON COUNTY.

EARLIER...WOOD COUNTY POLICE REPORTED PEA SIZE HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN
IN MARSHFIELD AND AUBURNDALE WITH THESE STORMS.

THE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST ATE 40 MPH.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE CAPABLE OF RAPID INTENSIFICATION AND
COULD PRODUCE LARGE HAIL...BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND STRONG WINDS.

PERSONS IN THESES AREAS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE COVER IF
THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.
GARCIA

Special weather statement, May 21, 5:45 PM CDT, 2 hours 28 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
540 PM CDT WED MAY 20 1987

....TORNADO WATCH FOR MUCH OF WISCONSIN UNTIL 9 PM CDT...

AT 540 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A RAPIDLY DEVELOPING
THUNDERSTORM ABOUT 25 MILES WEST OF JANESVILLE IN ROCK COUNTY.

ROCK COUNTY REPORTED HEAVY RAINS AND MARBLE SIZE HAIL WITH THIS
STORM.  OTHER THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING 20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
MADISON.  THIS STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AND COULD EFFECT SOUTH
WEST DODGE AND JEFFERSON COUNTY BY 6 PM.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE CAPABLE OF RAPID INTENSIFICATION AND
COULD PRODUCE HAIL...BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND STRONG WINDS.

PERSONS IN THESES AREAS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE COVER IF
THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.
KLD

Special weather statement, May 21, 6:01 PM CDT, 2 hours 12 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
600 PM CDT THU MAY 21 1987

...RAPIDLY DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...

AT 600 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A RAPIDLY DEVELOPING
THUNDERSTORM 40 MILES NORTHEAST OF MADISON IN DODGE COUNTY.
THE STORM IS NEAR HORICON JUST WEST OF MAYVILLE.

THIS STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AND IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING HAIL
STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.

A TORNADO W2ATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF WISCONSIN UNTIL 9PM.

PERSONS IN THESES AREAS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE COVER IF
THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.

HENTZ

Special weather statement, May 21, 6:06 PM CDT, 2 hours 7 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
605 PM CDT THU MAY 21 1987

....TORNADO WATCH FOR MUCH OF WISCONSIN UNTIL 9 PM CDT...

...VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN...

AT 559 PM CDT WEATHER RADAR DETECTED A CLUSTER OF VERY STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE NORTH CENTRAL COUNTIES OF EASTERN MARATHON
AND WESTERN LANGLADE.

THE MOST INTENSE STORMS IN LANGLADE COUNTY WERE NORTH OF KEMPSTER..
OR 31 MILES NORTHEAST OF WAUSAU...AND JUST WEST OF ANTIGO..26 MILES
NORTHEAST OF WAUSAU.

IN MARATHON COUNTY THE STRONGEST STORM WAS ABOUT 10 MILES NORTHEAST
OF WAUSAU.

THESE STORMS ARE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH AND WILL BE AFFECTING
NORTHEAST MARATHON..WE5STERN LANGLADE..AND SOUTHERN FOREST COUNTIES
THROUGH 630 PM CDT.

PERSONS SHOULD BE ALERT TO THESE APPROACHING STORMS AND BE PREPARED
TO TAKE ACTION IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.
ZAJDEL

Special weather statement, May 21, 6:58 PM CDT, 1 hour 15 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
700 PM CDT THU MAY 21 1987

....TORNADO WATCH CANCELLATION FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL..
 AND WESTERN WISCONSIN...

TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 110 IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT WEST OF A LINE FROM
RHINELANDER TO WAUSAU TO PRAIRIE DU CHIEN. THIS INCLUDES MUCH OF
NORTH CENTRAL AND WESTERN WISCONSIN. WEATHER CONDITIONS HAVE BECOME
LESS THAN FAVORABLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE WEATHER.

ZAJDELc

Local storm report, May 21, 7:53 PM CDT, 20 minutes before

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The office that day

Everything else NWS Milwaukee, WI issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 21, 7:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Dodge, Jefferson, Walworth	29 min
May 21, 7:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Waukesha	62 min
May 21, 7:17 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MKX	Jefferson	34 min
May 21, 7:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Washington	40 min
May 21, 7:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Ozaukee, Sheboygan	50 min
May 21, 7:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Milwaukee	50 min
May 21, 11:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Walworth	36 min
May 21, 11:57 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Kenosha, Racine	48 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Wisconsin, 1987 Every 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.