Alert archive / Wisconsin / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 30, NWS Milwaukee, WI

July 6, 1987Waukesha County, Wisconsin

NWS Milwaukee, WI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 6, 1987, 4:59 PM CDT for Waukesha County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 41 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
Jul 6, 1987, 4:59 PM CDT (21:59 UTC)
Expired
Jul 6, 1987, 5:40 PM CDT
In force
41 min
Issued by
NWS Milwaukee, WI
Area
Whole counties

County 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 6, 5:05 PM CDTTornado F1Waukesha, 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 12:00Z, 10.0 hours before the alert went out and 163 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 1987-07-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 1987-07-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 5 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
668 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
7 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

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, Jul 6, 3:05 PM CDT, 1 hour 54 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
303 PM CDT MON JUL 6 1987

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO DODGE AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES...

AT 300 PM CDT...WEATHER RADAR SHOWED AN AREA OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN
EASTERN COLUMBIA AND NORTHEAST DANE COUNTY IN SOUTHERN WISCONSIN.

THE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EASTNORTHEAST AT 30 MPH AND WILL BE
MOVING INTO PORTIONS OF WESTERN DODGE AND NORTHWESTERN JEFFERSON
COUNTIES BETWEEN 3 AND 330 PM.

THESE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS
AND POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL.

PERSONS IN DODGE AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES SHOULD BE ALERT TO RAPIDLY
CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AS THESE STORMS APPROACH.

FIELD
Special weather statement, Jul 6, 3:06 PM CDT, 1 hour 53 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MADISON WI
305 PM CDT MON JUL 6 1987

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT FOR PORTIONS
OF WESTERN AND SOUTHERN WISCONSIN...

AT 300 PM CDT WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A 75 MILE WIDE AREA OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM 35 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ROCKFORD ILLINOIS TO
MADISON AND TO 35 MILES NORTHEAST OF LACROSSE.  THE ENTIRE AREA WAS
MOVING TO THE EAST AT ABOUT 20 MPH.

THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL AREAS WERE LOCATED OVER ELROY OR 45 MILES EAST OF
LACROSSE...JUST NORTHEAST OF LODI OR ABOUT 20 MILES NORTH OF MADISON...
ANOTHER LOCATED 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF MT. HOREB OR ABOUT 20 MILES WEST
MADISON AND A VERY HEAVY RAINFALL AREA LOCATED 15 MILES WEST OF ROCKFORD
ILLINOIS.

VERY HEAVY RAIN HAS BEEN REPORTED...NOT MUCH WIND AND NO REPORTS OF
ANY SEVERE WEATHER AS OF 300 PM CDT.

ADDISON
Special weather statement, Jul 6, 3:35 PM CDT, 1 hour 24 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MADISON WI
335 PM CDT MON JUL 6 1987

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT FOR PORTIONS
OF WESTERN AND SOUTHERN WISCONSIN...

AT 330 PM CDT WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A 75 MILE WIDE AREA OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM 25 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ROCKFORD ILLINOIS TO
20 MILES EAST OF MADISON AND TO 45 MILES NORTHEAST OF LACROSSE.  THE
ENTIRE AREA WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT ABOUT 30 MPH.

THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL AREAS WERE LOCATED 5 MILES EAST OF ELROY OR 45
MILES EAST OF LACROSSE...A SECOND JUST SOUTH OF RIO OR ABOUT 20 MILES
NORTH NORTHEAST OF MADISON...AND A HEAVY RAINFALL AREA LOCATED OVER
ROCKFORD ILLINOIS.

AT 320 PM CDT THE JUNEAU COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED WINDS OF 40 TO 45 MPH
AT ELROY ALONG WITH VERY HEAVY RAINS.  NO DAMAGE WAS REPORTED.  NO
OTHER REPORTS OF SEVERE WSATHER HAVE BEEN RECEIVED AS OF 330 PM CDT.

ADDISON
Local storm report, Jul 6, 3:41 PM CDT, 1 hour 18 minutes before
STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MADISON WI
344 PM CDT MON JUL 6 1987

337 PM CDT   THE COLUMBIA COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED 40 TO 50 MPH WINDS..
             PEA TO MARBEL SIZE HAIL AND VERY HEAVY RAIN WITH
             VISIBILITY NEAR ZERO IN THE RAIN.

ADDISON
Special weather statement, Jul 6, 4:05 PM CDT, 54 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MADISON WI
405 PM CDT MON JUL 6 1987

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT FOR PORTIONS
OF WESTERN AND SOUTHERN WISCONSIN...

AT 400 PM CDT WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A 75 MILE WIDE AREA OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM 20 MILES EAST OF ROCKFORD ILLINOIS TO
25 MILES EAST OF MADISON AND TO 45 MILES NORTHEAST OF LACROSSE.  THE
ENTIRE AREA WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT ABOUT 30 MPH.  OTHER AREAS OF
WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE NOTED OVER SOUTHEASTERN
MINNESOTA AND NORTHEAST IOWA.

VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WAS LOCATED FROM RANDOLPH TO JEFFERSON.  THIS SHORT
LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WAS REPORTED TO CONTAIN 40 TO 50 MPH WINDS..PEA TO
MARBEL SIZE HAIL ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN THAT REDUCED THE VISIBILITY TO A
FEW FEET IN COLUMBUS AT 337 PM CDT.  OTHER AREAS OF HEAVY RAINFALL WERE
NOTED 5 MILES SOUTH OF MAUSTON OR ABOUT 75 MILES NORTHWEST OF MADISON
AND ANOTHER 15 MILES EAST OF ROCKFORD ILLINOIS.

ADDISON
Special weather statement, Jul 6, 4:35 PM CDT, 24 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MADISON WI
435 PM CDT MON JUL 6 1987

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT FOR PORTIONS
OF WESTERN AND SOUTHERN WISCONSIN...

AT 430 PM CDT WEATHER RADAR INDICATED AREAS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
EXTENDING OVER MUCH OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN.  THESE AREAS
OF PRECIPITATION WERE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 25 MPH.

VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WAS LOCATED 5 MILES NORTHEAST AND A SECOND ONE 10
MILES TO THE EAST SOUTHEAST OF WATERTOWN..OR ABOUT 40 TO 45 MILES EAST
OF MADISON.  ONE OTHER THUNDERSTORM OR NOTE WAS LOCATED 25 MILES EAST
OF BLACK RIVER FALLS OR ABOUT 45 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WAUSAU.

NO REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER HAVE BEEN RECEIVED AS OF 430 PM CDT.

ADDISON

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 6, 3:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXDodge51 min
Jul 6, 5:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXMilwaukee37 min
Jul 6, 5:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXMilwaukee, Waukesha51 min

Nearby

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