Alert archive / Wisconsin / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 45, NWS Milwaukee, WI

July 20, 1987Portage County, Wisconsin

NWS Milwaukee, WI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 20, 1987, 1:03 PM CDT for Portage County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 57 min. 2 reports 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 20, 1987, 1:03 PM CDT (18:03 UTC)
Expired
Jul 20, 1987, 2:00 PM CDT
In force
57 min
Issued by
NWS Milwaukee, WI
Area
Whole counties

County Portage 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 20, 1:40 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 0Portage, WI
Jul 20, 1:50 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 0Portage, 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, 6.1 hours before the alert went out and 111 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 1987-07-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 3840 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 1987-07-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 20 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
3840 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
653 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
20 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
73 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 KMKE 201803
SVRMKE
WIC097-201900-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
103 PM CDT MON JUL 20 1987

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 200 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTY OF

CENTRAL WISCONSIN...PORTAGE

AT 1 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE THJUNDERSTORMS
MOVING INTO NORTHERN PORTAGE COUNTY 25 MILES NORTHWEST OF
ST{EVENS POINT.

THESE STORMS HAVE PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS.

REMEMBER..SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE
A TORNADO WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING..SO BE ON THE LOOKOUT.

HENTZ

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 20, 10:20 AM CDT, 2 hours 43 minutes before
TTAAOO KMKE 201520

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
1015 AM CDT MON JUL 20 1987

...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING TOWARD NORTHCENTRAL WISCONSIN...

AT 1015 AM WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING
TOWARD NORTHCENTRAL WISCONSIN.  THE LINE OF STORMS EXTENDED FROM
THE SOUTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR WEST OF IRONWOOD MICHIGAN SOUTHEAST
TO NEAR RICE LAKE THEN AROUND 20 MILES NORTHWEST OF EAU CLAIRE. THE
SOUTHERN END OF THE LINE WAS MOVING A BIT TOWARD THE SOUTHEAST.

THESE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH AND WILL BE MOVING INTO
VILAS PRICE TAYLOR AND POSSIBLY NORTHERN CLARK COUNTY AROUND 11 AM.

THESE STORMS HAVE HAD A HISTORY OF VERY STRONG WINDS.

PEOPLE IN NORTHCENTRAL WISCONSIN SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
THESE INTENSE STORMS AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY
IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.
HENTZ
Special weather statement, Jul 20, 11:26 AM CDT, 1 hour 37 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
1125 AM CDT MON JUL 20 1987

...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO VILAS AND ONEIDA COUUNTIES...

AT 1115 AM WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS
FROM THE EXTREME SOUTHEST CORNER OF VILAS COUNTY NEAR LAC DU FLAMBEAU
THROUGH PRENTICE IN EASTERN PRICE COUNTY...45 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF
RHINELANDER CONTINUING SOUTHWESTWARD THROUUGH TAYLOR COUNTY.

THESE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH AND WILL BE MOVING THROUGH
VILAS AND ONEIDA COUNTIES BETEEN 1125 AM AND 1230 PM.

THESE STORMS HAVE HAD A HISTORY OF VERY STRONG WINDS.

PEOPLE IN NORTHCENTRAL WISCONSIN SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
THESE INTENSE STORMS AND :BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY
IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.
SCAFFIDI
Special weather statement, Jul 20, 12:06 PM CDT, 57 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
1205 AM CDT MON JUL 20 1987

...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO FLORENCE FOREST AND LANGLADE
   COUNTIES...

AT NOON WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS
FROM 35 MILES NORTHEAST OF RHINELANDER MOVING INTO FOREST COUNTY.
THE LINE EXTENDS SOUTHEAST THROUGH RHINELANDER TO JUST NORTHWEST OF
WAUSAU.

THESE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH AND WILL BE MOVING INTO
FLORENCE FOREST LANGLADE AND NORTHERN MARATHON COUNTIES BY 1215 PM

THESE STORMS HAVE HAD A HISTORY OF VERY STRONG WINDS.

PEOPLE IN NORTHCENTRAL WISCONSIN SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
THESE INTENSE STORMS AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAF-ETY
IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES.
HENTZ
Special weather statement, Jul 20, 12:48 PM CDT, 15 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
1248 PM CDT MON JUL 20 1987

...LINE OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO PORTAGE COUNTY...

AT 1245 PM WEATHER RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS
EXTENDING FROM SOUTHERN FOREST COUNTY SOUTHWESTWARD TO CENTRAL LANGLADE
COUNTY...TO CENTRAL MARATHON COUNTY NEAR WAUSAU...TO NORTHERN WOOD
COUNTY.

THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST SOUTHEAST AT AROUND 40 MPH. IN ADDITION TO
THIS CURRENT LINE...STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ON THE SOUTHERN END
OF THE LINE OVER PORTAGE COUNTY BETWEEN NOW AND 2 PM.

THESE STORMS HAVE HAD A HISTORY OF STRONG WINDS...HEAVY RAIN...AND HAIL.
PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THESE INTENSE STORMS SHOULD BE ON THhE LOOKOUT FOR
THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE TO A PLACE OF
SAFETY.
FIELD

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 20, 11:04 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXPrice, Taylor56 min
Jul 20, 11:29 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXClark61 min
Jul 20, 11:46 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXLincoln, Oneida44 min
Jul 20, 11:46 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXVilas44 min
Jul 20, 12:17 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXForest, Langlade58 min
Jul 20, 12:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXMarathon62 min
Jul 20, 3:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXPortage, Wood31 min
Jul 20, 4:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXDodge, Fond du Lac56 min
Jul 20, 6:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXWashington, Waukesha18 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.