Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 13, NWS Lincoln, IL

May 8, 19884 counties in Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at May 8, 1988, 6:24 PM CDT for 4 counties in Illinois. It was in force for 66 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
May 8, 1988, 6:24 PM CDT (23:24 UTC)
Expired
May 8, 1988, 7:30 PM CDT
In force
66 min
Issued by
NWS Lincoln, IL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Christian County, IL, DeWitt County, IL, Macon County, IL, Shelby 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 8, 6:30 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 52Macon, IL
May 8, 6:51 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 0De Witt, 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 12:00Z, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 115 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, Peoria Regional, IL at 12:00Z on 1988-05-08Temperature 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°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Peoria Regional, IL at 12:00Z on 1988-05-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 194 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1404 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
194 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
203 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KSPI 082324
TORSPI
ILC021-039-115-173-090030-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD IL
624 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 1988

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 730 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES

   IN THE CENTRAL PART OF ILLINOIS
      CHRISTIAN...DE-WITT...MACON...WESTERN SHELBY

AT 615 PM CDT A TORNADO WAS REPORTED NEAR BUFFALO IN EASTERN
SANAGAMON COUNTY...20 MILES NORTHEAST OF SPRINGFIELD. THECITY.)
TORNADO WAS MOVING NORTHEAST.

AT 617 PM CDT A TORNADO WAS REPORTED 12 MILES SOUTHEAST OF
SPRINGFIELD ILLINOIS...NEAR ROCHESTER. THE TORNADO WAS
MOVING NORTHEAAST./

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A 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 DANGEROUS LIGHTING.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.

 ATTN ISP DIST...6 AND 9 AND 109
 HUGHESNAME

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 8, 3:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXHancock, Henderson37 min
May 8, 4:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXKnox, Warren23 min
May 8, 4:43 PM CDTTornado WarningILXCarroll, Ogle32 min
May 8, 4:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXCass, Morgan58 min
May 8, 4:57 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXFulton, Mason63 min
May 8, 5:05 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXStephenson40 min
May 8, 5:21 PM CDTTornado WarningILXLee, Ogle39 min
May 8, 5:22 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXPeoria, Tazewell, Woodford38 min
May 8, 5:27 PM CDTTornado WarningILXOgle, Winnebago33 min
May 8, 5:46 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMenard29 min
May 8, 5:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMcLean, Woodford58 min
May 8, 5:51 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMorgan39 min
May 8, 5:51 PM CDTTornado WarningILXDeKalb, Lee54 min
May 8, 5:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXLogan, Menard, Sangamon64 min
May 8, 5:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMacoupin, Montgomery64 min
May 8, 6:05 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMenard, Sangamon25 min
May 8, 6:12 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMontgomery33 min
May 8, 6:16 PM CDTTornado WarningILXBoone, Winnebago44 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 1988Every tornado warning in 1988Tornadoes in 1988

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.