Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Lincoln, IL

October 17, 19884 counties in Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at Oct 17, 1988, 9:21 AM CDT for 4 counties in Illinois. It was in force for 49 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 17, 1988, 9:21 AM CDT (14:21 UTC)
Expired
Oct 17, 1988, 10:10 AM CDT
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Lincoln, IL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Marshall County, IL, Peoria County, IL, Tazewell County, IL, Woodford County, IL

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

Peoria Regional, IL (KPIA), launched 12:00Z, 2.4 hours before the alert went out and 17 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 1988-10-17Temperature 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 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Peoria Regional, IL at 12:00Z on 1988-10-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 246 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
1199 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
246 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
462 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 KPIA 171421
TORPIA
ILC143-179-123-203-171530-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEORIA IL
921 AM CDT MON OCT 17 1988

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1030 AM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES

   IN THE CENTRAL PART OF ILLINOIS
      NORTHEAST PEORIA...NORTHERN TAZEWELL...SOUTHERN 
      MARSHALL...SOUTHERN WOODFORD

AT 900 AM CDT SEVERAL REPORTS OF POSSIBLE TORNADO TOUCHDOWNS WERE
RELAYED TO THE PEORIA POLICE DEPARTMENT. THE TOUCHDOWNS WERE
NEAR PRINCEVILLE AND NEAR THE NORTHERN CITY LIMITS OF PEORIA.
RADAR SHOWS A VERY HEAVY THUNDERSTORM IN THIS AREA MOVING EAST
30 MPH.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS 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.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.

ATTN ISP 6 AND 8

MACH

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, Oct 17, 7:30 AM CDT, 1 hour 51 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD IL
725  AM CDT MON OCT 17 1988

...DENSE FOG OVER PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN ILLINOIS...

AT 7 AM CDT PATCHY AREAS OF DENSE FOG WAS OVER EASTERN ILLINOIS
REDUCING VISIBILITIES TO 1/2 OF A MILE OR LESS IN SOME LOCATIONS.

VISIBILITY AT CHAMPAIGN WAS 1/8 OF A MILE...WHILE DANVILLE WAS 1/4
OF A MILE.

MOTORISTS AND OTHER INTEREST ARE URGE TO USE EXTREME CAUTION AND
ALLOW AMPLE TIME FOR TRAVEL.

THESE CONDITIONS WILL CONTINURE FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS AND SOME
IMPROVEMENT IS EXPECTED BY MID MORNING.
HILLIARD

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 17, 9:55 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMcLean65 min
Oct 17, 10:57 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXChampaign, Vermilion48 min
Oct 17, 1:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXLogan, Macon, Sangamon56 min
Oct 17, 1:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXChristian56 min
Oct 17, 1:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMcDonough49 min
Oct 17, 5:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXLogan, Menard, Sangamon69 min
Oct 17, 6:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXChristian, Montgomery59 min
Oct 17, 6:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXDeWitt, Logan, Macon59 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.