Alert archive / Indiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 2, NWS Indianapolis, IN

April 3, 1988Montgomery County, Indiana

NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 3, 1988, 12:31 PM EST for Montgomery County, Indiana. It was in force for 29 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
Apr 3, 1988, 12:31 PM EST (17:31 UTC)
Expired
Apr 3, 1988, 1:00 PM EST
In force
29 min
Issued by
NWS Indianapolis, IN
Area
Whole counties

County Montgomery County, IN

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
Apr 3, 12:34 PM ESTThunderstorm Wind 0Montgomery, IN

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

Dayton/James M C, OH (KDAY), launched 12:00Z, 5.5 hours before the alert went out and 230 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, Dayton/James M C, OH at 12:00Z on 1988-04-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 510 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, Dayton/James M C, OH at 12:00Z on 1988-04-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 158 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
510 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
621 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
51 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
158 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
132 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KIND 031731
SVRIND
INC107-031800-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
1231 PM EST SUN APR 3 1988

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 100 PM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTY

   IN THE WEST CENTRAL PART OF INDIANA
      MONTGOMERY

AT 1218 PM EST...THE PARKE COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED WALNUT SIZE
HAIL AT ROCKVILLE IN PARKE COUNTY.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS 18 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CRAWFORDSVILLE
NEAR THE TOWN OF GUION AND WAS NEARING THE PARKE AND MONTGOMERY
COUNTY LINE.

MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR.

PEOPLE IN THE AREA AROUND THE  WAVELAND AND BROWNS VALLEY
SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IN A STRONG BUILDING.  DO NOT STAND NEAR WINDOWS.
DO NOT USE TELEPHONES OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNTIL THE STORM HAS
PASSED.  MOTORISTS SHOULD AVOID LOW WATER CROSSINGS.

A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNE/D AREA.  REMEMBER...
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.  REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO
RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.

 STEIGERWALDT

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, Apr 3, 9:54 AM EST, 2 hours 37 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
953 AM EST SUN APR 3 1988

AT 945 PM RADAR SHOWED A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER EXTREME
NORTHEAST HAMILTON COUNTY...ABOUT 10 MILES NORTHWEST OF ANDERSON.

STATE POLICE AND HAMILTON COUNTY SHERIFFS REPORTED HEAVY RAIN...
SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS FROM THIS STORM BETWEEN 930 AND 945.
THERE WERE ALSO SOME POWER OUTAGES IN HAMILTON COUNTY.

THE STORM IS MOVING NORTH NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH AND WILL MOVE
THROUGH ELWOOD A LITTLE AFTER 10 AM AND REACH MARION AROUND 1030
TO 1045.

ALLSOPP
Special weather statement, Apr 3, 12:11 PM EST, 20 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
1210 PM EST SUN APR 3 1988

AT 1205 PM EST VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER WEST CENTRAL INDIANA.
THE STRONGEST

The office that day

Everything else NWS Indianapolis, IN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 3, 12:10 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDLaPorte25 min
Apr 3, 12:33 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDStarke27 min
Apr 3, 12:47 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDLaPorte, Saint Joseph28 min
Apr 3, 12:47 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDClinton, Tippecanoe28 min
Apr 3, 12:55 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDCass, White35 min
Apr 3, 1:03 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDSaint Joseph22 min
Apr 3, 1:09 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDHancock, Shelby36 min
Apr 3, 1:33 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDElkhart42 min
Apr 3, 1:34 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDBoone, Hendricks26 min
Apr 3, 1:37 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDRush26 min
Apr 3, 1:54 PM ESTTornado WarningINDJackson, Jennings36 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Indiana, 1988Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.