Alert archive / Indiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 86, NWS Indianapolis, IN

October 17, 1988Elkhart County, Kosciusko County, Indiana

NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Oct 17, 1988, 8:02 PM EST for Elkhart County, Kosciusko County, Indiana. It was in force for 28 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 17, 1988, 8:02 PM EST (01:02 UTC)
Expired
Oct 17, 1988, 8:30 PM EST
In force
28 min
Issued by
NWS Indianapolis, IN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Elkhart County, IN, Kosciusko County, IN

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

Detroit, MI (KFNT), launched 00:00Z, 1.0 hours before the alert went out and 247 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, Detroit, MI at 00:00Z on 1988-10-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Detroit, MI at 00:00Z on 1988-10-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 319 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
757 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
319 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
366 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, Oct 17, 5:04 PM EST, 2 hours 58 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
505 PM EST MON OCT 17 1988

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9PM EST FOR THE
NORTHERN TWO THIRDS OF INDIANA.

A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF LAFAYETTE AT
455 PM. THE STORM WILL MOVE JUST NORTH OF LAFAYETTE AND WILL BE NEAR
DELPHI BY 530 PM. DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL WILL
OCUR IN THE STORM. HAIL IS POSSIBLE.

AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS WAS OVER EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL
INDIANA FROM FORT WAYNE TO BETWEEN MUNCIE AND RICHMOND THROUGH
RUSHVILLE AND BLOOMINGTON TO BLOOMFIELD. ANOTHER AREA WAS OVER WEST
CENTRAL INDIANA FROM AROUND CRAWFORDSVILLE TO JUST SOUTH OF DtANVILLE
ILLINOIS. A THIRD AREA OF STORMS WAS FROM NEAR LAFAYETTE TO NEAR
DANVILLE ILLINOIS. THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST NEAR 50 MILES PER HOUR.

DS
Special weather statement, Oct 17, 5:40 PM EST, 2 hours 22 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
540 PM EST MON OCT 17 1988

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHERN TWO THIRDS
OF INDIANA UNTIL 900 PM EST.

AT 530 PM...AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS...ABOUT 30 MILES WIDE...REACHED
FROM BETWEEN MUNCIE AND RICHMOND THROUGH COLUMBUS TO NEAR BEDFORD.

A SECOND AREA...ALSO ABOUT 30 MILES WIDE...WAS FROM LOGANSPORT
THROUGH CRAWFORDSVILLE AND CLINTON TO MARTINSVILLE ILLINOIS.

THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 50 MILES PER HOUR.

ANOTHER AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING EAST THROUGH ILLINOIS AND
WILL BE INTO NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL INDIANA EARLY THIS EVENING.

DS
Special weather statement, Oct 17, 6:13 PM EST, 1 hour 49 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
610 PM EST MON OCT 17 1988

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHERN TWO THIRDS
OF INDIANA UNTIL 900 PM EST.

AT 600 PM...THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST THROUGH WEST CENTRAL
INDIANA. STORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING WERE IN
AN AREA...ABOUT 30 MILES WIDE FROM KOKOMO...THROUGH LEBANON AND
GREENCASTLE TO JUST SOUTH OF TERRE HAUTE.

HEAVY RAINFALL IN PARTS OF THE INDIANAPOLIS AREA UNTIL AROUND 7 PM
...MAY CAUSE FLOODING OF UNDERPASSES AND POORLY DRAINED STREETS.

THUNDERSHOWERS WERE MOVING EAST THROUGH EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST
INDIANA FROM AROUND RICHMOND TO DEPUTY.

MORE TH)UNDERSTORMS WERE ALONG A COLD FRONT...MOVING EAST THROUGH
ILLINOIS. THOSE STORMS WERE JUST MOVING INTO FAR NORTHWEST INDIANA AND
WILL BE INTO WEST CENTRAL INDIANA BY 800 PM.

DS
Special weather statement, Oct 17, 6:54 PM EST, 1 hour 8 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
655 PM EST MON OCT 17 1988

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHERN TWO THIRDS
OF INDIANA UNTIL 900 PM EST.

AT 645 PM...THUNDERSTORMS...A FEW WITH HEAVY RAINFALL...WERE MOVING
THROUGH CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST INDIANA.

IN CENTRAL INDIANA...AN AREA OF STORMS WAS FROM NEAR DANVILLE...SOUTH
TO SPENCER AND WORTHINGTON. THEY WERE MOVING EAST AT 50 MILES PER
HOUR AND WILL BE MOVING THROUGH THE INDIANAPOLIS AREA UNTIL AROUND
730 PM. SOME STREET FLOODING MAY OCCUR.

IN NORTHWEST INDIANA...AN AREA OF STORMS WAS FROM NEAR SOUTH BEND
TO OXFORD. THAT AREA WAS ALSO MOVING EAST AT 50 MILES PER HOUR AND
EXTUENDED SOUTHWEST INTO ILLINOIS.

SHOWERS WERE ALONG THE INDIANA AND OHIO BORDER...MOVING EAST.

DS
Special weather statement, Oct 17, 7:04 PM EST, 58 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
705 PM EST MON OCT 17 1988

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHERN TWO THIRDS
OF INDIANA UNTIL 900 PM EST.

A THUNDERSTORM WITH HEAVY RAIN WAS SOUTHEAST OF INDIANAPOLIS AT 655
PM EST.

THE STORM WAS MOVING THROUGH RUSHVILLE AND WILL BE NEAR CONNERSVILLE
AROUND 730 PM. FLOODING OF STREETS AND UNDERPASSES IS POSSIBLE IN
RUSHVILLE AND CONNERSVILLE.

DS`
Special weather statement, Oct 17, 7:40 PM EST, 22 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA
735 PM EST MON OCT 17 1988

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHERN TWO THIRDS
OF INDIANA UNTIL 900 PM EST.

A LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING EAST
THROUGH NORTHERN INDIANA AT 725 PM. THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL
WERE ALONG AND NORTH OF THE WABASH RIVER FROM NEAR FORT WAYNE...
THROUGH LAFAYETTE TO DANVILLE ILLINOIS. FLOODING OF UNDERPASSES AND
STREETS IN URBAN AREAS IS POSSIBLE.

A SMALLER AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS WAS FROM THE EAST SIDE OF INDIANAPOLIS
THROUGH BLOOMINGTON TO NEAR BLOOMFIELD. ANOTHER AREA WAS OVER EAST
CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST INDIANA FROM RICHMOND...THROUGH BROOKVILLE TO
NEAR MILAN. BOTH AREAS WERE MOVING EAST AT 45 MILES PER HOUR.

THUNDERSTORMS OVER EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS WILL BE MOVING INTO WEST
CENTRAL INDIANA AROUND 800 PM.

DS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 17, 7:16 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningINDElkhart, Saint Joseph119 min
Oct 17, 7:16 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningINDLaPorte119 min
Oct 17, 9:22 PM ESTTornado WarningINDParke23 min
Oct 17, 10:00 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDMarion45 min
Oct 17, 10:38 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDHancock52 min
Oct 18, 12:53 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDUnion27 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.