Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 1, NWS Indianapolis, IN

April 3, 1988Jackson County, Jennings County, Indiana

NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this tornado warning at Apr 3, 1988, 1:54 PM EST for Jackson County, Jennings County, Indiana. It was in force for 36 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 3, 1988, 1:54 PM EST (18:54 UTC)
Expired
Apr 3, 1988, 2:30 PM EST
In force
36 min
Issued by
NWS Indianapolis, IN
Area
Whole counties

Counties Jackson County, IN, Jennings 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

Dayton/James M C, OH (KDAY), launched 12:00Z, 6.9 hours before the alert went out and 175 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 031853
TORIND
INC071-079-031930-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
154 PM EST SUN APR 3 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN INDIANAPOLIS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  230 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA
          ...EASTERN JACKSON
IN SOUTHEAST INDIANA
          ...JENNINGS
 
RADAR INDIACATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 10 MILES EAST OF BROWNSTOWN IN
EASTERN JACKSON COUNTY. THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.
 
PEOPLE IN SEYMOUR...CROTHERSVILLE AND NORTH VERNON ARE IN THE PATH OF
THIS STORM. TAKE COVER IMMEADIATELY.
 
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
ALLSOPP

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, Apr 3, 9:54 AM EST, 4 hours 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, 1 hour 43 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, 12:31 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDMontgomery29 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

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Indiana, 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.