Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Indianapolis, IN

May 8, 1988Benton County, Indiana

NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this tornado warning at May 8, 1988, 8:31 PM EST for Benton County, Indiana. It was in force for 24 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 8, 1988, 8:31 PM EST (01:31 UTC)
Expired
May 8, 1988, 8:55 PM EST
In force
24 min
Issued by
NWS Indianapolis, IN
Area
Whole counties

County Benton 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

Salem-Leckrone, IL (KSLO), launched 00:00Z, 1.5 hours before the alert went out and 257 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, Salem-Leckrone, IL at 00:00Z on 1988-05-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 96 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, Salem-Leckrone, IL at 00:00Z on 1988-05-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 213 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
96 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-199 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1931 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
64 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
213 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
429 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 KIND 090132
TORIND
INC007-090200-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
831 PM EST SUN MAY 8 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN INDIANAPOLIS HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  900 PM EST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN NORTHWEST INDIANA
          ...BENTON
 
AT 824 PM BENTON COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND AT
TALBOT...OR 30 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF LAFAYETTE.
 
THE TORNADO WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. PEOPLE IN BOSWELL...CHASE
AND OXFORD ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO AND SHOULD TAKE SHELTER
IN THE INTERIOR OF A HOUSE OR BUILDING AWAY FROM WINDOWS. MOBILE HOMES
SHOULD BE ABANDONED.
 
 
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

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 9, 11:55 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDDelaware35 min
May 9, 12:09 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDRush36 min
May 9, 12:34 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDDecatur41 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.