Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 6, NWS Indianapolis, IN

October 16, 1988Elkhart County, Indiana

NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this tornado warning at Oct 16, 1988, 7:00 PM EST for Elkhart County, Indiana. It was in force for 31 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Oct 16, 1988, 7:00 PM EST (00:00 UTC)
Expired
Oct 16, 1988, 7:31 PM EST
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Indianapolis, IN
Area
Whole counties

County Elkhart 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 00:00Z, 0.0 hours before the alert went out and 235 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 00:00Z 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 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 00:00Z on 1988-10-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 230 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
589 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
230 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
249 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 KSBN 170000
TORSBN
INC039-170045-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SOUTH BEND IN
700 PM EST SUN OCT 16 1988

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 745 PM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY

   IN THE NORTH CENTRAL PART OF INDIANA
      ELKHART

AT 655 PM EST SPOTTERS CONFIRMED A TORNADO AT NAPANNEE INDIANA...
20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SOUTH BEND.

THE TORNADO WAS MOVING EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...TAKE SHELTER IN A
BASEMENT OR IN THE CENTER OF A BUILDING IN A SMALL ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR.  STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. Z TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO YOUR NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND
ASK THEM TO RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

MONTE WHEELER

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Oct 17, 2:22 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDFountain, Parke, Vermillion53 min
Oct 17, 2:24 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDTippecanoe21 min
Oct 17, 3:12 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDElkhart48 min
Oct 17, 3:16 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDLaPorte59 min
Oct 17, 4:13 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDSaint Joseph47 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.