Alert archive / Missouri / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 49, NWS St. Louis, MO
NWS St. Louis, MO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Oct 17, 1988, 7:15 PM CDT for Saint Charles County, Saint Louis County, City of Saint Louis, Missouri; Madison County, Illinois. It was in force for 45 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Oct 17, 1988, 7:15 PM CDT (00:15 UTC)
- Expired
- Oct 17, 1988, 8:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 45 min
- Issued by
- NWS St. Louis, MO
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Madison County, IL, City of Saint Louis, MO, Saint Charles County, MO, Saint Louis County, MO
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, 0.3 hours before the alert went out and 122 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 614 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -187 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1371 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 48 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 344 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 543 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 2.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KSTL 180020 RRA SVRSTL MOC189-510-183-ILC119-180100- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 715 PM CDT MON OCT 17 1988 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING UNTIL 800 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI... EASTERN ST. CHARLES...NORTH ST. LOUIS AND NORTH ST. LOUIS CITY AND SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS... SOUTHWEST MADISON. AT 710 PM RADAR INDICATED TWO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...ONE NEAR ST. CHARLES MISSOURI...THE OTHER OVER NORTHWEST ST LOUIS COUNTY WHICH PRODUCED 60 MPH WINDS AT LAMBERT AIRPORT. THE STORMS WERE MOVING EAST AT 40 MPH. PROTECT YOURSELF FROM DAMAGING WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND HAIL BY REMAINING IN A BUILDING...AWAY FROM WINDOWS. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR STRONG WINDS AND VERY HEAVY RAIN THAT COULD FLOOD ROADS AND REDUCE VISIBILITY. A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT. BE ALERT...SEVERE THUNDERS+TORMS CAN PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO WARNING. MCCARTHY
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, 5:05 PM CDT, 2 hours 10 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 500 PM CDT MON OCT 17 1988 ...VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING FROM CENTRAL ILLINOIS INTO CENTRAL MISSOURI... JUST BEFORE 5 PM THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING RAPIDLY ALONG A LINE FROM 10 TO 20 MILES NORTH AND WEST OF SPRINGFIELD ILLINOIS...ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER 60 MILES NORTHWEST OF ST LOUIS...INTO CENTRAL MISSOURI FROM AROUND COLUMBIA TO SEDALIA. THE STORMS WERE AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT PUSHING SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE BISTATE REGION. THE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN AND MOVE EAST AT AROUND 40 MPH...PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...STRONG WINDS AND SOME HAIL. PERSONS IN EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTnHEAST MISSOURI...INTO CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SHOULD BE ON THE ALERT FOR VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE EVENING AND EARLY NIGHTTIME HOURS TONIGHT. MCCARTHY
Special weather statement, Oct 17, 5:13 PM CDT, 2 hours 2 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA MO 515 PM CDT MON OCT 17 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH FOR MOST OF CENTRAL MISSOURI UNTIL 11PM... STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING OVER CENTRAL MISSOURI AT 5PM. THE THUNDERSTORMSWERE IN A LINE ABOUT 20 MILES WIDE FROM NEAR SEDALIA TO COLUMBIA TO MONTGOMERY CITY AND WERE MOVING EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED OVER SEDALIA AND WILL CONTAIN HEAVY RAIN AND VERY DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN. SMALL HAIL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM. SEVERE WEATHER IS LIKELY ACROSS CENTRAL MISSOURI TONIGHT SO PERSONS SHOULD KEEP ABREAST OF THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS. IF SEVERE WEATHER IS SPOTTED GO TO A SAFE PLACE SUCH AS THE BASEMENT OR AN INTERIOR ROOM OF THE HOUSE. LA GREE
Special weather statement, Oct 17, 5:38 PM CDT, 1 hour 37 minutes before
RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 535 PM CDT MON OCT 17 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND EAST MISSOURI...CENTRAL AND SOUTH ILLINOIS UNTIL 11PM CDT... AT 530 PM...A BAND OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS AND POSSIBLE HAIL...STRETCHED FROM CENTRAL MISSOURI TO CENTRAL ILLINOIS. THESE STORMS STRETCHED FROM COLUMBIA MISSOURI TO 30 MILES NORTHEAST OF SPRINGFIELD ILLINOIS. THE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR. RADAR NOWCAST...THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL WITH THE STRONGER STORMS WAS OCCURRING IN A LINE FROM JUST NORTH OF HERMANN MISSOURI INTO WEST ILLINOIS FROM JUST NORTH OF HARDIN INTO SPRINGFIELD ILLINOIS. FMD
Special weather statement, Oct 17, 6:03 PM CDT, 1 hour 12 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 600 PM CDT MON OCT 17 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND EAST MISSOURI...CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNTIL 11PM CDT... JUST BEFORE 6 PM THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO DEVELOP AND STRENGTHEN ALONG A LINE FROM JUST NORTHWEST OF DECATUR ILLINOIS TO JUST NORTHWEST OF JERSEYVILLE ILLINOIS...ABOUT 30 MILES NORTH OF ST LOUIS...ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO JUST WEST OF WARRENTON MISSOURI. OTHER VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE WIDELY SCATTERED FROM AROUND SPRINGFIELD ILLINOIS TO THE AREA BETWEEN COLUMBIA AND SEDALIA MISSOURI. THE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAIN...STRONG WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLY HAIL. VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL PUSH INTO THE NORTH AND WEST PARTS OF THE ST LOUIS METROPOLITAN AREA BETWEEN 630 AND 7 PM AND CONTINUE PUSHING SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE METRO AREA FROM 7 TO 8 PM. MCCARTHY
Special weather statement, Oct 17, 6:31 PM CDT, 44 minutes before
RADAR SUMMARY AND SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 630 PM CDT MON OCT 17 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND EAST MISSOURI...CENTRAL AND SOUTH ILLINOIS UNTIL 11PM CDT... AT 630 PM...A BAND OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN...STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND POSSIBLE HAIL...STRETCHED FROM CENTRAL MISSOURI TO EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. THESE STORMS STRETCHED FROM COLUMBIA MISSOURI TO 25 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CHAMPAIGN ILLINOIS. THE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR. RADAR NOWCAST...STRONG STORMS IN CENTRAL MISSOURI WERE IN AN AREA BETWEEN COLUMBIA AND JEFFERSON CITY MISSOURI AND IN ILLINOIS FROM JUST NORTH OF ALTON TO DECATUR. FMD
Special weather statement, Oct 17, 7:05 PM CDT, 10 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 700 PM CDT MON OCT 17 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES UNTIL 11 PM FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND PARTS OF EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI INTO CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ILLINOIS... THE WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR THAT PART OF MISSOURI NORTH OF A LINE FROM 10 MILES SOUTH OF SEDALIA...TO 10 MILES SOUTH OF COLUMBIA TO ELSBERRY MISSOURI...50 MILES NORTHWEST OF ST LOUIS. JUST BEFORE 7 PM VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE IN A BAND FROM DECATUR ILLINOIS TO JUST EAST OF LITCHFIELD ILLINOIS...50 MILES NORTHEAST OF ST LOUIS...THROUGH THE NORTHWEST SECTIONS OF THE ST LOUIS METROPOLITAN AREA...TO AROUND JEFFERSON CITY MISSOURI. THE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 40 MPH AND WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...STRONG WINDS AND POSSIBLY HAIL. JUST AFTER 630 PM AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS REPORTED 50 MPH WINDS AND PEA SIZE HAIL AT GODFREY ILLINOIS...ABOUT 20 MILES NORTH OF ST LOUIS. MCCARTHY
The office that day
Everything else NWS St. Louis, MO issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 17, 8:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LSX | Saint Francois | 31 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Missouri, 1988Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 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.