Alert archive / Wisconsin / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 39, NWS Milwaukee, WI
NWS Milwaukee, WI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Nov 16, 1988, 12:00 AM CST for Dodge County, Washington County, Waukesha County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 45 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Nov 16, 1988, 12:00 AM CST (06:00 UTC)
- Expired
- Nov 16, 1988, 12:45 AM CST
- In force
- 45 min
- Issued by
- NWS Milwaukee, WI
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Dodge County, WI, Washington County, WI, Waukesha County, WI
The radar
The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 16, 12:10 AM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Waukesha, WI | |
| Nov 16, 12:20 AM CST | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Washington, WI |
NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.
The nearest sounding before it
Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 00:00Z, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 137 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 520 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 20 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 159 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 141 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KMKE 160603
SVRMKE
WIC027-131-133-160645-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
MIDNIGHT CST WED NOV 16 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MILWAUKEE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1245 AM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
IN SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN
...DODGE...WASHINGTON...WAUKESHA
WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A CLUSTER OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM
NORTHERN JEFFERSON COUNTY NEAR WATERTOWN...27 MILES EAST OF MADISON TO
NEAR EAGLE...30 WEST SOUTHWEST OF MILWAUKEE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55
MPH.
WINDS GUSTING TO 60 MPH AND DOWNED TREES WERE REPORTED IN FORT ATKINSONIN JEFFERSON COUNTY AT 1155 PM CST.
WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING...PEOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A
STRONG BUILDING. DO NOT STAND BY WINDOWS. DON'T USE TELEPHONES
OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY UNTIL THE STORM
HAS PASSED. MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT DRIVE INTO LOW WATER CROSSINGS.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, Nov 15, 11:15 PM CST, 45 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI 1114PM CST TUE NOV 15 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR A LARGE PART OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN UNTIL 3AM WEDNESDAY MORNING... AT 1110 PM CST...WEATHER RADAR AND SATELITE INDICATED A BAND OF SHOWERS AND MODERATE TO HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS ENTERING SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN AND EXTENDING SOUTHWARD INTO NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS. THE MOST INTENSE ACTIVITY REACHES FROM FOND DU LAC..DODGE..JEFFERSON AND WALWORTH COUNTIES AND IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO WASHINGTON..OZAUKEE.. WAUKESHA..MILWAUKEE..RACINE AND KENOSHA COUNTIES BETWEEN 1130 PM AND MIDNIGHT. STRONG SURFACE WINDS ARE ALREADY OCCURRING OVER SOUTHERN WISCONSIN AND THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL FURTHER ENHANCE THE WIND SPEEDS... POSSIBLY RESULTING IN PROPERTY DAMAGE. IN ADDITION...BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ACCOMPANY SOME OF THE STRONGER STORMS WITH PONDING OF WATER AND POSSIBLE FLOODING TAKING PLACE IN LOW LYING AREAS. PERSONS IN SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN ARE ADVISED TO STAY ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING CONDITIONS AND BE PREPAIRED TO SEEK SHELTER SHOULD THREATNING WEATHER APPROACH. ZAJDEL
Special weather statement, Nov 15, 11:47 PM CST, 13 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI 1145PM CST TUE NOV 15 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR A LARGE PART OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN UNTIL 3AM WEDNESDAY MORNING... AT 1140 PM CST...WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A LARGE BAND OF SHOWERS WITH MODERATE TO HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS COVERING SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN AND EXTENDING SOUTHWARD INTO NORTHEAST ILLINOIS. THE MOST INTENSE ACTIVITY WAS LOCATED OVER JEFFERSON AND WALWORTH COUNTIES AND IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY HAVE PRODUCED SOME WIND DAMAGE AROUND THE ROCKFORD ILLINOIS AREA WITHIN THE PAST HOUR. IF THE STORMS HOLD TOGETHER THEY ARE EXPECTED TO RACE INTO DODGE.. WASHINGTON..WAUKESHA..MILWAUKEE..RACINE AND KENOSHA COUNTIES AROUND MIDNIGHT. ^ IN ADDITION...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN WAS ACCOMPANYING SOME OF THE HEAVIER STORMS WITH PONDING OF WATER AND POSSIBLE FLOODING TAKING PLACE IN LOW LYING AREAS. PERSONS IN SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN ARE ADVISED TO STAY ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING CONDITIONS AND BE PREPAIRED TO SEEK SHELTER SHOULD THREATNING WEATHER APPROACH. ZAJDEL
Special weather statement, Nov 15, 11:48 PM CST, 12 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT ..CORRECTION.. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI 1145PM CST TUE NOV 15 1988 ...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR A LARGE PART OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN UNTIL 3AM WEDNESDAY MORNING... AT 1140 PM CST...WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A LARGE BAND OF SHOWERS WITH MODERATE TO HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS COVERING SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN AND EXTENDING SOUTHWARD INTO NORTHEAST ILLINOIS. THE MOST INTENSE ACTIVITY WAS LOCATED OVER JEFFERSON AND WALWORTH COUNTIES AND IS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY HAVE PRODUCED SOME WIND DAMAGE AROUND THE ROCKFORD ILLINOIS AREA WITHIN THE PAST HOUR. IF THE STORMS HOLD TOGETHER THEY ARE EXPECTED TO RACE INTO DODGE.. WASHINGTON..WAUKESHA..MILWAUKEE..RACINE AND KENOSHA COUNTIES AROUND MIDNIGHT. ^ IN ADDITION...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN WAS ACCOMPANYING SOME OF THE HEAVIER STORMS WITH PONDING OF WATER AND POSSIBLE FLOODING TAKING PLACE IN LOW LYING AREAS. PERSONS IN SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN ARE ADVISED TO STAY ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING CONDITIONS AND BE PREPAIRED TO SEEK SHELTER SHOULD THREATNING WEATHER APPROACH. ZAJDEL
The office that day
Everything else NWS Milwaukee, WI issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 16, 12:34 AM CST | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MKX | Milwaukee | 26 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Wisconsin, 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.