Alert archive / Wisconsin / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1988

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 4, NWS Milwaukee, WI

April 5, 1988Jefferson County, Wisconsin

NWS Milwaukee, WI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 5, 1988, 8:33 PM CDT for Jefferson County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 57 min. 1 report 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
Apr 5, 1988, 8:33 PM CDT (01:33 UTC)
Expired
Apr 5, 1988, 9:30 PM CDT
In force
57 min
Issued by
NWS Milwaukee, WI
Area
Whole counties

County Jefferson 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 5, 9:05 PM CDTHail 0.75Jefferson, 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, 1.6 hours before the alert went out and 171 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 00:00Z on 1988-04-06Temperature 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 00:00Z on 1988-04-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 205 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
749 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
55 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
205 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
295 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.

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, Apr 5, 5:42 PM CDT, 2 hours 51 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
540 PM CST TUE APR 5 1988

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM HEADING FOR DODGE COUNTY...

AT 540 PM AN INTENSE THUNDERSTORM WAS OVER EASTERN COLUMBIA
COUNTY..ABOUT 25 MILES NORTHEAST OF MADISON.  THIS STORM DEVELOPED
RAPIDLY AND IS MOVING NORTHEAST AND WILL PASS THROUGH NORTHWESTERN
DODGE COUNTY NEAR FOX LAKE BETWEEN NOW AND 615 PM.  THIS STORM IS
CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND HAIL.  IF IT HOLDS
TOGETHER IT MAY THEN MOVE INTO FOND DU LAC COUNTY.  PERSONS IN
NORTHWEST DODGE COUNTY SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT AND MOVE TO A PLACE
OF SAFETY SHOULD CONDITIONS BECOME THREATENING.

A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN
FROM 6 PM TIL 11 PM.
OSTER
Special weather statement, Apr 5, 5:47 PM CDT, 2 hours 46 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MADISON WI
550 PM CDT TUESDAY APRIL 4 1988

..TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM CDT UNTIL 11 PM CDT...

AT 535 PM CDT WEATHER RADAR INDICATED SEVERAL T
Special weather statement, Apr 5, 6:16 PM CDT, 2 hours 17 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Apr 5, 6:42 PM CDT, 1 hour 51 minutes before
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      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
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Special weather statement, Apr 5, 6:58 PM CDT, 1 hour 35 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
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The office that day

Everything else NWS Milwaukee, WI issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 5, 9:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXWaukesha51 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.