Alert archive / Wisconsin / Tornado Warnings in 1988

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Milwaukee, WI

May 8, 1988Marathon County, Portage County, Wisconsin

NWS Milwaukee, WI issued this tornado warning at May 8, 1988, 6:09 PM CDT for Marathon County, Portage County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 36 min. 3 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: May 8, 1988, 6:09 PM CDT (23:09 UTC)
Expired: May 8, 1988, 6:45 PM CDT
In force: 36 min
Issued by: NWS Milwaukee, WI
Area: Whole counties

Counties Marathon County, WI, Portage 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
May 8, 6:10 PM CDT	Tornado F2	Marathon, WI
May 8, 6:10 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 0	Portage, WI
May 8, 6:12 PM CDT	Tornado F0	Portage, 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 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 123 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1662 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 91 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 141 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 KMKE 082310
TORMKE
WIC073-097-082345-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
609 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 1988
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MILWAUKEE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  645 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
 
IN CENTRAL WISCONSIN
          ...MARATHON...PORTAGE
 
AT 608 PM A TORNADO WAS REPORTED JUST NORTH OF COUNTY W IN THE
SOUTHERN PART OF THE COUNTY. A TORNADO WAS REPORTED ON HIGHWAY W AND
CODDINGTON HEADING FOR PLOVER IN PORTAGE COUNTY 35 MILES SOUTH OF
WAUSAU.
 
ANOTHER TORNADO WAS REPORTED 10 MILES SOUTH OF WAUSAU NEAR EAU PLAINE
RESERVOIR ON COUNTY HIGHWAY C AND S.  THIS TORNADO WAS IN MARATHON
COUNTY.
 
STORMS ARE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.
 
 
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 CLOSELT ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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, May 8, 3:13 PM CDT, 2 hours 56 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
310 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 1988

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN...

AT 305 PM RADAR INDICATE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO
NORTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN. AT 3 PM THORP IN CLARK COUNTY REPORTED
MARBLE SIZED HAIL. SEVERAL STRONG STORMS WERE LOCATED 35 MILES
NORTHEAST OF EAU CLAIRE AND 20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF EAU CLAIRE
NEAR THE TOWNS OF HANNIBAL AND JUST NORTHWEST OF FAIRCHILD IN
WESTERN TAYLOR AND WESTERN CLARK COUNTY. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. EXPECT STRONG WINDS AND HAIL FROM THESE STORMS.

IN ADDITION A TORNADO WATCH COVERS MUCH OF WISCONSIN EXCEPT THE
FAR NORTH UNTIL 9 PM.

PERSONS IN WISDCONSIN SHOULD BE ALET TO SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING.
HENTZ

Special weather statement, May 8, 3:45 PM CDT, 2 hours 24 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
343 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 1988

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS APPROCHING NORTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN...

AT 340 PM RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 30 MILES EAST OF
EAU CLAIRE IN FAR WESTERN CLARK COUNTY. THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST
AT 40 MPH AND SHOULD AFFECT THE THORP AND OWEN AREA OF CLARK COUNTY
BY 4PM.  EXPECT HAIL AND STRONG WINDS FROM THIS STORM.

THIS STORM WILL THEN HEAD INTO pSOUTHERN TAYLOR COUNTY AFTER 4PM.

A TORNADO WATCH COVERS MUCH OF WISCONSIN EXCEPT THE FAR NORTH UNTIL 9PM.

PERSONS IN WISCONSIN SHOULD BE ALERT TO SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING.

HENTZ

Special weather statement, May 8, 4:47 PM CDT, 1 hour 22 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
440 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 1988

...TORNADO WATCHES REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR ABOUT THE SOUTHERN TWO THIRDS OF
WISCONSIN THIS EVENING...

AT 435 PM RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS OVER WESTERN
WISCONSIN FROM GREENWOOD IN CLARK COUNTY..OR ABOUT 45 MILES EAST OF EAU
CLAIRE..SOUTHWARD THRU RICHLAND CENTER IN RICHLAND COUNTY TO GRATIOT IN
LAFAYETTE COUNTY..ABOUT 40 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MADISON.  STORMS IN THE
LINE ARE MOVING NORTH ABOUT 40 MPH WHILE THE LINE ITSELF DRIFTS EASTWARD
ABOUT 10 MPH.

THE LINE WILL BE MOVING INTO CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN DURING
THE NEXT 1 TO 3 HOURS.  BUT THERE ARE NO STORMS IN OR CLOSE TO SOUTHEAST
WISCONSIN AT THIS TIME.

JOHNSTON

Special weather statement, May 8, 5:01 PM CDT, 1 hour 8 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
500 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 1988

        ...STRONG WINDS MOVING INTO SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...

DURING THE PAST HOUR STRONG SURFACE WINDS GUSTING TO 60 MPH HAVE BEEN
OCCURING OVER PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST ILLINOIS. IN ADDITION...VISIBILITIES
ARE BEING REDUCED DUE TO BLOWING DUST.

WHILE THESE WINDS ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY...
PERSONS OVER SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN WILL BE EXPERIENCING STRONG WINDS
...POSSIBLY BETWEEN 50 AND 65 MPH DURING THE EVENING HOURS.

MOTORISTS IN HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES ARE URGED TO USE CAUTION...AND PEOPLE
WITH RESPIRATORY AILMENTS SHOULD CURTAIL OUTSIDE ACITIVIES DUE TO
THE BLOWING DUST. THE WINDS SHOULD BEGIN TO SUBSIDE A FEW HOURS AFTER
SUNSET.

ZAJDEL

Special weather statement, May 8, 5:31 PM CDT, 38 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
530 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 1988

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM HEADING TOWARD WALOWRTH AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES...

AT 525 PM CDT A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED NEAR THE ROCK/WALWORTH
BORDER MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

THE STORM WILL BE MOVING TOWARD THE WHITEWATER/FORT ATKINSON AREAS
ABOUT 45 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF MILWAUKEE BETWEEN NOW AND 545 PM CDT.

THIS STORM MAY BE CAPABLE OF STRONG WINDS..HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN.
ZAJDEL

Special weather statement, May 8, 5:44 PM CDT, 25 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
543 PM CDT SUN MAY 8 1988

..STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HEADING TOWARD WALWORTH..JEFFERSON AND DODGE
  COUNTIES..

AT 535 PM CDT A LINE OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS LOCATED FROM
EASTERN DANE AND ROCK COUNTIES. THE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST
AT ABOUT 45 MPH.

AT 525 PM CDT 50 MPH WINDS WERE REPORTED JUST EAST OF BELOIT IN ROCK
COUNTY.

THE LINE OF STORMS WILL BE MOVING INTO WESTERN WALWORTH AND WESTERN
JEFFERSON COUNTIES BETWEEN NOW AND 6PM CDT AND WILL BE AFFECTING THE
TOWNS OF LAKE MILLS..JEFFERSON..FORT ATKINSON AND WHITEWATER ABOUT
40 TO 45 MILES WEST TO SOUTHWEST OF MILWAUKEE.

SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY BE CAPABLE OF ST/RONG WINDS..HAIL AND HEAVY RAIN.
ZAJDEL

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 8, 3:49 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Taylor	56 min
May 8, 5:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Marathon, Wood	63 min
May 8, 5:52 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MKX	Jefferson	38 min
May 8, 5:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Portage	61 min
May 8, 6:04 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MKX	Dodge	41 min
May 8, 6:24 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	MKX	Fond du Lac	51 min
May 8, 6:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Langlade	66 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Wisconsin, 1988 Every tornado warning in 1988 Tornadoes 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.