Alert archive / Wisconsin / Tornado Warnings in 1988
Tornado Warning 9, NWS Milwaukee, WI
NWS Milwaukee, WI issued this tornado warning at Aug 4, 1988, 6:45 PM CDT for Waukesha County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 28 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
- Aug 4, 1988, 6:45 PM CDT (23:45 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 4, 1988, 7:13 PM CDT
- In force
- 28 min
- Issued by
- NWS Milwaukee, WI
- Area
- Whole counties
County 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4, 7:00 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Waukesha, 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, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 163 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
- 595 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -155 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 985 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 26 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 105 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 72 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.1
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KMKE 042347
TORMKE
WIC133-050015-
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
645 PM CDT THU AUG 4 1988
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MILWAUKEE HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 715 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
IN SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN
...WAUKESHA
THE JEFFERSON COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED A TORNADO TOUCHDOWN NEAR LAKE
BEULAH IN EXTREME NORTHERN WALWORTH COUNTY. THE TORNADO WAS MOVING
NORTHEAST NEAR 30MPH TOWARD MUKWONAGO..BIG BEND..AND MUSKEGO. THE
REPORT WAS RECEIVED AT 642 PM.
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 CLOSET 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, Aug 4, 5:26 PM CDT, 1 hour 19 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI 520 PM CDT THU AUG 4 1988 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO SHEBOYGAN COUNTY... AT 520 PM CDT..WEATHER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING FROM FOND DU LAC COUNTY INTO SHEBOYGAN COUNTY. THESE STORMS EXTENDED FROM JUST EAST OF THE CITY OF FOND DU LAC..16 MILES SOUTHEAST OF FOND DU LAC TO BETWEEN CEDAR GROVE AND RANDOM LAKE IN SOUTHERN SHEBOYGAN COUNTY. MOVEMENT OF THESE STORMS WERE TO THE EAST AT ABOUT 35 MILES AN HOUR. BRIEF HEAVY RAIN..STRONG GUSTY WINDS..AND HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS AS THEY CONTINUE TO MOVE TO THE EAST. PERSONS IN SHEBOYGAN COUNTY SHOULD BE ALERT FOR POSSIBLE THREATENING WqEATHER CONDITIONS. THESE SAME STORMS WILL BE MOVING OVER THE OFFSHORE WATERS OF LAKE MICHIGAN IN THE NEXT HOUR. BOATERS IN THIS AREA SHOULD BE PREPARED TO SEEK SAFE SHELTER IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES. TRM
Special weather statement, Aug 4, 5:33 PM CDT, 1 hour 12 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI 533 PM CDT THU AUG 4 1988 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO JEFFERSON COUNTY EAST OF MADISON... AT 530 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO JEFFERSON COUNTY IN THE LAKE MILLS AND WATERLOO AREAS 20 MILES EAST OF MADISON. THESE STORMS SHOULD ALSO AFFECT PARTS OF SOUTHERN DODGE COUNTY MOVEMENT OF THESE STORMS WERE TO THE NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 30 MPH. BRIEF HEAVY RAIN..STRONG GUSTY WINDS..AND HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. HENTZ
Special weather statement, Aug 4, 5:44 PM CDT, 1 hour 1 minute before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI 545 PM CDT THU AUG 4 1988 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS SCATTERED ACROSS SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN... AT 545 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS SCATTERED ACROSS SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN. THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE 30 MILES EAST OF MADISON IN THE LAKE MILLS AND WATERTOWN AREA IN NORTHERN JEFFERSON COUNTY AND IN SOUTHWEST DODGE COUNTY. OTHER STRONG STORMS WERE SCATTERED ACROSS WALWORTH COUNTY 30 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MILWAUKEE AND IN SHEBOYGAN AND OZAUKEE COUNTIES BETWEEN MILWAUKEE AND SHEBOYGAN. MOVEMENT OF THESE STORMS WERE TO THE NORTHEAST AT ABOUT 30 MPH. BRIEF HEAVY RAIN..STRONG GUSTY WINDS..AND HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. HENTZ
Special weather statement, Aug 4, 5:50 PM CDT, 55 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MADISON WI 550 PM CDT THU AUG 4 1988 ...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN CENTRAL WISCONSIN... AT 535 PM CDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN WISCONSIN. THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE LOCATED IN JEFFERSON AND GREEN COUNTY. INDIVIDUAL THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING EAST-NORTHEAST AROUND 30 MPH WITH THE BULK OF THE PRECIPITATION MOVING SOUTHEAST AROUND 15 MPH. STRONG WINDS..HEAVY RAIN..AND FREQUENT LIGTHING HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THESE STORMS. HAIL IS ALSO POSSIBLE. IF A THUNDERSTORM IS IN YOUR AREA REMAIN INDOORS AND LISTEN FOR FURTHER WEATHER UPDATES. MOONEY
Local storm report, Aug 4, 5:58 PM CDT, 47 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI
600 PM CDT THU AUG 4 1988
ATTN SELS
TIME CDT LOCATION AND EVENT
451 PM FOND DU LAC COUNTY HWY 41 AN Y NEAR THE S COUNTY LINE
WIND DAMAGE. SIGNS DOWN REPORTED BY FOND DU LAC
COUNTY SHERIFF.
HENTZSpecial weather statement, Aug 4, 6:27 PM CDT, 18 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE WI 625 PM CDT THU AUG 4 1988 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE OVER PARTS OF SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN... AT 620 PM WEATHER RADAR INDICATED SCATTERED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN A ROUGHLY 20 MILE WIDE BAND CENTERED ON A LINE FROM PORT WASHINGTON IN OZAUKEE COUNTY TO JUST WEST OF WAUKESHA TO DELAVAN IN WALWORTH COUNTY..ABOUT 30 MILES NORTHEAST OF ROCKFORD ILLINOIS. THE STORMS ARE MOVING EAST TO NORTHEAST AT 25 TO 30 MPH AND WILL MOVE THROUGH MOST OF THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF WISCONSIN BETWEEN 630 AND 830 PM. HEAVY RAIN..STRONG GUSTY WINDS..AND HAIL ARE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS. A REPORT OF WIND GUSTS TO NEAR 50 MPH WAS RECEIVED AT 618 PM FROM A HAM RADIO OPERATOR JUST SOUTHEAST OF MUKWONAGO..ABOUT 23 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MILWAUKEE. PEOPLE IN SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN SHOULD BE ON THE ALERT FOR THREATENING WEATHER THIS EVENING AND SEEK SAFE SHELTER IF NECESSARY. JOHNSTON
The office that day
Everything else NWS Milwaukee, WI issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 3, 7:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MKX | Racine | 52 min |
| Aug 4, 4:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MKX | Fond du Lac | 57 min |
| Aug 4, 4:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MKX | Dodge | 35 min |
| Aug 4, 6:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MKX | Milwaukee | 46 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Wisconsin, 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.