Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1989

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Chicago, IL

July 11, 1989Kankakee County, Illinois

NWS Chicago, IL issued this tornado warning at Jul 11, 1989, 4:38 PM CDT for Kankakee County, Illinois. It was in force for 52 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Jul 11, 1989, 4:38 PM CDT (21:38 UTC)
Expired: Jul 11, 1989, 5:30 PM CDT
In force: 52 min
Issued by: NWS Chicago, IL
Area: Whole counties

County Kankakee County, IL

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

Peoria Regional, IL (KPIA), launched 12:00Z, 9.6 hours before the alert went out and 155 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: 1755 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -67 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1186 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -41 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 16 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 KCHI 112138
TORCHI
ILC091-112230-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
438 PM CDT TUE JUL 11 1989

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 530 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY

   IN THE NORTHEAST PART OF ILLINOIS
      EASTERN KANKAKEE

AT  4 25 PM A TORNADO WAS REPORTED BY BY THE COUNTY POLICE AT
ROUTE 115...5 MILES WEST OF KANKAKEE ILLINOIS. THIS SEVERE
STORM AND ASSOCIATED TORNADO WAS MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH.

SOME TOWNS AND CITIES IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM ARE KANKAKEE,
SUN RIVER TERRACE AND AROMA PARK AND MOMENCE ILLINOIS.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE IS IN
A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...FIND SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY. AVOID WINDOWS.

VERMOCH
ATTN ISP 21

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, Jul 11, 12:52 PM CDT, 3 hours 46 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROCKFORD IL
1250 PM CDT TUE JUL 11 1989

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING BACK INTO NORTHWEST ILLINOIS...

AT 1250 CDT THIS AFTERNOON THE LEADING EDGE OF A SMALL AREA OF SHOWERS
AND STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED ALONG A LINE FROM NEAR MADISON
WISCONSIN DOWN TO ABOUT 30 MILES NORTHWEST OF ROCKFORD ILLINOIS THEN ON
SOUTH TO NEAR MT. CARROLL ILLINOIS.

THE THUNDERSTORMS IN THIS AREA WILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS..
DEADLY CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING..GUSTY WINDS..AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL
HAIL. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE EAST NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

AS THESE STORMS APPROACH BE PREPARED TO MOVE IN DOORS QUICKLY.

OUR FORECAST IS STILL CALLIN$G FOR AN EXCELLENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS
THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS FOR ALL OF NORTHWEST AND
NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS.
FIELDS

Special weather statement, Jul 11, 1:52 PM CDT, 2 hours 46 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
1 50 PM CDT TUE JUL 11 1989

     ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING OVER NORTHWEST ILLINOIS...

   AT 1 45 PM CDT RADAR AND SATELLITE DATA INDICATED A LINE OF STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUING TO DEVELOP OVER NORTHWESTERN ILLINOIS.  THE
LINE OF STORMS EXTENDED FROM SOUTH OF MADISON WISCONSIN TO JUST WEST
OF ROCKFORD TO SOUTHWESTERN LEE COUNTY.  THESE STORMS ARE MOVING TO
THE EAST AT 20 TO 25 MPH.

   MARBLE SIZED HAIL AND A POSSIBLE FUNNEL CLOUD HAVE BEEN REPORTED
WITH THESE STORMS. THE STRONGEST ACTIVITY IS LOCATED OVER SOUTHERN
WINNEBAGO AND OGLE COUNTIES.  WITH THE PRESENT MOVEMENT THE LINE OF
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ENTERING MCHENRY AND KANE COUNTIES...TO THE
NORTHWEST OF CHICAGO...BETWEEN 2 30 AND 3 00 PM CDT.

MERZLOCK

Special weather statement, Jul 11, 2:45 PM CDT, 1 hour 53 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
2 45 PM CDT TUE JUL 11 1989

     ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS...

   AT 2 40 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
OVER NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS.  THE AREA OF STRONGEST STORMS WAS LOCATED
OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF DE KALB COUNTY. HOWEVER...SATELLITE IMAGERY
OVER THE PAST HOUR HAS INDICATED AN INCREASE IN ACTIVITY SOUTHWESTWARD
TO WEST OF MARSEILLES. THE STORMS ARE MOVING TO THE EAST AT 20 TO 25
MPH AND WILL BE ENTERING WESTERN KANE AND KENDALL COUNTIES BY 4 PM CDT.

   MARBLE SIZED HAIL AND WINDS TO 45 MPH HAVE BEEN REPORTED
WITH THESE STORMS.

MERZLOCK

Special weather statement, Jul 11, 4:32 PM CDT, 6 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
2 45 PM CDT TUE JUL 11 1989
M:TTTCHI

The office that day

Everything else NWS Chicago, IL issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 11, 2:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LOT	Kane	67 min
Jul 11, 2:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LOT	Kane	66 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 1989 Every tornado warning in 1989 Tornadoes in 1989

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.