Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Quad Cities, IA

March 13, 1990Rock Island County, Whiteside County, Illinois; Clinton County, Scott County, Iowa

NWS Quad Cities, IA issued this tornado warning at Mar 13, 1990, 4:59 PM CST for Rock Island County, Whiteside County, Illinois; Clinton County, Scott County, Iowa. It was in force for 31 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
Mar 13, 1990, 4:59 PM CST (22:59 UTC)
Expired
Mar 13, 1990, 5:30 PM CST
In force
31 min
Issued by
NWS Quad Cities, IA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Clinton County, IA, Scott County, IA, Rock Island County, IL, Whiteside County, IL

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
Mar 13, 5:07 PM CSTTornado F1Clinton, IA
Mar 13, 5:11 PM CSTTornado F3Whiteside, IL
Mar 13, 5:22 PM CSTThunderstorm Wind 50Clinton, IA

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, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 363 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 12:00Z on 1990-03-13Temperature 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°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 1990-03-13The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 1 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
1706 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
1 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
45 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 KMLI 132259
TORMLI
IAC163-045-ILC161-195-132330-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOLINE IL
459 PM CST TUE MAR 13 1990

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

   IN THE EXTREME EAST PART OF IOWA
      NORTHEAST SCOTT...EXTREME EASTERN CLINTON...

   IN THE NORTHWEST PART OF ILLINOIS
      NORTHERN ROCK-ISLAND...WESTERN WHITESIDE...

AT 455 PM SEVERAL REPORTS OF FUNNELS AND TORNDOES WERE RECEIVED
FROM THE PORT BYRON AND LECLAIRE AREAS ABOUT 20 MILES NORTHEAST
OF MOLINE.

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

SOME CITIES/TOWNS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE... PRINCETON...
COMANCHE...CLINTON AND FULTON.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION.  ACT QUICKLY.  IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF
AVAILABLE.  OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR POSSIBLE.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.

IF TIME PERMITS..ASK THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO RELAY
YOUR REPORT OF SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

ATTN ISP 7 AND 1

PHILLIPS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Quad Cities, IA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 13, 3:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNMercer, Rock Island45 min
Mar 13, 4:26 PM CSTTornado WarningDVNRock Island34 min
Mar 13, 5:31 PM CSTTornado WarningDVNWhiteside29 min
Mar 13, 12:39 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNCedar31 min
Mar 13, 1:40 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNClinton20 min
Mar 13, 1:58 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNClinton32 min
Mar 13, 2:10 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNJones50 min
Mar 13, 3:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNScott45 min
Mar 13, 5:01 PM CSTTornado WarningDVNDelaware29 min
Mar 13, 5:09 PM CSTTornado WarningDVNDubuque, Jones36 min
Mar 13, 5:25 PM CSTTornado WarningDVNDubuque35 min
Mar 13, 5:37 PM CSTTornado WarningDVNDelaware38 min
Mar 13, 5:39 PM CSTTornado WarningDVNCedar, Muscatine36 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 1990Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 1990Every tornado warning in 1990Tornadoes in 1990

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.