Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1990
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 21, NWS Indianapolis, IN
NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 15, 1990, 8:55 PM CDT for Lawrence County, Wabash County, Illinois. It was in force for 50 min. 2 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 15, 1990, 8:55 PM CDT (01:55 UTC)
- Expired
- May 15, 1990, 9:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Indianapolis, IN
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Lawrence County, IL, Wabash 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 9:10 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 0 | Lawrence, IL | |
| May 15, 9:20 PM CDT | Thunderstorm Wind 52 | Wabash, IL |
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
Paducah/Barkley, KY (KPAH), launched 00:00Z, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 186 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
- 1196 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -25 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1228 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 88 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 286 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.8
- Supercell composite
- 7.5
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000
TTAA00 KEVV 160155 RRA
SVREVV
ILC101-185-160245-
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EVANSVILLE IN
855 PM CDT TUE MAY 15 1990
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EVANSVILLE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 945 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...
IN SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS
...LAWRENCE...WABASH
AT 850 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 35 MILES
NORTHWEST OF EVANSVILLE. THE STORM WAS ALONG A LINE FROM LAWRENCEVILLE
ILLINOIS TO NEAR WEST SALEM ILLINOIS. THE STORM WAS MOVING TO THE
EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. THIS STORM WILL REACH THE COMMUNITY OF
ALLENDALE BY 930 PM CDT.
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA. REMEMBER
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING. REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO
RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.
SPODENWhat 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, May 15, 5:31 PM CDT, 3 hours 24 minutes before
INZ008-011>015-160200- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA 530 PM EST TUE MAY 15 1990 A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EST FOR SOUTHERN INDIANA. AT 525 PM EST...A NEARLY SOLID LINE OF VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ABOUT 8 MILES WIDE EXTENDED FROM 35 MILES EAST OF COLUMBUS TO 25 MILES SOUTHEAST AND 35 MILES SOUTH OF COLUMBUS. THUNDERSTORMS WITHIN THIS LINE ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MILES AN HOUR. ALSO DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AS WELL AS BRIEF VERY HEAVY RAIN MAY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS. THE LINE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE CITIES OF MILAN...VERSAILLES...DEPUTY AND AUSTIN BETWEEN 535 AND 550 PM EST. PEOPLE IN THESE CITIES SHOULD REMAIN INDOOARS UNTIL THE STORMS PASS BY. . ANOTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS 35 MILES NORTHEAST OF TERRE HAUTE OR 8 MILES EAST OF GUION. ALL THE PRECIPITATION WAS MOVING EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. STEIGERWALDT
Special weather statement, May 15, 5:58 PM CDT, 2 hours 57 minutes before
INZ009-160000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA 555 PM EST TUE MAY 15 1990 A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EST FOR SOUTHERN INDIANA. AT 550 PM EST...SCATTERED VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED FROM JUST EAST OF BROWNSBURG SOUTH TO MONROVIA OR FROM 10 MILES WEST TO 15 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DOWNTOWN INDIANAPOLIS. THESE STORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS INDIANAPOLIS BETWEEN 6 PM AND 630 PM EST. BRIEF VERYn HEAVY DOWNPOURS AS WELL AS GUSTY WINDS...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THE PASSAGE OF THESE STORMS. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY DECREASING VISIBILITIES IN VERY HEAVY RAIN. STEIGERWALDT
Special weather statement, May 15, 6:31 PM CDT, 2 hours 24 minutes before
INZ008-011>015-160030- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA 630 PM EST TUE MAY 15 1990 A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EST FOR SOUTHERN INDIANA. AT 625 PM EST...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WERE MAINLY ON THE EAST AND NORTHEAST SIDES OF THE INDIANAPOLIS METROPOLITAN AREA. SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS OVER EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS WERE MOVING INTO WEST CENTRAL INDIANA FROM NEAR TERRE HAUTE NORTH TO 40 MILES SOUTHWEST OF LAFAYETTE. THE BULK OF THIS PRECIPITATION WILL MOVE INTO THE INDIANAPOLIS AREA AROUND 830 PM EST. A SOLID AREA OF SHOWERS WAS OVER SOUTHEAST INDIANA AND WAS MOVING INTO OHIO. ALL THE PRECIPITATION WAS MOVING EAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR. . SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING IN THE SAINT LOUIS AREA...OVER SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND JUST SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST OF SPRINGFIELD IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS AT 625 PM. STEIGERWALDT
Special weather statement, May 15, 7:42 PM CDT, 1 hour 13 minutes before
INZ008-011>015-160130- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA 740 PM EST TUE MAY 15 1990 STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING THROUGH WEST CENTRAL INDIANA THIS EVENING. AT 735 PM ESR RADAR SHOWED VERY STRONG STORMS FROM JUST EAST OF ROCKVILLE TO NEAR RACCOON LAKE. THIS IS ABOUT 25 MILES NORTHEAST OF TERRE HAUTE. THESE STORMS MAY PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS AS THEY MOVE EAST THROUGH PORTLAND MILLS...FINCASTLE AND BAINBRIDGE BY 815PM EST. STAY INDOORS TIL THE STORMS PASS. TORRENTIAL RAIN...LIGHTNING AND SMALL HAIL MAY ALSO ACCOMPANY THE STORMS. THESE STORMS WERE PART OF A LARGE AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH HEAVY RAIN. THE LEADING EDGE WAS FROM ATTICA TO 25 MIILES NORTHWEST OF INDIANAPOLIS TO 20 MILES SOUTH OF TERRE HAUTE. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9PM EST FOR SOUTHERN INDIANA. ALLSOPP
Special weather statement, May 15, 7:48 PM CDT, 1 hour 7 minutes before
INZ008-011>015-160130- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA 740 PM EST TUE MAY 15 1990 STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING THROUGH WEST CENTRAL INDIANA THIS EVENING. AT 735 PM EST RADAR SHOWED VERY STRONG STORMS FROM JUST EAST OF ROCKVILLE TO NEAR RACCOON LAKE. THIS IS ABOUT 25 MILES NORTHEAST OF TERRE HAUTE. THESE STORMS MAY PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS AS THEY MOVE EAST THROUGH PORTLAND MILLS...FINCASTLE AND BAINBRIDGE. STAY INDOORS UNTIL THE STORMS PASS. LIGHTNING...TORRENTIAL RAIN AND SMALL HAIL MAY ALSO ACCOMPANY THE STORMS. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE PART OF A LARGE AREA OF RAIN. THE LEADING EDGE OF THE RAIN WAS FROM ATTICA TO 25 MILES NORTHWEST OF INDIANAPOLIS TO 20 MILES SOUTH OF TERRE HAUTE. RAIN WILL BE TO LAFAYETTE...LEBANON...INDIANAPOLIS AND SULLIVAN BY 830 TO 900 PM EST. A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9PM EST FOR SOUTHERN INDIANA. ALLSOPP CORRECTED...PRODUCT WAS GARBRLED BY COMPUTER...
Special weather statement, May 15, 8:30 PM CDT, 25 minutes before
INZ008-011>015-160215- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA 830 PM EST TUE MAY 15 1990 VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAVE MOVED INTO THE WEST AND SOUTHWEST PART OF THE INDIANAPOLIS METROPOLITAN AREA AT 825 PM EST. THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE 15 TO 20 MILES WEST AND FROM 10 TO 30 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DOWNTOWN INDIANAPOLIS. THE PUBLIC REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD AT LIZTON IN HENDRICKS COUNTY AT 820 PM EST. THE FUNNEL CLOUD WAS NOT CONFIRMED BY TRAINED SPOTTERS. THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS...LOTS OF LIGHTNING AND TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS AND STREET FLOODING AS THEY CONTINUE MOVING EAST AT 40 MILES AN HOUR ACROSS THE INDIANAPOLIS METROPOLITAN AREA. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EST FOR SOUTHERN INDIANA. STEIGERWALDT
The office that day
Everything else NWS Indianapolis, IN issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 3:08 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | IND | Jasper | 22 min |
| May 16, 3:28 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | IND | Crawford | 32 min |
| May 16, 10:16 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | IND | Lawrence, Richland, Wabash | 4 hr |
| May 16, 10:16 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | IND | Edwards, Wayne | 4 hr |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 1990Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.