Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 1990

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Chicago, IL

August 28, 1990Lake County, Indiana

NWS Chicago, IL issued this tornado warning at Aug 28, 1990, 4:50 PM CDT for Lake County, Indiana. It was in force for 25 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 28, 1990, 4:50 PM CDT (21:50 UTC)
Expired
Aug 28, 1990, 5:15 PM CDT
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS Chicago, IL
Area
Whole counties

County Lake County, IN

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

Dayton/James M C, OH (KDAY), launched 12:00Z, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 320 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, Dayton/James M C, OH at 12:00Z on 1990-08-28Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1114 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Dayton/James M C, OH at 12:00Z on 1990-08-28The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 97 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
1114 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-266 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1466 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
97 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
81 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KCHI 282150
TORCHI
INC089-282215-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
450 PM CDT TUE AUG 28 1990

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 515 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY

   IN THE NORTHWEST PART OF INDIANA
      SOUTHWEST LAKE

AT 4 45PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO NEAR BEECHER...
ABOUT 20 MILES NORTHEAST OF KANKAKEE..'.JUST WEST OF THE INDIANA
BORDER.

THE STORM IS MOVING SOUTHEAST AND WILL ENTER SOUTHWEST LAKE COUNTY
INDIANA NEAR LOWELL...SHELBY AND SCHNEIDER.

SOMREK

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 28, 1:08 PM CDT, 3 hours 42 minutes before
ILZ001-002-261810-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROCKFORD IL
105  PM CDT TUE AUG 28 1990

...TUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP OVER EXTREMEM NORTHERN ILLINOIS...

AT 1 PM A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED RAPIDLY
OVER EXTEREME NORTHERN ILLINOIS. THE STORMS WERE LOCATED NORTH OF A
LINE FORM ORANGEVILLE TO DURAND TO ROCKTON  NEAR THE ILLINOIS WISCONSIN
BORDERS THEY WERE WERE MOVING TO THE EAST SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

BREIF HEAKVY RAINFALL STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED
WITH THESE STORMS. PERSONS NEAR THOSE AREAS SHOULD BE ON ALERRT
FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING CONDITIONS.

LIBRIZZI
ATT:ISP...1..16..2
Special weather statement, Aug 28, 1:12 PM CDT, 3 hours 38 minutes before
ILZ001-002-281900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROCKFORD IL
105  PM CDT TUE AUG 28 1990

...TUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP OVER EXTREME  NORTHERN ILLINOIS...

AT 1 PM A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED RAPIDLY
OVER EXTEREME NORTHERN ILLINOIS. THE STORMS WERE LOCATED NORTH OF A
LINE FORM ORANGEVILLE TO DURAND TO ROCKTON  NEAR THE ILLINOIS WISCONSIN
BORDERS THEY WERE WERE MOVING TO THE EAST SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

BREIFV HEAVY RAINFALL STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED
WITH THESE STORMS. PERSONS NEAR THOSE AREAS SHOULD BE ON ALERRT
FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING CONDITIONS.

LIBRIZZI
ATT:ISP...1..16..2
Special weather statement, Aug 28, 1:26 PM CDT, 3 hours 24 minutes before
ILZ001-002-281900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROCKFORD IL
125  PM CDT TUE AUG 28 1990

...STRONG THUNDERSTORM OVER EXTREME  NORTHERN ILLINOIS...

AT 120 PM RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM JUST SOUTH OF DURAND
ABOUT 20 MILES NORTHWEST OF THE CITY OF ROCKFORD MOVING TOWARDS THE
EAST AT 30 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BRING BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL ALONG WITH
STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL. THE STORM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE
NORTHERRN PORTIONS OF THE CITY OF ROCKFORD INTO BOONE COUNTY
BY 2 PM .
PERSONS IN OR NEAR NEAR THOSE AREAS SHOULD BE ON ALERT
FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING CONDITIONS.

LIBRIZZI
ATT:ISP...1..16..2
Special weather statement, Aug 28, 2:01 PM CDT, 2 hours 49 minutes before
ILZ003-201200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
2 00 PM CDT TUE AUG 28 1990

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN POSTED FOR NORTHERN ILLINOIS
INCLUDING THE CHICAGO AREA FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING.

A COLD FRONT MOVING SOUTH FROM WISCONSIN HAS FORCED THUNDERSTORMS
TO DEVELOP IN SOUTHERN WISCONSIN AND NORTHERN ILLINOIS. AT 2 PM
THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED IN A LINE FROM JUST SOUTH OF
MILWAUKEE TO JUST WEST OF ROCKFORD AND HAD ENTERED THE EXTREME NORTH
AND NORTHEST PORTIONS OF THE CHICAGO SUBURBAN AREAS.

THE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE SLIPPING SOUTHEAST AND WILL MOVE ACROSS
THE CHICAGO AREA BETWEEN 2 AND 6 PM. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY
BE SEVERE2 AND PRODUCE STRONG WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.

BE ALERT FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING AND THREATENING WEATHER AND BE PREPARED
TO SEEK SHELTER AS NECESSARY.

SOMREK
Special weather statement, Aug 28, 4:13 PM CDT, 37 minutes before
ILZ001-002-282145-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROCKFORD IL
410 PM CDT TUE AUG 28 1990

...THUNDERSTORMS HAVE ALL MOVED INTO EASTERN PARTS OF ILLINOIS...

THIS AFTERNOON AT 410 CDT ALL THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WAS WELL TO THE
EAST AND SOUTHEAST OF NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS. THEY WERE
STILL MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST.

ELSEWHERE...ALL OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN ALONG WITH THE NORTHWEST AND
NORTH CENTRAL PORTIONS OF ILLINOIS WERE AGAIN PARTLY TO MOSTLY SUNNY.

HOWEVER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF
NORTHERN ILLINOIS EARLY THIS EVENING. THIS IS DUE TO A COLD FRONT
ALONG THE ILLINOIS/WISCONSIN STATE LINE MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST. THIS
FRONT MAY PRODUCE ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS...SOME STILL SEVERE...AS IT
PASSES ON TO THE SOUTHEAST OF OUR AREA.
.
FIELDS

ATTN: ISP 1..2..16

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Indiana, 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.