Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1991

Tornado Warning 21, NWS Lincoln, IL

May 16, 1991McLean County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at May 16, 1991, 2:51 PM CDT for McLean County, Illinois. It was in force for 54 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 16, 1991, 2:51 PM CDT (19:51 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 1991, 3:45 PM CDT
In force
54 min
Issued by
NWS Lincoln, IL
Area
Whole counties

County McLean County, IL

The nearest sounding before it

Paducah/Barkley, KY (KPAH), launched 12:00Z, 7.9 hours before the alert went out and 381 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, Paducah/Barkley, KY at 12:00Z on 1991-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 217 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, Paducah/Barkley, KY at 12:00Z on 1991-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 31 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
217 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-76 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
945 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
31 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
82 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KPIA 161951
TORPIA
ILC113-162045-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEORIA IL
251 PM CDT THU MAY 16 1991

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 345 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY

   IN THE CENTRAL PART OF ILLINOIS
      NORTHEAST MCLEAN

AT 245 PM CDT... MARSIELLES RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO SIGNATURE
IN THE SAME STORM THAT PRODUCED THE TORNADO NEAR FARMER CITY. THIS
STORM WAS MOVING NORTH AT 30 MPH AND WILL AFFECT THE TOWNS OF
ANCHOR...CROPSEY AND COLFAX.

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO...GO TO A BASEMENT SHELTER
IF AVAILABLE...OTHERWISE TO A CENTRAL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOGWEST
FLOOR.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM.  TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.

ATTN ISP 6

MOGGED

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 2:17 PM CDTTornado WarningILXChampaign28 min
May 16, 2:19 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMcLean26 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 1991Every tornado warning in 1991Tornadoes in 1991

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.