Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1991

Tornado Warning 24, NWS Lincoln, IL

May 17, 1991Macon County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at May 17, 1991, 10:48 PM CDT for Macon County, Illinois. It was in force for 42 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: May 17, 1991, 10:48 PM CDT (03:48 UTC)
Expired: May 17, 1991, 11:30 PM CDT
In force: 42 min
Issued by: NWS Lincoln, IL
Area: Whole counties

County Macon County, IL

The nearest sounding before it

Paducah/Barkley, KY (KPAH), launched 00:00Z, 3.8 hours before the alert went out and 311 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: 1491 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -208 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1263 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 145 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 192 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 2.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSPI 180348
TORSPI
ILC115-180430-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD IL
1048 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1991

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1130 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY

   IN THE CENTRAL PART OF ILLINOIS
      MACON

AT 1043 PM AN UNCONFIRMED TORNADO WAS REPORTED TO HAVE TOUCHED
DOWN AND DAMAGED AREAS NEAR THE FAIRVIEW PLAZA OF WEST DECATUR.

THIS STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

IF YOU ARE IN AN AREA THREATENED BY THE STORM..GO TO A REINFORCED
SHELTER AND PREPARE FOR DAMAGING WIND...LARGE HAIL...VERY HEAVY
RAIN AND DANGEROUS LIGHTING.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORYM.  TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.

 ATTN ISP DIST...  10
 DB

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, May 17, 4:57 PM CDT, 5 hours 51 minutes before

ILZ009-010-172300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD IL
4 55 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1991

...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 9 PM CDT FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN
   ILLINOIS...

AT 455 PM CDT WEATHER RADAR INDICATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER
CENTRAL VERMILION COUNTY.  THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO DEVELOP WEST OF
DANVILLE...NEAR OAKWOOD AND MOVE EAST NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH TOWARD DANVILLE.

AT 450 PM...DANVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTED HEAVY RAINS AND STREET
FLOODING.  HEAVY RAINS WILL CONTINUE OVER CENTRAL VERMILION COUNTY
THROUGH 6 PM AS THESE STORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP.

OTHERWISE...NO THUNDERSTORMS OR SEVERE WEATHER HAVE BEEN OBSERVED OVER
CENTRAL OR EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS SINCE 4 PM.

DB

Special weather statement, May 17, 5:19 PM CDT, 5 hours 29 minutes before

ILZ005>007-009-172315-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEORIA IL
515 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1991

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS TILL 9 PM CDT...

AT 510 PM...RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN SOUTHERN HENRY COUNTY
NEAR THE TOWN OF ALPHA. THIS STORM IS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT AROUND
30 MPH. THIS WILL AFFECT THE NORTHWEST PORTIONS OF BUREAU COUNTY BY 6 PM. TOWNS
THAT WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS STORM ARE THOMAS...NEW BEDFORD AND MANLIUS.

ANOTHER STORM LOCATED 30 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BURLINGTON WILL CROSS THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER AROUND 6 PM AFFECTING NORTHERN HENDERSON AND WARREN
COUNTIES.

THESE ARE STRONG STORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN FALL...LARGE HADIL AND POSSIBLE
TORNADOES.

MOGGED

Special weather statement, May 17, 6:05 PM CDT, 4 hours 43 minutes before

ILZ009-010-180000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD IL
6 00 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1991

...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 9 PM CDT FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN
   ILLINOIS...

AT 600 PM CDT WEATHER RADAR INDICATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
EXTENDING FROM NORTHEASTERN DOUGLAS COUNTY NEAR NEWMAN...EASTWARD ALONG
THE VERMILION...EDGAR COUNTY LINES.  THE CELLS CONTINUED TO DEVELOP IN
THESE AREAS AND MOVE EASTWARD AT 25 MPH.

THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALSO OVER NORTHWESTERN AND SOUTHWESTERN ILLINOIS.
OTHERWISE...NO THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER CENTRAL OR EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS.

TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN IN THE 80S THIS EVENING...WINDS WILL BE SOUTH
10 TO 20 MPH EXCEPT OVER PORTIONS OuF EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...THEY WILL
BE EAST TO NORTHEAST 10 TO 20 MPH...AND TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE 70S.
DB

Special weather statement, May 17, 8:01 PM CDT, 2 hours 47 minutes before

ILZ009-010-180200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD IL
8 00 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1991

...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 9 PM CDT FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...
...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL MIDNIGHT FOR MOST OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...

AT 800 PM CDT NO PRECIPITATION WAS FALLING ACROSS CENTRAL OR EAST
CENTRAL ILLINOIS.

THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN MOVING ACROSS WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWESTERN
ILLINOIS.  IT IS EXPECTED THESE STORMS WILL 3MOVE OVER PORTIONS OF
CENTRAL ILLINOIS BY MIDNIGHT.

DB

Special weather statement, May 17, 8:59 PM CDT, 1 hour 49 minutes before

ILZ009-010-180300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD IL
9 00 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1991

...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL MIDNIGHT FOR MOST OF CENTRAL AND PORTIONS
   OF EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...

AT 900 PM CDT WEATHER RADARS SHOWS AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
NORTH OF A LINE FROM QUINCY TO PEORIA TO 30 MILES SOUTH OF PONTIAC
ILLINOIS. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH

THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO MOVE ACROSS WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWESTERN
ILLINOIS.  IT IS EXPECTED THESE STORMS WILL MOVE OVER PORTIONS OF
CENTRAL ILLINOIS BETWEEN 10 AND 11 PM.

HILLIARD

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 17, 7:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Putnam	64 min
May 17, 7:38 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	McDonough, Warren	67 min
May 17, 7:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	McLean	34 min
May 17, 8:11 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Fulton, Knox, Peoria	64 min
May 17, 8:50 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Fulton, Peoria	55 min
May 17, 9:24 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	McLean, Mason, Tazewell, Woodford	66 min
May 17, 9:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Cass, Menard	47 min
May 17, 9:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Logan, Sangamon	49 min
May 17, 10:41 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	DeWitt, Macon, Piatt	49 min
May 17, 11:09 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Mason	66 min
May 17, 11:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Champaign, Douglas	49 min
May 17, 11:11 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Coles, Moultrie	49 min

Nearby

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