Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 1991

Tornado Warning 2, NWS Northern Indiana

May 30, 1991Huntington County, Indiana

NWS Northern Indiana issued this tornado warning at May 30, 1991, 8:05 PM EST for Huntington County, Indiana. It was in force for 25 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 30, 1991, 8:05 PM EST (01:05 UTC)
Expired
May 30, 1991, 8:30 PM EST
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS Northern Indiana
Area
Whole counties

County Huntington County, IN

The nearest sounding before it

Dayton/James M C, OH (KDAY), launched 00:00Z, 1.1 hours before the alert went out and 150 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 00:00Z on 1991-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2324 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1991-05-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 72 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
2324 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1089 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
72 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
85 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.6
Supercell composite
3.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KFWA 310105
TORFWA
INC069-310130-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED 
TORNADO WARNING 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WAYNE IN
805 PM EST THU MAY 30 1991

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING 
EFFECTIVE UNTIL 830 PM EST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY

   IN THE NORTHEAST PART OF INDIANA
      NORTHEAST HUNTINGTON

AT  800 PM EST A FUNNEL CLOUD WAS REPORTED BY A SKYWARN SPOTTER
18 MILES SOUTHWEST OF FORT WAYNE OR JUST SOUTH OF HUNTINGTON IN
NORTHEAST INDIANA.

THIS FUNNEL CLOUD WAS MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

A BASEMENT OFFERS THE BEST PROTECTION FROM  TORNADO.
IF POSSIBLE GET UNDER A STURDY TABLE OR WORK BENCH.

IN A HOME WITHOUT A BASEMENT...GO TO THE CENTER OF THE HOUSE ON
THE LOWEST FLOOR.  GET INTO A CLOSET...INTERIOR HALL...OR UNDER
HEAVY FURNITURE.  COVER YOURSELF WITH A HEAVY BLANKET OR SIMILAR
OBJECT.

IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE HOME...WHETHER TIED DOWN OR NOT...
ABANDON IT!!!!  GO TO A COMMUNITY SHELTER...REINFORCED BUILDING...
OR GET INTO A DITCH...DEPRESSION OR CULVERT.

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 30, 2:20 PM EST, 5 hours 45 minutes before
INZ001-002-302015-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SOUTH BEND IN
220 PM EST THU MAY 30 1991

...THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ACROSS MICHIANA...

AT 2 15 PM EST...THUNDERSTORMS HAD DEVELOPED ACROSS NORTHERN INDIANA
IN A LINE ABOUT 20 MILES WIDE FROM JUST SOUTH OF CROWN POINT INDIANA
...ABOUT 60 MILES SOUTHWEST OF SOUTH BEND...TO 25 MILES NORTH OF
FORT WAYNE INDIANA.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTH NORTHEAST AROUND 30 MPH.

BRIEF VERY HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS
MAY ACCOMPANY THESE DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS.

MOWERY
Special weather statement, May 30, 2:23 PM EST, 5 hours 42 minutes before
INZ003-005-006-OHZ001-302000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WAYNE IN
220 PM EST THU MAY 30 1991

AT 216 PM EST... 316 PM EDT... A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED 20
MILES NORTHWEST OF FORT WAYNE... NEAR MERRIAM. THIS STORM WAS MOVING
EAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR. DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND BRIEF HEAVY RAIN CAN
BE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. SMALL HAIL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS
STORM AS IT MOVES EAST TOWARD THE AUBURN AREA DURING THE NEXT HOUR.

AT 216 PM EST... 316 PM EDT... OTHER THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM 40
MILES NORTHEAST OF FORT WAYNE TO 20 MILES NORTHEAST OF FORT WAYNE...
NEAR AUBURN. THESE STORMS WERE ALSO MOVING EAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR.

BARJENBRUCH
Special weather statement, May 30, 3:32 PM EST, 4 hours 33 minutes before
INZ001-002-004-005-302130-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SOUTH BEND IN
325 PM EST THU MAY 30 1991

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR NORTHERN INDIANA UNTIL 9PM EST...

AT 3 25 PM EST...A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS LOCATED FROM
WESTVILLE INDIANA...35 MILES WEST OF SOUTH BEND...THROUGH LA PORTE
INDIANA...TO WAKARUSA INDIANA...20 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SOUTH BEND.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTH NORTHEAST AROUND 30 MPH.
\
BRIEF VERY HEAVY RAIN...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...
AND SMALL HAIL COULD ACCOMPANY THESE THUNDERSTORMS.

MW
Special weather statement, May 30, 7:42 PM EST, 23 minutes before
INZ001-002-004-005-MIZ001-007-008-310130-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SOUTH BEND IN
740 PM EST THU MAY 30 1991

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR NORTHERN INDIANA UNTIL 9PM EST...

AT 730 PM EST...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING THROUGH PARTS OF
NORTH CENTRAL INDIANA AND SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN.

STRONG THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE LOCATED FROM
LAPORTE...THROUGH SOUTH BEND...AND THEN TO OSCEOLA INDIANA...OR
FROM 18 MILES WEST TO 11 MILES EAST OF SOUTH BEND.

OTHER STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALONG THE LAKE MICHIGAN SHORELINE
NEAR BENTON HARBOR MICHIGAN.

THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

IN ADDITION TO HEAVY RAIN...THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE DANGEROUS
LIGHTNING...AND POSSIBLY STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL AS THEY
MOVE THROUGH BENTON HARBOR...SOUTH BEND...ELKHART...AND NILES BY
830 PM EST/930 PM EDT.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...MOVE TO A SAFE SHELTER
IMMEDIATELY. REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO YOUR LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

MS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Northern Indiana issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 30, 10:29 PM ESTFlash Flood WarningIWXAdams, Grant, Huntington, Wells3 hr
May 31, 3:33 AM ESTFlash Flood WarningIWXAllen4 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Indiana, 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.