Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1991

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 39, NWS St. Louis, MO

May 17, 1991Randolph County, Illinois; Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 17, 1991, 5:42 PM CDT for Randolph County, Illinois; Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri. It was in force for 63 min. 1 report 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 17, 1991, 5:42 PM CDT (22:42 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 1991, 6:45 PM CDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Whole counties

Counties Randolph County, IL, Sainte Genevieve County, MO

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 17, 6:15 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 0Randolph, 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 12:00Z, 10.7 hours before the alert went out and 153 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 1991-05-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1509 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 1991-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -61 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
1509 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-34 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
669 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-61 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-40 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-1.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSTL 172243 RRA
SVRSTL
ILC157-MOC186-172345-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
542 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1991
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  645 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS
 
   ...RANDOLPH COUNTY
 
 
IN EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI
 
   ...STE GENEVIEVE COUNTY
 
AT 525 PM...THE ST. GENEVIEVE COUNTY SHERIFF REPORTED MARBLE SIZE HAIL
IN ST GENEVIEVE AND TREES WERE BLOWN OVER IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE
COUNTY.
 
RADAR INDICATED TWO STORMS IN ST GENEVIEVE COUNTY...ONE IN THE WESTERN
PART OF THE COUNTY THE OTHER WAS IN EASTERN ST. GENEVIEVE COUNTY...
THIS IS ABOUT 50 MILES SOUTHE OF ST LOUIS.  THE  STORMS WERE
MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR.  PEOPLE IN THE TOWNS OF ST.
GENEVIEVE AND SPARTA ILLINOIS SHOULD MOVE TO A PLACE OF SAFETY.
 
 
WHEN THUNDERSTORMS ARE OCCURRING...PEOPLE SHOULD MOVE INSIDE A
STRONG BUILDING.  DO NOT STAND BY WINDOWS.  DON'T USE TELEPHONES
OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY UNTIL THE STORM
HAS PASSED.  MOTORISTS SHOULD NOT DRIVE INTO LOW WATER CROSSINGS.
 
FERRY

What 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 17, 12:00 PM CDT, 5 hours 42 minutes before
MOZALL-171910-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
1201 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1991

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE IN THE ST. LOUIS
   AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...

CONDITIONS ARE RIPE FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT OVER CENTRAL MISSOURI LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
IN ADDITION...SOME STORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN DUE TO THE
VERY MOIST AIR OVER THE AREA.

IF YOU LIVE NEAR LOW LYING AREAS...CREEKS...OR STREAMS IN THE
ST. LOUIS METRO AREA...STAY ALERT TONIGHT. IF HEAVY RAINS MOVE INTO
YOUR AREA...FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS...CREEKS...AND UNDERPASSES
MAY OCCUR. DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH FLOODING ROADS.

STAY TUNED TO LOCAL TV BROADCASTS OR NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR THE LATEST
STATEMENTS ON THIS WEATHER SITUATION.

GOETSCH
Special weather statement, May 17, 3:57 PM CDT, 1 hour 45 minutes before
MOZ001>003-005>007-172200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
355 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1991

...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST
   MISSOURI TILL 9 PM...

AT 345 PM...THUNDERSTERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING OVER NORTH CENTRAL
MISSOURI. THE STRONGEST STORM WAS NORTHEAST OF TRENTON.  THE STORM
WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 25 MILES AN HOUR.

THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER THIS PART OF MISSOURI
LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING.  SOME OF THESE STORMS WILL
REACH SEVERE LIMITS AND MAY ALSO PRODUCE TORNADOES.

IF YOU ARE IN NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL MISSOURI...OR ARE PLANNING
TO TRAVEL INTO THIS AREA...MONITOR THE WEATHER CONDITIONS CLOSELY BY
LISTENING TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND LOCAL RADIO AND T.V. STATIONS. BE
PREPARED TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION IN THE EVENT THAT SEVERE WEATHER
DEVELOPES.

FERRY
Special weather statement, May 17, 5:09 PM CDT, 33 minutes before
MOZ012-018-172300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
500 PM CDT FRI MAY 17 1991

...THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING OVER SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...

AT 500 PM...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED JUST EAST OF MONTAUK
STATE PARK IN SOUTHWEST DENT COUNTY.  THIS IS ABOUT 50 MILES SOUTH OF
ROLLA.

SOME PEA SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED FROM THIS STORM AT MONTAUK STATE
PARK JUST BEFORE 5 PM.  IN ADDITION TO THE HAIL...EXTREMELY HEAVY
RAINS WILL ALSO OCCUR WITH THIS STORM.

THIS STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL BE MOVING
THROUGH OR NEAR THE TOWNS OF GLADDEN AND SALEM BY 6 PM.

PERSONS IN THIS AREA SHOULD MONITOR THE WEATHER CLOSELY AND BE PREPARED
TO MOVEt TO SAFETY IN THE EVENT THIS STORM INTENSIFIES.

FERRY

The office that day

Everything else NWS St. Louis, MO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 17, 3:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXSchuyler47 min
May 17, 4:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXSchuyler, Scotland59 min
May 17, 5:49 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXClark, Scotland56 min
May 17, 6:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXLewis51 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 1991Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Missouri, 1991Every severe thunderstorm warning 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.