Alert archive / Wisconsin / Tornado Warnings in 1991

Tornado Warning 4, NWS Milwaukee, WI

May 22, 1991Dodge County, Wisconsin

NWS Milwaukee, WI issued this tornado warning at May 22, 1991, 5:13 PM CDT for Dodge County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 47 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 22, 1991, 5:13 PM CDT (22:13 UTC)
Expired
May 22, 1991, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
47 min
Issued by
NWS Milwaukee, WI
Area
Whole counties

County Dodge County, WI

The nearest sounding before it

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 12:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 128 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 1991-05-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 1991-05-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 27 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
NaN m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
27 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
48 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMKE 222215
TORMKE
WIC027-133-222300-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
513 PM CDT WED MAY 22 1991
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  600 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN
 
   ...DODGE COUNTY...WAUKESHA COUNTY
 
AT 510 PM...OCONOMOWOC POLICE REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD NEAR THE GROUND AT
THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAYS P AND K IN OCONOMOWOC...30 MILES WEST OF
MILWAUKEE. THE FUNNEL CLOUD WAS MOVING NORTH-NORTHEAST AT 15 MILES AN
HOUR.  TOWNS IN THE PATH OF THE STORM INCLUDE...STONEBANK...MONTEREY AND
ALDERLEY.
 
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF A TORNADO...THE SAFEST PLACE IS A
BASEMENT.  GET UNDER A WORKBENCH OR PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE.
IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR ROOM
SUCH AS A CLOSET ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.  USE BLANKETS...PILLOWS...
OR CUSHIONS TO COVER YOUR BODY.  AVOID WINDOWS.
 
J LAST

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 22, 11:42 AM CDT, 5 hours 31 minutes before
WIZ012-013-016-017-019-020-221730-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND SHORT RANGE WEATHER SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1140 AM CDT WED MAY 22 1991

...SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS SPREADING ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN...

A NEWLY DEVELOPED LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM NEAR WAUWATOSA
IN WESTERN MILWAUKEE COUNTY TO NEAR BURLINGTON IN WESTERN RACINE
COUNTY.  AT 1140...RADAR SHOWED THESE STORMS MOVING SLOWLY NORTHEAST
AT 15 MILES AN HOUR AND WILL AFFECT THE MILWAUKEE METROPOLITAN
AREA AS WELL AS CENTRAL RACINE AND KENOSHA COUNTIES THROUGH 1 PM.

OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING AND VERY HEAVY RAINS CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE
THUNDERSTORMS.  RESIDENTS OF SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN SHOULD EXPECT BRIEFLY
REDUCED VISIBILITIES AND PONDING OF WATER NEAR THESE STORMS.  SOME
LOCALIZED FLOODING IS ALSO POSSIBLE.

OTHER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER EASTERN FOND DU LAC...WESTERN
SHEBOYGAN AND NORTHERN WASHINGTON COUNTIES.  THESE ARE ALSO MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 15 MILES AN HOUR.

KAVINSKY
Special weather statement, May 22, 12:49 PM CDT, 4 hours 24 minutes before
WIZ012-013-016-017-019-020-221900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND SHORT RANGE WEATHER SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1245 PM CDT WED MAY 22 1991

...SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE MILWAUKEE METRO AREA...

A LARGE BUT SLOW MOVING CLUSTER OF THUNDERSTORMS BLANKETED ALL OF
MILWAUKEE COUNTY AND PORTIONS OF NEARBY COUNTIES.  THE THUNDERSTORMS
EXTENDED FROM NEAR GERMANTOWN IN SOUTHERN WASHINGTON COUNTY THROUGH
MILWAUKEE COUNTY TO NEAR UNION GROVE IN NORTHERN KENOSHA COUNTY.  THE
STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 15 MILES AN HOUR.  OTHER SCATTERED
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE OVER SHEBOYGAN COUNTY...JUST WEST OF
SHEBOYGAN.

FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND HEAVY RAINS CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS.
DUE TO THE SLOW MOVEMENT AND HIGH MOISTURE CONTENT OF THE AIR...SOME
OF THE STORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCALIZED FLOODING.

PERSONS IN SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN SHOULD EXPECT BRIEFLY REDUCED
VISIBILITIES IN AREAS OF HEAVY RAINFALL AND PONDING OF WATER ON
AREA ROADS.  DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH A FLOODED ROADWAY.

KAVINSKY
Special weather statement, May 22, 3:23 PM CDT, 1 hour 50 minutes before
WIZ017-020-222230-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
324 PM CDT WED MAY 22 1991

THE URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY ISSUED EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON
FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...INCLUDING MILWAUKEE AND
RACINE COUNTIES...IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

THE THUNDERSTORMS THAT MOVED THROUGH THE MILWAUKEE AREA EARLIER THIS
AFTERNOON HAVE NOW DIMINISHED OR ENDED.  RAINFALL AT MITCHELL
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT THIS AFTERNOON HAS BEEN AROUND 2 INCHES.  MOST OF
THAT RAIN FELL BETWEEN NOON AND 1 PM.

ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED JUST ABOUT ANY TIME
TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY.  SOME OF THESE MAY PRODUCE ADDITIONAL
LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS <WHICH COULD RESULT IN SOME LOCAL URBAN OR SMALL
STREAM FLOODING.

HAHN
Special weather statement, May 22, 5:06 PM CDT, 7 minutes before
WIZ012-013-016-019-020-222330-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
505 PM CDT WED MAY 22 1991

...THUNDERSTORMS INCREASING IN SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...

AT 500 PM...RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS BECOMING MORE NUMEROUS IN SOUTH-
EAST WISCONSIN. SOME OF THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE LOCATED IN A BAND
ACROSS PARTS OF NORTHEAST JEFFERSON COUNTY...SOUTHEAST DODGE COUNTY AND
NORTHWEST WAUKESHA COUNTY...ESPECIALLY IN THE OCONOMOWOC AREA.

OTHER STRONG STORMS WERE FIRING OUT OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS TOWARD SOUTHERN
WALWORTH AND WESTERN KENOSHA AND RACINE COUNTIES.

THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGHOUT ALL OF SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN
LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.  THE STORMS DO HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR
GUSTY WINDS...VERY HEAVY RAIN AND SOME HAIL.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES BE PREPARED TO GO TO A PLACE OF
SAFETY.
^
STUREY

The office that day

Everything else NWS Milwaukee, WI issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 22, 4:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXJefferson47 min
May 22, 5:13 PM CDTTornado WarningMKXWaukesha27 min
May 22, 5:27 PM CDTTornado WarningMKXWashington33 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Wisconsin, 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.