Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1994
Tornado Warning 3, NWS Chicago, IL
NWS Chicago, IL issued this tornado warning at Apr 26, 1994, 9:31 PM CDT for Iroquois County, Illinois. It was in force for 29 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
- Apr 26, 1994, 9:31 PM CDT (02:31 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 26, 1994, 10:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 29 min
- Issued by
- NWS Chicago, IL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Iroquois County, IL
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 9:45 PM CDT | Tornado F1 | Watseka, IL | Thunderstorm winds downed power lines and snapped a power pole east of Gilman on highway 24. A small tornado touched down briefly. An abandoned cinder block car wash building was moved from its foundation and the roof was damaged. Several metal storage buil |
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
Dayton/James M C, OH (KDAY), launched 00:00Z, 2.5 hours before the alert went out and 321 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 981 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1633 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 70 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 178 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.2
- Supercell composite
- 3.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KCHI 270234 TORCHI ILC075-270300- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 931 PM CDT TUE APR 26 1994 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS ...IROQUOIS COUNTY AT 9 30 PM CDT DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH A POSSIBLE TORNADO ABOUT 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF WATSEKA. ANOTHER STORM WAS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY NEAR ONARGA...ABOUT 10 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WATSEKA. THE STORMS ARE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH. WATSEKA AND DONOVAN ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM. THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM SITUATION. ACT QUICKLY. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO MOVE TO A SHELTER BELOW GROUND IF AVAILABLE. OTHERWISE...GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR POSSIBLE. GET AWAY FROM WINDOWS. ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOME FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT. MERZLOCK
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, Apr 26, 4:58 PM CDT, 4 hours 33 minutes before
ILZ014-021>023-270000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 456 PM CDT TUE APR 26 1994 ...THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER NORTHEAST ILLINOIS LATE THIS AFTERNOON... AT 450 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED THUNDERSTORMS OVER GRUNDY COUNTY. THE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH AND WILL MOVE ACROSS CENTRAL WILL COUNTY INCLUDING JOLIET AND NEW LENOX BETWEEN 500 AND 530 PM. THE STORMS WILL LIKELY REACH SOUTHWESTERN COOK COUNTY AROUND 530 PM. THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY CONTAIN STRONG WINDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND BRIEF HEAVY RAIN. PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THESE STORMS SHOULD MOVE INDOORS FOR THEIR PROTECTION. TAYLOR
Special weather statement, Apr 26, 5:53 PM CDT, 3 hours 38 minutes before
ILZ022--013-020-021--032-023-014-270000- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 550 PM CDT TUE APR 26 1994 ...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WARNINGS FOR SOUTHERN COOK AND WESTERN WILL COUNTIES HAVE EXPIRED AT 545 PM... THE SEVERE STORMS ACROSS WILL AND SOUTHERN COOK COUNTIES HAVE WEAKENED SINCE 530 PM. HOWEVER AT 550 PM WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS SCATTERED ACROSS THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO...OVER LEMONT AND NORTHWEST GRUNDY COUNTY ABOUT 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF MORRIS. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING TO THE SOUTHWEST OF CHICAGO BETWEEN PEORIA AND JOLIET. ALL STORMS WERE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH AND WILL LIKELY CONTAIN STRONG WIRNDS...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND BRIEF HEAVY RAIN AS THEY TRACK ACROSS THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO AND SOUTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN. PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THESE STORMS SHOULD MOVE INDOORS FOR THEIR PROTECTION. RANDALL
The office that day
Everything else NWS Chicago, IL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 7:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Livingston | 28 min |
| Apr 26, 7:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Cook, Will | 48 min |
| Apr 26, 8:16 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Ford, Iroquois | 44 min |
| Apr 26, 8:26 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LOT | Kankakee | 34 min |
| Apr 26, 8:52 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LOT | Iroquois | 38 min |
| Apr 26, 9:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Cook | 29 min |
| Apr 26, 9:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Ford, Livingston | 45 min |
| Apr 26, 10:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Ford, Iroquois | 30 min |
| Apr 26, 11:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Iroquois | 30 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 1994Every tornado warning in 1994Tornadoes in 1994
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.