Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Chicago, IL

May 9, 1995Ford County, Iroquois County, Illinois

NWS Chicago, IL issued this tornado warning at May 9, 1995, 8:42 PM CDT for Ford County, Iroquois County, Illinois. It was in force for 48 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 9, 1995, 8:42 PM CDT (01:42 UTC)
Expired
May 9, 1995, 9:30 PM CDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Chicago, IL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Ford County, IL, Iroquois County, IL

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 104 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:42 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 00:00Z, 1.7 hours before the alert went out and 233 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, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 1995-05-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 173 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, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 1995-05-10The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -133 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
173 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-31 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
711 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-133 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-75 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCHI 100145
TORCHI
ILC053-075-100230-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
842 PM CDT TUE MAY 9 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  930 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS
 
   ...SOUTHERN FORD COUNTY...WESTERN IROQUOIS COUNTY
 
AT 840 PM RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE A PROBABLE TORNADO ON THE GROUND
IN WESTERN FORD COUNTY NEAR THE TOWNS OF MELVIN AND ROBERTS. THE STORM
WAS MOVING TO THE EAST-NORTHEAST AT 25 MPH. THIS TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO
CROSS I-57 JUST SOUTHWEST OF DELRAY...IN WESTERN IROQUOIS COUNTY...BY
915 PM. THIS STORM HAS A LONG HISTORY OF PRODUCING TORNADOES...IF YOU
ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY IN THE BASEMENT OR
INTERIOR ROOM OF A STURDY BUILDING.
 
ABANDON MOBILE HOMES!  GO INSIDE A NEARBY STURDY BUILDING!
AS A LAST RESORT LIE FLAT IN A DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD.
 T
CONSIDINE

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 9, 7:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTWill19 min
May 9, 7:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTDeKalb, Kane64 min
May 9, 7:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTDuPage64 min
May 9, 7:38 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTFord, Livingston67 min
May 10, 2:13 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTKankakee17 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 1995Every tornado warning in 1995Tornadoes in 1995

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.