Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1995

Tornado Warning 3, NWS Paducah, KY

May 18, 1995Alexander County, Union County, Illinois

NWS Paducah, KY issued this tornado warning at May 18, 1995, 1:46 PM CDT for Alexander County, Union County, Illinois. It was in force for 44 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
May 18, 1995, 1:46 PM CDT (18:46 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 1995, 2:30 PM CDT
In force
44 min
Issued by
NWS Paducah, KY
Area
Whole counties

Counties Alexander County, IL, Union County, IL

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 275 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1995-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1151 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 1995-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 178 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
1151 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-3 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
674 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
178 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
189 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.3
Supercell composite
4.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KPAH 181846
TORPAH
ILC003-181-181930-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
146 PM CDT THU MAY 18 1995
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PADUCAH HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  230 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH ILLINOIS
 
   ...NORTHERN ALEXANDER COUNTY...SOUTHERN UNION COUNTY
 
A TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO MOVE OR NEAR REYNOLDSVILLE AND EAST CAPE
GIRARDEAU BY 150 PM TO 200 CDT. AT 140 PM BOTH DOPPLER RADAR AND STORM
SPOTTERS INDICATED A TORNADO IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE CITY OF CAPE
GIRARDEAU. MOVEMENT WAS NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.
 
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.  AVOID WINDOWS.  ABANDON CARS AND MOBILE HOMES
FOR A REINFORCED BUILDING OR GET INTO A DITCH OR CULVERT.
 
LAMM
 
&

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

Local storm report, May 18, 10:18 AM CDT, 3 hours 28 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
1017 AM CDT THU MAY 18 1995

TIME (CDT) ...CITY LOCATION...    STATE
           ...COUNTY LOCATION...            ...EVENT/REMARKS...

1145 PM    BENTON                    IL   SEVERAL TREES DOWN ACROSS
05/17/95   FRANKLIN                       ROAD

0050 AM    CAPE GIRARDEAU            MO   ROOF BLOWN OFF TRAILER 1054
05/18/95   CAPE GIRARDEAU                 COUNTY LINE ROAD

0105 AM    CAPE GIRARDEAU            MO   NUMEROUS TREES REPORTED DOWN
05/18/95   CAPE GIRARDEAU                 IN THE COUNTY

0115 AM    COUNTY LINE ROAD          IL   NUMEROUS TREES DOWN ACROSS THE
05/18/95   ALEXANDER                      ROAD
0150 AM    UNIONVILLE                IL   SEVERAL TREES DOWN SOUTH
05/18/95   MASSAC                         OF UNIONVILLE

0200 AM    ELIZABETHTOWN             IL    TWO TREES DOWN ON ROADWAY
05/18/95   HARDIN                          4 MILES NE OF ELIZABETHTOWN

0225 AM    BROOKPORT                 IL    NUMEROUS TREES DOWN ON POWER
05/18/95   MASSAC                          LINES AND ROADWAYS

0230 AM    BARDWELL                  KY    SEVERAL TREES DOWN ON ROADWAYS
05/18/95   CARLISLE                        AND POWER LINES

0240 AM    NEW LIBERTY               KY    SEVERAL TREES DOWN ALONG THE
05/18/95   LIVINGSTON                      OHIO RIVER

0310 AM    EDDYVILLE AND FREDONIA    KY   NUMEROUS TREES DOWN ON COUNTY
05/18/95   LYON                           ROADS

0315 AM    DALTON                    KY   NUMEROUS TREES DOWN
05/18/95   CRITTENDON

0315 AM    MARION                    KY   SEVERAL TREES DOWN SOUTH
05/18/95   CRITTENDON                     OF MARIONl
Local storm report, May 18, 10:43 AM CDT, 3 hours 3 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
1040 AM CDT THU MAY 18 1995

TIME (CDT) ...CITY LOCATION...    STATE
           ...COUNTY LOCATION...            ...EVENT/REMARKS...

0315 AM    DRAFFENVILLE              KY   TWO TREES DOWN EAST OF
05/18/95   MARSHALL                       DRAFFENVILLE

0430 AM    CALVERT CITY              KY   LARGE LMBS DOWN 1 MILE SOUTH
05/18/95   MARSHALL                       OF CALVERT CITY

0430 AM    HARDIN                    KY   WIND GUST 55-60 MPH
05/18/95   MARSHALL

1230-230 AM FRANKLIN COUNTY          IL   NUMEROUS ROADS FLOODED ACROSS
05/18/95                                  COUNTY

0100-300 AM CAPE GIRARDEAU COUNTY     MO    3 INCHES OF RAIN AT CAPE
05/18/95                                    GIRARDEAU AND SEVERAL COUNTY
                                            ROADS COVERED WITH WATER

SAME AS     BOLLINGER COUNTY          MO    A FEW COUNTY ROADS CLOSED DUE
ABOVE                                       TO HIGH WATER

SAME AS     JACKSON COUNTY            IL    SEVERAL ROADS CLOSED DUE TO
ABOVE                                       HIGH WATER

SAME AS     SALINE COUNTY             IL    SEVERAL GRAVEL ROADS UNDER
ABOVE
                                            WATER AND CLOSED BRIEFLY

SAME AS     HAMILTON COUNTY           IL    PARTS OF HWY 242 N OF
ABOVE                                       MCLEANSBORO AND HWY 14 E OF
                                            MCLEANSBORO CLOSED BECAUSE
                                            OF HIGH WATER
SAME AS     WILLIAMSON COUNTY         IL    SEVERAL ROADS WATER COVERED
ABOVE
                     ***FLOOD EVENTS ON 05/18/95***

The office that day

Everything else NWS Paducah, KY issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 17, 11:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHFranklin28 min
May 17, 11:55 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHHamilton35 min
May 18, 12:05 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningPAHFranklin3 hr
May 18, 12:17 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningPAHJackson, Williamson3 hr
May 18, 12:17 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningPAHHamilton, Saline3 hr
May 18, 12:28 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHHamilton32 min
May 18, 12:46 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHAlexander, Union59 min
May 18, 1:02 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHJohnson, Massac, Pulaski58 min
May 18, 1:14 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHPope, Saline61 min
May 18, 1:38 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHHardin52 min
May 18, 2:16 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHMassac, Pope59 min
May 18, 2:16 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHSaline59 min
May 18, 1:31 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHJackson29 min
May 18, 2:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHJohnson35 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.