Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1996

Tornado Warning 53, NWS Lincoln, IL

December 23, 1996Tazewell County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at Dec 23, 1996, 12:37 PM CST for Tazewell County, Illinois. It was in force for 53 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
Dec 23, 1996, 12:37 PM CST (18:37 UTC)
Expired
Dec 23, 1996, 1:30 PM CST
In force
53 min
Issued by
NWS Lincoln, IL
Area
Whole counties

County Tazewell County, IL

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 42 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:40 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.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Dec 23, 12:37 PM CSTHail 1Tremont, 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 87 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 1996-12-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 70 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 1996-12-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 141 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
70 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-60 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
518 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
141 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
151 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

572 
WFUS1 KSPI 231838 RRA
TORSPI
ILC179-231930-
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
1237 PM CST MON DEC 23 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LINCOLN HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  130 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS
 
   ...TAZEWELL COUNTY
 
AT 1235 PM...RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 3 MILES NORTHWEST OF
GREEN VALLEY. THE STORM ASSOCIATED WITH THE POSSIBLE TORNADO WAS MOVING
TO THE NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. TOWNS IN THE PATH INCLUDE SOUTH
PEKIN...TREMONT...MORTON AND MACKINAW.
 
 
TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY IN A BASEMENT OR INTERIOR ROOM ON THE
LOWEST FLOOR. ABANDON MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES FOR SAFER SHELTER.
ACT NOW TO SAVE YOUR LIFE
$$
 
OUSLEY

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 23, 12:16 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMcLean, Woodford44 min
Dec 23, 12:23 PM CSTTornado WarningILXMorgan, Sangamon52 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 1996Every tornado warning in 1996Tornadoes in 1996

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.