Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1996
Tornado Warning 4, NWS Chicago, IL
NWS Chicago, IL issued this tornado warning at Apr 19, 1996, 5:55 PM CDT for Grundy County, Kankakee County, Will County, Illinois. It was in force for 50 min. 4 reports 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 19, 1996, 5:55 PM CDT (22:55 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 19, 1996, 6:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 50 min
- Issued by
- NWS Chicago, IL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Grundy County, IL, Kankakee County, IL, Will County, IL
The radar
The Chicago radar (KLOT), 35 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:56 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
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 6:20 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Kinsman, IL | |
| Apr 19, 6:25 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Herscher, IL | |
| Apr 19, 6:40 PM CDT | Hail 1 | Bourbonnais, IL | |
| Apr 19, 6:53 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Kankakee, 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, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 134 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2232 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 47 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 33 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 34 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KCHI 192253 TORCHI ILC063-091-197-192345- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 555 PM CDT FRI APR 19 1996 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 645 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN NORTHEAST ILLINOIS ...GRUNDY COUNTY...WESTERN KANKAKEE COUNTY ...SOUTHWESTERN WILL COUNTY DOPPLER RADAR INDICATES VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO GRUNDY COUNTY EXTENDING SOUTH INTO NORTHEAST LIVINGSTON COUNTY. AT 550 PM THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE LOCATED 5 MILES SOUTH OF DWIGHT OR 19 MILES NORTHEAST OF PONTIAC AND NEAR STREATOR OR 15 MILES SOUTH OF OTTAWA THESE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH. THE TOWNS OF REDDICK..SOUTH WILMINGTON.. AND KINGSMAN WILL BE AFFECTED BY THESE TWO STORMS BY AROUND 615 PM. SEVERAL REPORTS OF FUNNEL CLOUDS AND BRIEF TORNADOES HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THESE STORMS. IN ADDITION LARGE HAIL HAS BEENT REPORTED AROUND PONTIAC AND PORTIONS OF NORTHERN LIVINGSTON COUNTY. ABANDON MOBILE HOMES! GO INSIDE A NEARBY STURDY BUILDING! AS A LAST RESORT LIE FLAT IN A DITCH AND COVER YOUR HEAD. KML &
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 19, 4:22 PM CDT, 1 hour 33 minutes before
ILZ019-021-192230- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 423 PM CDT FRI APR 19 1996 AT 417 PM A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS FROM LASALLE TO STREATOR IN LASALLE COUNTY. PEA SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED IN WENONA IN EXTREME NORTHEAST MARSHALL COUNTY AS THE STORMS MOVED THROUGH. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH AND WILL AFFECT OTTAWA BY 425 PM...SENECA BY 445 PM AND BOTH MORRIS AND YORKVILLE BY 515 PM. TRS
Special weather statement, Apr 19, 4:24 PM CDT, 1 hour 31 minutes before
ILZ019>021-192230- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 423 PM CDT FRI APR 19 1996 AT 417 PM A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS FROM LASALLE TO STREATOR IN LASALLE COUNTY. PEA SIZE HAIL WAS REPORTED IN WENONA IN EXTREME NORTHEAST MARSHALL COUNTY AS THE STORMS MOVED THROUGH. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH AND WILL AFFECT OTTAWA BY 425 PM...SENECA BY 445 PM AND BOTH MORRIS AND YORKVILLE BY 515 PM. TRS CORRECTED CODING
The office that day
Everything else NWS Chicago, IL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 18, 7:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | DeKalb | 31 min |
| Apr 19, 4:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | LaSalle, Livingston | 51 min |
| Apr 19, 5:30 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LOT | LaSalle, Livingston | 45 min |
| Apr 19, 6:42 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LOT | Kankakee | 48 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.