Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 236, NWS St. Louis, MO

October 17, 1996Saint Clair County, Illinois

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Oct 17, 1996, 4:45 PM CDT for Saint Clair County, Illinois. It was in force for 45 min. 3 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: Oct 17, 1996, 4:45 PM CDT (21:45 UTC)
Expired: Oct 17, 1996, 5:30 PM CDT
In force: 45 min
Issued by: NWS St. Louis, MO
Area: Whole counties

County Saint Clair County, IL

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where
Oct 17, 4:50 PM CDT	Hail 1.75	Fairview Hgts, IL
Oct 17, 5:00 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 51	Mascoutah, IL
Oct 17, 5:00 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52	Belleville, 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, 9.8 hours before the alert went out and 219 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 8 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -442 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1191 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 203 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 185 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.

000 
TTAA00 KSTL 172146
SVRSTL
ILC163-172230-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
445 PM CDT THU OCT 17 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  530 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS
 
   ...ST. CLAIR COUNTY
 
TOWNS IN THE PATH INCLUDE MILLSTADT...BELLEVILLE AND LEBANON.
 
NWS RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM JUST
SOUTH OF COLLINSVILLE SOUTHWEST TO NEAR MILLSTADT. THE STORMS WERE
MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
 
THESE STORMS HAVE A HISTORY OF 3/4 TO GOLFBALL SIZE HAIL.
 
JPK
 
&

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm 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, Oct 17, 11:06 AM CDT, 5 hours 39 minutes before

ILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-079-095>102-MOZ009-010-018-019-026-
027-034>036-041-042-047>052-059>065-072>075-084-085-099-172100-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
1100 AM CDT THU OCT 17 1996

THIS OUTLOOK COVERS THE COUNTY WARNING AREA OF THE NWS OFFICE
IN ST LOUIS.  AREAS INCLUDED ARE PARTS OF CENTRAL...NORTHEAST AND
EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI...AND SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS.

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG AND SOUTHEAST
OF A LINE FROM THE ST LOUIS METROPOLITAN AREA TO ROLLA THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

ALSO...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN EAST
CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MISSOURI AND IN WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST
ILLINOIS FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

STORM SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGERS SHOULD KEEP ADVISED OF
THE LATEST FORECAST FOR POSSIBLE SKYWARN ACTION.

AMS

Special weather statement, Oct 17, 4:15 PM CDT, 30 minutes before

ILZ096>099-MOZ036-049-051-052-059>062-172145-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
412 PM CDT THU OCT 17 1996

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR SOME PARTS OF
EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI AND EXTREME WESTERN ILLINOIS...

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR A FEW COUNTIES IN
EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI AND EXTREME WESTERN ILLINOIS.  THE COLD FRONT
THAT PRODUCED THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT HAS NOW PASSED THROUGH THESE
AREAS.

IN MISSOURI...THE COUNTIES OF OSAGE....PIKE...MONTGOMERY...
GASCONADE...LINCOLN ..WARREN...FRANKLIN...AND ST CHARLES ARE NO LONGER
IN THE WATCH.  IN ILLINOIS...BROWN...PIKE...CALHOUN...AND JERSEY
COUNTIES ARE CLEARED.

TRUETT

The office that day

Everything else NWS St. Louis, MO issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 17, 2:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Pike	29 min
Oct 17, 4:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Monroe	38 min
Oct 17, 5:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Clinton	40 min
Oct 17, 5:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Bond	29 min
Oct 17, 5:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LSX	Fayette	34 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 1996 Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.