Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1996

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 250, NWS St. Louis, MO

December 23, 1996Saint Clair County, Washington County, Illinois

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Dec 23, 1996, 3:18 PM CST for Saint Clair County, Washington County, Illinois. It was in force for 27 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Dec 23, 1996, 3:18 PM CST (21:18 UTC)
Expired
Dec 23, 1996, 3:45 PM CST
In force
27 min
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Whole counties

Counties Saint Clair County, IL, Washington County, IL

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 94 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:22 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

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 9.3 hours before the alert went out and 214 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.

000 
TTAA00 KSTL 232118 RRA
SVRSTL
ILC189-163-232145-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
318 PM CST MON DEC 23 1996
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  345 PM CST
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN SOUTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS
 
   ...WASHINGTON COUNTY
 
IN SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS
 
   ...SOUTHEASTERN ST. CLAIR COUNTY
 
AT 318 PM...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM NEAR MARISSA MOVING
NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH. THE TOWNS IN THE PATH OF THE STORM ARE LIVELY GROVE
AND NASHVILLE.
 
THIS STORM DAMAGED HOMES IN EVANSVILLE AROUND 300 PM.
 
 
&

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, Dec 23, 10:33 AM CST, 4 hours 45 minutes before
ILZ064-065-069-070-074-079-100>102-MOZ061>065-072>075-084-085-099-
240230-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
1033 AM CST MON DEC 23 1996

THIS OUTLOOK COVERS THE COUNTY WARNING AREA OF THE NWS OFFICE IN ST
LOUIS. AREAS INCLUDED ARE PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST
MISSOURI AS WELL AS SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS.

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE SOUTHEAST
HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA...EAST OF A LINE FROM ROLLA TO 25 MILES
NORTHWEST OF ST LOUIS TO 75 MILES NORTHEAST OF ST LOUIS. THE
GREATEST THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE DURING THE AFTERNOON AND
EARLY EVENING HOURS.

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

PEDIGO
Special weather statement, Dec 23, 10:40 AM CST, 4 hours 38 minutes before
ILZ064-065-069-070-074-079-100>102-MOZ061>065-072>075-084-085-099-
240230-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
1033 AM CST MON DEC 23 1996

THIS OUTLOOK COVERS THE COUNTY WARNING AREA OF THE NWS OFFICE IN ST
LOUIS. AREAS INCLUDED ARE PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST
MISSOURI AS WELL AS SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS.

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE SOUTHEAST
HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA...EAST OF A LINE FROM ROLLA TO 25 MILES
NORTHWEST OF ST LOUIS TO 75 MILES NORTHEAST OF ST LOUIS. THE
GREATEST THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE DURING THE AFTERNOON AND
EARLY EVENING HOURS.

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

PEDIGO
Special weather statement, Dec 23, 12:48 PM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes before
ILZ100-102-101-MOZ062-061-063-064-231945-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
1248 PM CST MON DEC 23 1996

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO BEAR DOWN ON THE ST LOUIS AREA...

AT 1145 PM...RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM
NORTHERN ST CHARLES COUNTY NEAR OFALLON TO JUST WEST OF DEFIANCE TO EAST
OF WASHINTGON.  THE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.  BY 115 PM
THE STORMS SHOULD EXTEND FROM NEAR PORTAGE DES SIOUX TO NEAR BALLWIN.

THE STRONG STORM IN NORTHERN ST CHARLES COUNTY SHOULD MOVE JUST NORTH OF
ST PETERS AND THE CITY OF ST CHARLES.

ALL OF THESE STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE HAIL STRONG WINDS.  A
REPORT OF PEA SIZE HAIL AND 35 TO 50 MPH WINDS WAS RECIEVED FROM THE
OFALLON AREA AT 1237 PM.

REMEMBER THE AREA REMAINS UNDER A TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 5 PM.

DLF/RP
Special weather statement, Dec 23, 12:52 PM CST, 2 hours 26 minutes before
ILZ100-102-101-MOZ062-061-063-064-231945-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTED FOR TIME
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
1248 PM CST MON DEC 23 1996

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO BEAR DOWN ON THE ST LOUIS AREA...

AT 1245 PM...RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM
NORTHERN ST CHARLES COUNTY NEAR OFALLON TO JUST WEST OF DEFIANCE TO EAST
OF WASHINTGON.  THE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40 MPH.  BY 115 PM
THE STORMS SHOULD EXTEND FROM NEAR PORTAGE DES SIOUX TO NEAR BALLWIN.

THE STRONG STORM IN NORTHERN ST CHARLES COUNTY SHOULD MOVE JUST NORTH OF
ST PETERS AND THE CITY OF ST CHARLES.

ALL OF THESE STORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE HAIL STRONG WINDS.  A
REPORT OF PEA SIZE HAIL AND 35 TO 50 MPH WINDS WAS RECIEVED FROM THE
OFALLON AREA AT 1237 PM.

REMEMBER THE AREA REMAINS UNDER A TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 5 PM.

DLF/RP

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 23, 11:19 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXMonroe41 min
Dec 23, 11:43 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXCalhoun62 min
Dec 23, 11:43 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXGreene62 min
Dec 23, 2:38 PM CSTTornado WarningLSXMonroe, Randolph37 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 1996Every 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.