Alert archive / Ohio / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 56, NWS Wilmington, OH

May 18, 1997Allen County, Hardin County, Ohio

NWS Wilmington, OH issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 18, 1997, 2:46 PM EDT for Allen County, Hardin County, Ohio. It was in force for 29 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
May 18, 1997, 2:46 PM EDT (18:46 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 1997, 3:15 PM EDT
In force
29 min
Issued by
NWS Wilmington, OH
Area
Whole counties

Counties Allen County, OH, Hardin County, OH

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 18, 2:50 PM EDTHail 1.75Roundhead, OH

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 18, 2:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 12:00Z, 6.8 hours before the alert went out and 143 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 1997-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 72 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 1997-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 114 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
72 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-147 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1311 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
114 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
133 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 KILN 181847
SVRILN
OHC003-065-181915-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
246 PM EDT SUN MAY 18 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  315 PM EDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN WEST CENTRAL OHIO
 
   ...HARDIN COUNTY
 
AT 245 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM APPROACHING SOUTHWESTERN HARDIN COUNTY. THIS STORM WAS
MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH AND WILL AFFECT ROUNDHEAD AND AREAS WEST OF
KENTON. LARGE HAIL AND STRONG WINDS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS. HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO DO
NOT DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.
 
 
WILKINSON

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.

NWS Wilmington, OH wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 18, 9:30 AM EDT, 5 hours 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 18, 9:30 AM EDT, 5 hours 16 minutes before
FORECAST COORDINATION MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
929 AM EDT SUN MAY 18 1997

12Z SFC ANALYSIS INDICATED LOW PRES ACROSS THE CORN BELT WITH A WARM
FNT EXTENDING EWD ACROSS CNTRL OH.  THE FNT SHOULD SLOWLY LIFT NWD THRU
THE PM HOURS.  ATMOSPHERE S OF FNT WL BE MODERATELY UNSTABLE AND CAP
SHOULD BE MINIMAL OR NONEXISTENT BY THE TIME H5 S/WV PROGD BY MODELS
APPROACHES LATE THIS PM.  BEST COVERAGE OF TSRA WL BE DAY-CMH AND NWD
BUT SCT STORMS SHOULD DEVELOP FURTHER S.  STORMS WL CONT INTO THE
EVENING HOURS.  SVR STORMS CERTAINLY POSSIBLE.  CURRENT FCST PRECIP AND
TEMPS HANDLE THIS WELL SO NO CHANGES NEEDED.

WILKINSON

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 18, 10:22 AM EDT, 4 hours 24 minutes before
INZ050-058-059-066-073>075-080-KYZ089>100-OHZ015-016-024>026-
034-035-042>046-051>056-060>065-070>074-077>082-088-190000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
1021 AM EDT (921 AM EST) SUN MAY 18 1997

...THERE IS A RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS
WEST CENTRAL OHIO...THE MIAMI AND WHITEWATER VALLEYS...CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN OHIO...AS WELL AS SOUTHEAST INDIANA AND NORTHERN KENTUCKY...

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN KANSAS CITY ADVISES THAT SEVERE
WEATHER IS POSSIBLE TODAY ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY REGION. THE RISK OF
SEVERE WEATHER WILL ALSO LAST INTO TONIGHT AND POSSIBLY MONDAY MORNING.
DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE IN THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. THE
GREATEST RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE OVER WEST CENTRAL OHIO...AND
THE MIAMI AND WHITEWATER VALLEYS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO
THROUGHOUT THE DAY FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION AND UPDATES FROM THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

THE THUNDERSTORMS FORECASTED FOR TODAY ARE THE RESULT OF WARM MOIST
AIR MOVING INTO THE REGION. A SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW OF AIR AHEAD OF A
PLAINS COLD FRONT WILL BRING THE UNSTABLE AIR IN. THE COLD FRONT
WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION ON MONDAY CONTINUING THE THREAT FOR
SEVERE WEATHER.

SPOTTERS AND AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS MAY NEED TO BE ACTIVATED THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

WILKINSON
Special weather statement, May 18, 2:35 PM EDT, 11 minutes before
INZ050-OHZ015-016-024>026-034-035-042-044-045-051>054-060>062-190300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
234 PM EDT (134 PM EST) SUN MAY 18 1997

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF EAST-CENTRAL
   INDIANA AND MUCH OF WESTERN OHIO...

SOME CITIES IN THE WATCH AREA INCLUDE DAYTON...SPRINGFIELD AND LIMA.

VERY UNSTABLE CONDITIONS HAVE DEVELOPED ACROSS THE WATCH AREA THIS
AFTERNOON.  A STRONG UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM APPROACHING THE AREA WILL HELP
THUNDERSTORMS THAT WERE DEVELOPING THIS AFTERNOON TO QUICKLY BECOME
SEVERE.  THESE STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND DAMAGE AND
LARGE HAIL.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER UPDATES.

WILKINSON

The office that day

Everything else NWS Wilmington, OH issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 3:12 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNAuglaize43 min
May 18, 4:13 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNDelaware42 min
May 18, 5:11 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNDelaware44 min
May 18, 2:23 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNAuglaize37 min
May 18, 4:19 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNAllen41 min
May 18, 5:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNClark30 min
May 18, 5:18 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNChampaign27 min
May 18, 5:32 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNMadison, Union28 min
May 18, 5:44 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNDelaware46 min
May 18, 6:07 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNFranklin38 min
May 18, 6:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNFairfield, Licking34 min
May 18, 6:31 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNScioto44 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Ohio, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997

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.