Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1997

Tornado Warning 25, NWS Lincoln, IL

August 24, 1997Christian County, Macon County, Shelby County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at Aug 24, 1997, 4:24 PM CDT for Christian County, Macon County, Shelby County, Illinois. It was in force for 36 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: Aug 24, 1997, 4:24 PM CDT (21:24 UTC)
Expired: Aug 24, 1997, 5:00 PM CDT
In force: 36 min
Issued by: NWS Lincoln, IL
Area: Whole counties

Counties Christian County, IL, Macon County, IL, Shelby County, IL

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 67 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:28 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
Aug 24, 4:34 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Mt Auburn, IL	Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees and power lines in Mt. Auburn. No injuries were reported and no damage estimate was available.

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Aug 24, 2:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 9.4 hours before the alert went out and 71 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: 2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -283 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1391 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 282 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 389 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSPI 242124 RRA
TORSPI
ILC021-115-173-242200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
424 PM CDT SUN AUG 24 1997

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  CHRISTIAN COUNTY IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS
  WESTERN MACON COUNTY IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS
  NORTHERN SHELBY COUNTY IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS

* UNTIL 500 PM CDT
 
* SOME TOWNS AFFECTED
  BLUE MOUND
  STONINGTON
  MOWEAQUA
  ASSUMPTION

* AT 421 PM CDT LINCOLN DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 8
  MILES SOUTHWEST OF DECATUR...OR TWO MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  HARRISTOWN...MOVING SOUTH AT 25 MPH.

* LARGE HAIL CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM.

TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY IN A BASEMENT OR INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR. ABANDON MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES FOR SAFER SHELTER.

GEELHART/BYRD

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 24, 10:35 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Macon	25 min
Aug 24, 12:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Douglas	28 min
Aug 24, 12:48 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Coles	27 min
Aug 24, 1:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Stark	43 min
Aug 24, 1:26 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Clark, Coles, Edgar	49 min
Aug 24, 1:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Woodford	38 min
Aug 24, 2:04 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Peoria	41 min
Aug 24, 2:51 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Logan, Tazewell	39 min
Aug 24, 3:17 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Tazewell	43 min
Aug 24, 3:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	DeWitt, Logan, McLean	48 min
Aug 24, 3:54 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Macon	36 min
Aug 24, 4:09 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Logan	51 min
Aug 24, 5:01 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Christian, Shelby	44 min
Aug 24, 5:25 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Mason, Menard	35 min
Aug 24, 5:28 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Champaign	32 min
Aug 24, 6:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Mason, Menard	39 min
Aug 24, 6:21 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Sangamon	39 min
Aug 24, 6:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Cass, Mason, Menard	39 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 1997 Every tornado warning in 1997 Tornadoes 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.