Alert archive / Indiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 5, NWS Northern Indiana

May 18, 1997Allen County, Indiana; Defiance County, Ohio

NWS Northern Indiana issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 18, 1997, 10:21 PM EST for Allen County, Indiana; Defiance County, Ohio. It was in force for 39 min. 2 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
May 18, 1997, 10:21 PM EST (03:21 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 1997, 11:00 PM EST
In force
39 min
Issued by
NWS Northern Indiana
Area
Whole counties

Counties Allen County, IN, Defiance County, OH

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 18, 10:33 PM ESTThunderstorm WindNear Defiance, OH
May 18, 10:46 PM ESTThunderstorm WindFt Wayne, IN

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, 10:00 PM ESTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Detroit, MI (KDTX), launched 00:00Z, 3.4 hours before the alert went out and 202 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, Detroit, MI at 00:00Z on 1997-05-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 17 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, Detroit, MI at 00:00Z on 1997-05-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 296 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
17 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-791 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
754 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
62 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
296 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
450 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 KFWA 190322 RRA
SVRFWA
INC003-OHC039-190400-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WAYNE IN
1021 PM EST (1121 PM EDT) SUN MAY 18 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT WAYNE HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1100 PM EST(MIDNIGHT EDT)
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHEAST INDIANA
 
   ...ALLEN COUNTY
 
 
IN NORTHWEST OHIO
 
   ...DEFIANCE COUNTY
 
AT 1020 PM EST RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS JUST NORTH
OF FORT WAYNE INDIANA TO 20 MILES NORTHWEST OF DEFIANCE OHIO.
 
THIS LINE WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 45 MPH AND CONTAINED DAMAGING WINDS
AND HAIL.
 
PERSONS IN THE CITIES OF FORT WAYNE AND DEFIANCE OHIO SHOULD MOVE TO A
PLACE OF SAFETY AS THIS LINE MOVES THROUGH THEIR AREA.
 
AT 1017 PM EST DAMAGING WINDS WERE REPORTED IN WATERLOO INDIANA.
 
 
A TORNADO WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT FOR THE WARNED AREA.  REMEMBER
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES
WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.  REMAIN CALM BUT BE ALERT TO
RAPIDLY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS.
 
 
MARSHALL
&

The office that day

Everything else NWS Northern Indiana issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 9:40 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXLaGrange35 min
May 18, 9:48 PM ESTTornado WarningIWXLaGrange, Steuben27 min
May 18, 9:57 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXNoble33 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Indiana, 1997Severe 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.