Alert archive / Indiana / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 113, NWS Chicago, IL

July 18, 1997Jasper County, Newton County, Porter County, Indiana

NWS Chicago, IL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 18, 1997, 4:27 PM CDT for Jasper County, Newton County, Porter County, Indiana. It was in force for 63 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
Jul 18, 1997, 4:27 PM CDT (21:27 UTC)
Expired
Jul 18, 1997, 5:30 PM CDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Chicago, IL
Area
Whole counties

Counties Jasper County, IN, Newton County, IN, Porter County, IN

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 89 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:30 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 18, 4:40 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50Countywide, IN
Jul 18, 4:40 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50Countywide, INSevere thunderstorms downed tree limbs and power lines in Lake, Porter and Newton counties. Windows were broke in a house in Porter county.

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
Jul 18, 1:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 163 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 1997-07-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2335 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 1997-07-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 87 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
2335 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-82 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
952 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
87 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
107 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
3.8

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KCHI 182124 RRA
SVRCHI
INC073-111-127-182230-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
427 PM CDT FRI JUL 18 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  530 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...
 
IN NORTHWEST INDIANA
 
   ...JASPER COUNTY...NEWTON COUNTY...SOUTHERN PORTER COUNTY
 
AT 423 PM A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM JUST SOUTH OF
GARY TO JUST NORTH OF KANKAKEE. THE STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 40
MPH. NUMEROUS REPORTS OF DAMAGING WINDS HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS
LINE OF SEVERE STORMS.
 
 
DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE LIKELY.  GO INSIDE A STURDY

BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS!

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, Jul 18, 10:57 AM CDT, 5 hours 30 minutes before
ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019>023-032>033-039-INZ001>005-010>016-019>020-
191100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
1100 AM CDT FRI JUL 19 1997

FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST AND NORTH
CENTRAL INDIANA

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTH CENTRAL AND
NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AND A SMALL PART OF NORTHWEST INDIANA THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. NO SEVERE STORMS ARE EXPECTED IN NORTH CENTRAL
INDIANA.

AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES OF 85 TO 90 COMBINED WITH DEWPOINT TEMPERATURES
IN THE LOWER TO MIDDLE 70S WILL CREATE A VERY WARM...HUMID...UNSTABLE
ATMOSPHERE OVER NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND INDIANA. A COLD FRONT PUSHING
SOUTH FROM WISCONSIN AND MICHIGAN WILL REACH NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND
INDIANA TOWARD EVENING. THIS WILL BE THE FOCUS OF THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY.
A STRONG JET STREAM ACROSS THE NORTHERN GREAT LAKES WILL ENHANCE THE
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.

A COMPLEX OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS OVER SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA LATE
THIS MORNING. IT IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO PROPOGATE EAST SOUTHEAST
TOWARD NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS THIS AFTERNOON. A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL
ILLINOIS UNTILr 400 PM.

ALLSOPP
Special weather statement, Jul 18, 3:55 PM CDT, 32 minutes before
ILZ003-004-008-010-011-182115-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
355 PM CDT FRI JUL 18 1997

...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS HAS
EXPIRED...

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR
WINNEBAGO...BOONE...OGLE...LEE AND DEKALB COUNTIES.

ALLSOPP
Special weather statement, Jul 18, 4:14 PM CDT, 13 minutes before
ILZ005-006-012>014-019>023-INZ001-002-010-011-182145-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
415 PM CDT FRI JUL 18 1997

...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT NORTHWEST OF A
LINE FROM CHICAGO TO MORRIS...

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR MCHENRY...
LAKE...DUPAGE...KANE...KENDALL OR LASALLE COUNTIES.

ALLSOPP
Special weather statement, Jul 18, 4:15 PM CDT, 12 minutes before
ILZ005-006-012>014-019>023-INZ001-002-010-011-182145-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
415 PM CDT FRI JUL 18 1997

...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT NORTHWEST OF A
LINE FROM CHICAGO TO MORRIS...

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT FOR MCHENRY...
LAKE...DUPAGE...KANE...KENDALL OR LASALLE COUNTIES.

ALLSOPP

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 18, 1:12 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTLake63 min
Jul 18, 2:19 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLOTLake41 min
Jul 18, 2:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTLake41 min
Jul 18, 3:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTFulton, Kosciusko, Marshall59 min
Jul 18, 3:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTLake68 min
Jul 18, 4:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTLake68 min
Jul 18, 4:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTBenton58 min
Jul 18, 4:58 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTPulaski, White62 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Indiana, 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.