Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1997
Tornado Warning 1, NWS Chicago, IL
NWS Chicago, IL issued this tornado warning at Apr 30, 1997, 2:41 PM CDT for Lee County, Illinois. It was in force for 34 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
- Apr 30, 1997, 2:41 PM CDT (19:41 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 30, 1997, 3:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 34 min
- Issued by
- NWS Chicago, IL
- Area
- Whole counties
County Lee County, IL
The radar
The Chicago radar (KLOT), 102 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 19:40 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 watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 12:30 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 7 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Davenport, (KDVN), launched 12:00Z, 7.7 hours before the alert went out and 101 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1366 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 54 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 75 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 180 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KCHI 301943 RRA TORCHI ILC103-302015- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 241 PM CDT WED APR 30 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 315 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS ...LEE COUNTY AT 240 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND POSSIBLE TORNADO OVER EXTREME NORTHEAST BUREAU COUNTY...ABOUT 7 MILES E`AST OF WALNUT. THIS STORM IS MOVING TO THE NORTH/NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH AND WILL BE NEAR MAYTOWN BY 245 AND SUBLETTE BY 3 PM CDT. GO TO THE BASEMENT OR A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR!
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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, Apr 30, 11:00 AM CDT, 3 hours 41 minutes before
ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019>023-032>033-039-INZ001>005-010>016-019>020- 011100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 1100 AM CDT WED APR 30 1997 FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL INDIANA ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AS WELL AS NORTHERN INDIANA. AT 11 AM CDT THE CENTER OF A STRONG LOW PRESSURE AREA WAS LOCATED OVER NORTH CENTRAL MISSOURI. THE LOW IS EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTHEAST TO NEAR ROCKFORD BY EARLY THIS EVENING...THEN TO NEAR MUSKEGON MICHIGAN BY AROUND MIDNIGHT. THIS MEANS THAT MILD AND MORE MOIST AIR OVER THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY WILL BE DRAWN INTO THE MODERATE RISK AREA PROVIDING THE INGREDIENTS FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. IN ADDITION...WIND VELOCITIES FROM THE GROUND TO MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR SOME OF THESE STORMS TO BECOME TORNADIC. PERSONS ACROSS NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND NORTHERN INDIANA SHOULD STAY ALERT FOR RAPID THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS REGARDING THIS POTENTIALLY SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATER THIS AFTERNOON. MERZLOCK
Special weather statement, Apr 30, 11:05 AM CDT, 3 hours 36 minutes before
ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019>023-032>033-039-INZ001>005-010>016-019>020- 011100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 1100 AM CDT WED APR 30 1997 FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL INDIANA ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AS WELL AS NORTHERN INDIANA. AT 11 AM CDT THE CENTER OF A STRONG LOW PRESSURE AREA WAS LOCATED OVER NORTH CENTRAL MISSOURI. THE LOW IS EXPECTED TO MOVE NORTHEAST TO NEAR ROCKFORD BY EARLY THIS EVENING...THEN TO NEAR MUSKEGON MICHIGAN BY AROUND MIDNIGHT. THIS MEANS THAT MILD AND MORE MOIST AIR OVER THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY WILL BE DRAWN INTO THE MODERATE RISK AREA PROVIDING THE INGREDIENTS FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. IN ADDITION...WIND VELOCITIES FROM THE GROUND TO MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR SOME OF THESE STORMS TO BECOME TORNADIC. PERSONS ACROSS NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND NORTHERN INDIANA SHOULD STAY ALERT FOR RAPID THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS REGARDING THIS POTENTIALLY SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATER THIS AFTERNOON. MERZLOCK
Special weather statement, Apr 30, 12:59 PM CDT, 1 hour 42 minutes before
ILZ008-010-011-019-301900- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 100 PM CDT WED APR 30 1997 ...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT... AT 1 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED SCATTERED SHOWERS ACROSS NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. THIS AREA OF SHOWERS WAS PRECEDING A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS THAT CONTINUES TO INTENSIFY ACROSS SOUTHEAST IOWA AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI. THE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO BECOME SEVERE AS IT APPROACHES THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER BY 2 PM. THIS LINE SHOULD REACH NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS BETWEEN 4 AND 5 PM CDT. PERSONS SHOULD LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS CONCERING THIS SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE QUICKLY TO A PLACE OF SAFETY. MERZLOCK
Special weather statement, Apr 30, 1:00 PM CDT, 1 hour 41 minutes before
ILZ008-010-011-019-301900- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 100 PM CDT WED APR 30 1997 ...A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT... AT 1 PM CDT RADAR INDICATED SCATTERED SHOWERS ACROSS NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. THIS AREA OF SHOWERS WAS PRECEDING A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS THAT CONTINUES TO INTENSIFY ACROSS SOUTHEAST IOWA AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI. THE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO BECOME SEVERE AS IT APPROACHES THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER BY 2 PM. THIS LINE SHOULD REACH NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS BETWEEN 4 AND 5 PM CDT. PERSONS SHOULD LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS CONCERING THIS SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION AND BE PREPARED TO MOVE QUICKLY TO A PLACE OF SAFETY. MERZLOCK
The office that day
Everything else NWS Chicago, IL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 2:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Lee | 35 min |
| Apr 30, 3:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | LaSalle | 40 min |
| Apr 30, 3:12 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | DeKalb | 48 min |
| Apr 30, 4:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Ford, Livingston | 31 min |
| Apr 30, 5:13 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LOT | Lake | 32 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 1997Every tornado warning in 1997Tornadoes 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.