Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 89, NWS St. Louis, MO

May 25, 1997Randolph County, Illinois

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 25, 1997, 9:39 PM CDT for Randolph County, Illinois. It was in force for 66 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 25, 1997, 9:39 PM CDT (02:39 UTC)
Expired
May 25, 1997, 10:45 PM CDT
In force
66 min
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Whole counties

County Randolph County, IL

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 104 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:43 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
May 25, 10:15 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 51Steeleville, ILCounty sheriff reported power lines down and roof damage to a building at an baseball field.

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 nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 00:00Z, 2.7 hours before the alert went out and 256 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 00:00Z on 1997-05-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 1997-05-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 63 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
551 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
63 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
81 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.

665 
WUUS1 KSTL 260240 RRA
SVRSTL
ILC157-260345-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
939 PM CDT SUN MAY 25 1997
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1045 PM CDT
FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION...
 
IN SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS
 
   ...RANDOLPH COUNTY
 
AT 935 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
ENTERING WESTERN RANDOLPH COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS. THIS LINE OF
STORMS HAS HAD A HISTORY OF PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS.
 
THE LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WAS MOVING TO THE EAST AT 30 MPH AND
WILL AFFECT THE COMMUNITIES OF RED BUD...SPARTA...PRAIRIE DU ROCHER...
AND BALDWIN.
 
PEOPLE IN THESE COMMUNITIES SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
 
THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM BE PREPARED FOR DAMAGING WINDS...HAIL
AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. STAY INSIDE AND AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
 
BW/RP

The office that day

Everything else NWS St. Louis, MO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 25, 9:07 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXMonroe38 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 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.