Alert archive / Wisconsin / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 69, NWS Milwaukee, WI

July 18, 1997Racine County, Walworth County, Wisconsin

NWS Milwaukee, WI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 18, 1997, 3:07 PM CDT for Racine County, Walworth County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 63 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
Jul 18, 1997, 3:07 PM CDT (20:07 UTC)
Expired
Jul 18, 1997, 4:10 PM CDT
In force
63 min
Issued by
NWS Milwaukee, WI
Area
Whole counties

Counties Racine County, WI, Walworth County, WI

The radar

The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 43 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:10 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, 3:15 PM CDTThunderstorm WindWaterford, WI

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, 10:30 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 12:00Z, 8.1 hours before the alert went out and 198 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 1997-07-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 1997-07-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1710 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
1 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
75 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 KMKE 182008 RRA
SVRMKE
WIC101-127-182110-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
307 PM CDT FRI JUL 18 1997

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  WESTERN RACINE COUNTY - SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN
  EASTERN WALWORTH COUNTY - SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN

* UNTIL 410 PM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
  WATERFORD
  BURLINGTON
  EAST TROY

* AT 310 PM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE
  OF RAPIDLY DEVELOPING SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS 30 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
  MILWAUKEE...NEAR WATERFORD. THE LINE OF STORMS WERE MOVING EAST
  TO SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH.

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. IF YOU ARE IN ITS PATH YOU SHOULD MOVE
INSIDE A STRONG BUILDING. DO NOT STAND BY WINDOWS. DO NOT USE
TELEPHONES OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNLESS IN AN EMERGENCY UNTIL
THE STORM HAS PASSED.

TH/WB

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, 11:01 AM CDT, 4 hours 6 minutes before
WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-190315-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1100AM CDT FRI JUL 18 1997

...RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY TONIGHT...
...FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...

THREAT...
DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN.

DISCUSSION...
A WEST TO EAST STATIONARY FRONT ACROSS SOUTHERN WISCONSIN WILL ACT AS A
FOCUS FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY TONIGHT.

.SPOTTER ACTIVATION...
DUE TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 625 IN EFFECT UNTIL 400 PM FOR
MUCH OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN...STORM SPOTTER GROUPS NEED TO BE ACTIVATED.

TZ
Special weather statement, Jul 18, 2:38 PM CDT, 29 minutes before
WIZ056-062-067-068-192000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
238 PM CDT FRI JUL 18 1997

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 625 CANCELLED FOR SAUK...IOWA...
   LAFAYETTE...AND ROCK COUNTIES OF SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN...

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR SAUK...IOWA...LAFAYETTE AND
ROCK COUNTIES HAS BEEN CANCELLED. THE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
HAVE DIMINISHED.

TZ
Special weather statement, Jul 18, 2:39 PM CDT, 28 minutes before
WIZ056-062-067-068-192000-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
238 PM CDT FRI JUL 18 1997

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 625 CANCELLED FOR SAUK...IOWA...
   LAF>AYETTE...AND ROCK COUNTIES OF SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN...

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR SAUK...IOWA...LAFAYETTE AND
ROCK COUNTIES HAS BEEN CANCELLED. THE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
HAVE DIMINISHED.

TZ
Special weather statement, Jul 18, 3:00 PM CDT, 7 minutes before
WIZ046-047-057-063-192015-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
300 PM CDT FRI JUL 18 1997

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 625 CANCELLED FOR MARQUETTE...
   GREEN LAKE...COLUMBIA...AND DANE COUNTIES OF SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN...

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR MARQUETTE...GREEN LAKE...COLUMBIA
AND DANE COUNTIES HAS BEEN CANCELLED. THE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
HAS DIMINISHED.

TZ
Special weather statement, Jul 18, 3:02 PM CDT, 5 minutes before
WIZ046-047-057-063-192015-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
300 PM CDT FRI JUL 18 1997

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 625 CANCELLED FOR MARQUETTE...
   GREEN LAKE...COLUMBIA...AND DANE COUNTIES OF SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN...

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR MARQUETTE...GREEN LAKE...COLUMBIA
AND DANE COUNTIES HAS BEEN CANCELLED. THE THREAT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
HAS DIMINISHED.

TZ

The office that day

Everything else NWS Milwaukee, WI issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 18, 1:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXDane59 min
Jul 18, 2:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXKenosha, Walworth63 min
Jul 18, 2:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXKenosha, Walworth57 min
Jul 18, 2:49 PM CDTTornado WarningMKXWalworth46 min
Jul 18, 3:27 PM CDTTornado WarningMKXRacine38 min
Jul 18, 3:33 PM CDTTornado WarningMKXKenosha47 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Wisconsin, 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.