Alert archive / Wisconsin / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 82, NWS Milwaukee, WI

July 27, 1997Jefferson County, Rock County, Wisconsin

NWS Milwaukee, WI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 27, 1997, 8:11 AM CDT for Jefferson County, Rock County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 59 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 27, 1997, 8:11 AM CDT (13:11 UTC)
Expired
Jul 27, 1997, 9:10 AM CDT
In force
59 min
Issued by
NWS Milwaukee, WI
Area
Whole counties

Counties Jefferson County, WI, Rock County, WI

The radar

The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 33 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:14 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 27, 8:20 AM CDTThunderstorm WindLake Mills, WI
Jul 27, 8:35 AM CDTThunderstorm WindFt Atkinson, 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 nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 12:00Z, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 188 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, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 1997-07-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2407 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, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 1997-07-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 8 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
2407 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-105 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1367 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
8 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
41 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.

494 
WUUS1 KMKE 271312 RRA
SVRMKE
WIC055-105-271410-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
811 AM CDT SUN JUL 27 1997

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  JEFFERSON COUNTY - SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN
  ROCK COUNTY - SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN

* UNTIL 910 AM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
  FORT ATKINSON
  EDGERTON
  JANESVILLE
  MILTON

* AT 810 AM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE
  OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING OVER DANE COUNTY.  THE LINE OF
  STORMS WAS MOVING EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.  WIND GUSTS TO 
  60 MPH AND VERY HEAVY RAINFALL CAN BE EXPECTED.

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.

MK/TH

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 27, 6:00 AM CDT, 2 hours 11 minutes before
WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-281200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
600 AM CDT SUN JUL 27 1997

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND TONIGHT...
         ...FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...

THREAT...
DAMAGING WINDS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL.

DISCUSSION...
VERY WARM AND UNSTABLE AIR WILL REMAIN ENTRENCHED OVER THE REGION
TODAY INTO TNIGHT.  A WEAK BOUNDARY STRETCHING FROM NORTHEAST IOWA TO
SOUTHERN WISCONSIN WILL DEVELOP SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS TODAY...WITH
THE STRONGER STORMS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON DUE TO DAYTIME HEATING.
MEANWHILE A COLD FRONT LOCATED JUST NORTH OF WISCONSIN EARLY THIS
MORNING IS FORECAST TO SAG INTO SOUTHERN WISCONSIN LATER THIS AFTERNOON
AND INTO TONIGHT.  SOME STORMS MAY CONTAIN DAMAGING WINDS AND LOCALLY
VERY HEAVY RAINFALL.

SPOTTER ACTION...
ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTER GROUPS MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON
INTO TONIGHT.

TH
Special weather statement, Jul 27, 6:09 AM CDT, 2 hours 2 minutes before
WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-281200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
600 AM CDT SUN JUL 27 1997

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND TONIGHT...
         ...FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...

THREAT...
DAMAGING WINDS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL.

DISCUSSION...
VERY WARM AND UNSTABLE AIR WILL REMAIN ENTRENCHED OVER THE REGION
TODAY INTO TNIGHT.  A WEAK BOUNDARY STRETCHING FROM NORTHEAST IOWA TO
SOUTHERN WISCONSIN WILL DEVELOP SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS TODAY...WITH
THE STRONGER STORMS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON DUE TO DAYTIME HEATING.
MEANWHILE A COLD FRONT LOCATED JUST NORTH OF WISCONSIN EARLY THIS
MORNING IS FORECAST TO SAG INTO SOUTHERN WISCONSIN LATER THIS AFTERNOON
AND INTO TONIGHT.  SOME STORMS MAY CONTAIN DAMAGING WINDS AND LOCALLY
VERY HEAVY RAINFALL.

SPOTTER ACTION...
ACTIVATION OF STORM SPOTTER GROUPS MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON
INTO TONIGHT.

TH

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 27, 7:45 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXDane60 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.