Alert archive / Wisconsin / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 93, NWS Milwaukee, WI

August 4, 1997Dane County, Wisconsin

NWS Milwaukee, WI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 4, 1997, 1:41 PM CDT for Dane County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 49 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
Aug 4, 1997, 1:41 PM CDT (18:41 UTC)
Expired
Aug 4, 1997, 2:30 PM CDT
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Milwaukee, WI
Area
Whole counties

County Dane County, WI

The radar

The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 71 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:40 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 nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 12:00Z, 6.7 hours before the alert went out and 184 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 1997-08-04Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 519 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 1997-08-04The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -36 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
519 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-81 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
990 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-36 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
51 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.9

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMKE 041841 RRA
SVRMKE
WIC025-041930-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
141 PM CDT MON AUG 4 1997

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  DANE COUNTY - SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN

* UNTIL 230 PM CDT
 
* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
  MADISON
  LAKEVIEW
  WAUNAKEE
  FITCHBURG

* AT 140 PM CDT A STORM SPOTTER REPORTED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 20
  MILES NORTH OF MADISON...NEAR DANE. THE STORM WAS MOVING SOUTH AT
  30 MPH.

A WEATHER SPOTTER IN DANE REPORTED WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH WITH
THIS STORM AT 135 PM CDT.

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.

PUMA/COLLAR
 

&

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

Local storm report, Aug 4, 9:44 AM CDT, 3 hours 57 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
944 AM CDT MON AUG 4 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0545 PM    ROCK SPRINGS              WI   1.75 INCH HAIL
08/03/97   SAUK                           60+ MPH WIND GUSTS
                                          FUNNEL CLOUD

GD
Local storm report, Aug 4, 9:46 AM CDT, 3 hours 55 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
944 AM CDT MON AUG 4 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0545 PM    ROCK SPRINGS              WI   1.75 INCH HAIL
08/03/97   SAUK                           60+ MPH WIND GUSTS
                                          FUNNEL CLOUD

GD
Special weather statement, Aug 4, 10:50 AM CDT, 2 hours 51 minutes before
WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-051200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1100 AM CDT MON AUG 4 1997

...NO RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...
    ...FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...

DISCUSSION...
ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON ALONG
A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY SAGGING SOUTHWARD OVER EASTERN WISCONSIN...BUT
THESE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE.

STORM SPOTTER GROUPS WILL NOT BE NEEDED FOR ACTIVATION TODAY OR
TONIGHT ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN.

TH
Special weather statement, Aug 4, 11:00 AM CDT, 2 hours 41 minutes before
WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-051200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1100 AM CDT MON AUG 4 1997

...NO RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...
    ...FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...

DISCUSSION...
ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON ALONG
A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY SAGGING SOUTHWARD OVER EASTERN WISCONSIN...BUT
THESE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE.

STORM SPOTTER GROUPS WILL NOT BE NEEDED FOR ACTIVATION TODAY OR
TONIGHT ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN.

TH
Local storm report, Aug 4, 12:57 PM CDT, 44 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1257 PM CDT MON AUG 4 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0800 PM    GREEN LAKE                WI   WIND DAMAGE
08/03/97   GREEN LAKE                     TREES STRUCK HOUSES
                                          HAIL DENTED CARS
                                          POWER LINES DOWN
                                          COUNTY WIDE

1015 PM    NORWAY                    WI   WIND DAMAGE
08/03/97   RACINE                         TREES DOWN ACROSS 7 MILE
                                          ROAD

GD
Local storm report, Aug 4, 1:05 PM CDT, 36 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1257 PM CDT MON AUG 4 1997

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0800 PM    GREEN LAKE                WI   WIND DAMAGE
08/03/97   GREEN LAKE                     TREES STRUCK HOUSES
                                          HAIL DENTED CARS
                                          POWER LINES DOWN
                                          COUNTY WIDE

1015 PM    NORWAY                    WI   WIND DAMAGE
08/03/97   RACINE                         TREES DOWN ACROSS 7 MILE
                                          ROAD

GD

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 3, 7:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXGreen, Rock59 min
Aug 3, 7:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXFond du Lac, Green Lake57 min
Aug 3, 8:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXDodge54 min
Aug 3, 9:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXGreen Lake60 min
Aug 3, 10:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXDodge60 min
Aug 3, 10:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXRacine, Walworth58 min
Aug 4, 1:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXColumbia, Dane47 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.