Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 219

April 30, 199714 counties in Illinois; 33 counties in Indiana; 10 counties in Michigan

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Apr 30, 1997, 3:30 PM CDT for 14 counties in Illinois; 33 counties in Indiana; 10 counties in Michigan. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 30, 1997, 3:30 PM CDT (20:30 UTC)
Expired
Apr 30, 1997, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 57 counties

Champaign County, IL, Cook County, IL, DuPage County, IL, Ford County, IL, Grundy County, IL, Iroquois County, IL, Kane County, IL, Kankakee County, IL, Kendall County, IL, Lake County, IL, Livingston County, IL, Piatt County, IL, Vermilion County, IL, Will County, IL, Adams County, IN, Allen County, IN, Benton County, IN, Blackford County, IN, Carroll County, IN, Cass County, IN, Clinton County, IN, DeKalb County, IN, Elkhart County, IN, Fulton County, IN, Grant County, IN, Howard County, IN, Huntington County, IN, Jasper County, IN, Kosciusko County, IN, LaGrange County, IN, Lake County, IN, LaPorte County, IN, Marshall County, IN, Miami County, IN, Newton County, IN, Noble County, IN, Porter County, IN, Pulaski County, IN, Saint Joseph County, IN, Starke County, IN, Steuben County, IN, Tippecanoe County, IN, Wabash County, IN, Warren County, IN, Wells County, IN, White County, IN, Whitley County, IN, Allegan County, MI, Barry County, MI, Berrien County, MI, Branch County, MI, Calhoun County, MI, Cass County, MI, Eaton County, MI, Kalamazoo County, MI, Saint Joseph County, MI, Van Buren County, MI

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 81 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:32 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.

Warnings issued inside it

14 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 30, 3:57 PM CDTTornado WarningILXPiatt48 min
Apr 30, 4:05 PM CDTTornado WarningILXChampaign55 min
Apr 30, 4:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTFord, Livingston31 min
Apr 30, 5:13 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTLake32 min
Apr 30, 5:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTBenton, Jasper, Newton53 min
Apr 30, 5:44 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTPulaski, Starke46 min
Apr 30, 5:59 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTPulaski, White31 min
Apr 30, 6:10 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTMarshall, Saint Joseph35 min
Apr 30, 6:27 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTElkhart, Saint Joseph33 min
Apr 30, 6:34 PM CDTTornado WarningGRRCass46 min
Apr 30, 6:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTElkhart, Kosciusko46 min
Apr 30, 7:12 PM CDTTornado WarningGRRKalamazoo48 min
Apr 30, 7:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRSaint Joseph37 min
Apr 30, 7:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRCalhoun51 min

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 200 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 12:00Z on 1997-04-30Temperature 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 1997-04-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 115 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
1130 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
115 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
166 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.

889 
WWUS9 KMKC 301956
SEL9  
MKC WW 301956
ILZ000-INZ000-MIZ000-LMZ000-010200-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 219
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
256 PM CDT WED APR 30 1997

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR ALL OR PORTIONS OF

   NORTHERN ILLINOIS                           
   NORTHERN INDIANA                            
   SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN                           
   LAKE MICHIGAN                      

EFFECTIVE THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 330 PM UNTIL
900 PM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 80 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 75 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MEIGS FIELD CHICAGO
ILLINOIS TO 50 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF FORT WAYNE INDIANA.


REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

DISCUSSION...TWO BANDS OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH SEVERAL
SUPERCELLS IS MOVING RAPIDLY EAST NORTHEASTWARD AHEAD OF DEEPENING
SURFACE LOW.  WINDS FIELDS SUGGEST POTENTIAL FOR TORNADOES AND
DAMAGING WINDS NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.  


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24040.


...JOHNS

421,0883 424,0844 402,0844 395,0883

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 30, 12:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCAdams, Brown, Bureau, Carroll, Cass, DeKalb and 28 more7 hr
Apr 30, 2:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCBond, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Coles and 20 more7 hr
Apr 30, 5:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCClark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar and 6 more6 hr
Apr 30, 6:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCGallatin, Hardin, Johnson, Massac, Pope, Saline and 1 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Indiana, 1997Tornado Watches in Illinois, 1997Tornado Watches in Michigan, 1997Every tornado watch 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.