Alert archive / Wisconsin / Tornado Watches in 1997

Tornado Watch 655

July 25, 199710 counties in Illinois; Jackson County, Iowa; 26 counties in Wisconsin

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 25, 1997, 7:45 PM CDT for 10 counties in Illinois; Jackson County, Iowa; 26 counties in Wisconsin. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 25, 1997, 7:45 PM CDT (00:45 UTC)
Expired
Jul 26, 1997, 1:00 AM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 37 counties

Jackson County, IA, Boone County, IL, Carroll County, IL, Cook County, IL, Jo Daviess County, IL, Kane County, IL, Lake County, IL, McHenry County, IL, Ogle County, IL, Stephenson County, IL, Winnebago County, IL, Adams County, WI, Columbia County, WI, Dane County, WI, Dodge County, WI, Fond du Lac County, WI, Green County, WI, Green Lake County, WI, Iowa County, WI, Jefferson County, WI, Juneau County, WI, Kenosha County, WI, Lafayette County, WI, Marquette County, WI, Milwaukee County, WI, Monroe County, WI, Ozaukee County, WI, Racine County, WI, Richland County, WI, Rock County, WI, Sauk County, WI, Sheboygan County, WI, Walworth County, WI, Washington County, WI, Waukesha County, WI, Waushara County, WI, Winnebago County, WI

The radar

The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 72 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:45 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 25, 8:01 PM CDTTornado WarningMKXDane, Jefferson34 min
Jul 25, 8:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXOzaukee, Sheboygan, Washington59 min
Jul 25, 8:28 PM CDTTornado WarningMKXDane, Jefferson32 min
Jul 25, 8:57 PM CDTTornado WarningMKXDane, Dodge, Jefferson63 min
Jul 25, 9:17 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningMKXDane, Jefferson3 hr
Jul 25, 11:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXOzaukee, Washington49 min

The nearest sounding before it

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 00:00Z, 0.8 hours before the alert went out and 169 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 00:00Z on 1997-07-26Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 738 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 00:00Z on 1997-07-26The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 193 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
738 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-27 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
543 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
193 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
246 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.0
Supercell composite
5.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KNAW 260045
MKC WW 260027
ILZ000-WIZ000-LMZ000-260600-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 655
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
727 PM CDT FRI JUL 25 1997

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

   NORTHERN ILLINOIS
   SOUTHERN WISCONSIN
   SOUTHWEST LAKE MICHIGAN

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING FROM 745 PM UNTIL
100 AM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 3/4 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF LONEROCK WISCONSIN
TO 25 MILES EAST OF MILWAUKEE WISCONSIN.

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.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 653...WW 654...

DISCUSSION...STORMS DEVELOPING ALONG OLD OUTFLOW BOUNDARY. SHEAR
FAVORABLE FOR SUPERCELLS.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 3/4 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE
WIND GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO
550.  MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 29020.
...VESCIO

;441,0903 440,0872 415,0872 415,0903;

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 25, 11:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCCherokee, Dickinson, Lyon, O'Brien, Osceola, Sioux4 hr
Jul 26, 11:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAllamakee, Bremer, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Clayton and 12 more6 hr
Jul 26, 4:00 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAdams, Calumet, Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Fond du Lac and 19 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Wisconsin, 1997Tornado Watches in Illinois, 1997Tornado Watches in Iowa, 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.