Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 141, NWS Lincoln, IL

June 18, 1998McLean County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 18, 1998, 7:44 PM CDT for McLean County, Illinois. It was in force for 76 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: Jun 18, 1998, 7:44 PM CDT (00:44 UTC)
Expired: Jun 18, 1998, 9:00 PM CDT
In force: 76 min
Issued by: NWS Lincoln, IL
Area: Whole counties

County McLean County, IL

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 56 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:46 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jun 18, 8:04 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Bloomington, IL	A large tree was snapped off 4 to 5 feet above the ground one mile west of Bloomington, next to I-55. No structural damage or injuries were reported.

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Jun 18, 7:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 00:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 43 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 2675 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1092 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 115 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 219 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.7
Supercell composite: 17.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

793 
WUUS1 KSPI 190045 RRA
SVRSPI
ILC113-190200-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
744 PM CDT THU JUN 18 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LINCOLN HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR
  MCLEAN COUNTY IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS

* UNTIL 900 PM CDT

* AT 740 PM LINCOLN DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE
  THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM 20 MILES NORTHWEST OF BLOOMINGTON TO
  15 MILES WEST OF LINCOLN...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MPH.

* THIS STORM IS EXPECTED TO AFFECT AREAS AROUND...
  GRIDLEY
  BLOOMINGTON/NORMAL
  STANFORD
  MCLEAN
  HEYWORTH

DAMAGING WIND GUSTS OF 60 MPH OR HIGHER WILL ACCOMPANY THIS STORM.
MOVE TO A STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.  LARGE HAIL IS
ALSO POSSIBLE

REMEMBER...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE TORNADOES AT ANY TIME.

HEDGES

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.

NWS Lincoln, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jun 18, 1:10 PM CDT, 6 hours 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 18, 1:10 PM CDT, 6 hours 34 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
110 PM CDT THU JUN 18 1998

15Z RUC SHOWS MAIN BNDRY LVL MSTR CONV TO REACH CWA ARND 00Z WITH CD FNT
CURRENTLY IN WRN MO.  TSTMS MOVG TWD WRN CWA ARE DEGENERATING INTO
-SHRA.  BLV ANY SIG SVR THREAT WILL BE WITH CD FNT AND ASSOC MSTR CONV
TWD 00Z IN WRN CWA AND THRU EVE HRS IN ERN CWA..ENDING ARND 06Z.
PROBABLY NEED TO GO WITH CAT POPS IN WRN CWA 1ST PD...ENDING.

FWC TEMPS LOOK RSNBL SO WL STAY WITH THEM.

PIA   67/87  50
SPI   67/90  50
DEC   67/90  50
CMI   67/89  50
LWV   70/90  50

HEDGES

The office that day

Everything else NWS Lincoln, IL issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 18, 7:09 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Marshall, Tazewell, Woodford	66 min
Jun 18, 7:25 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Logan, Menard, Sangamon	65 min
Jun 18, 7:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	DeWitt	69 min
Jun 18, 8:15 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	ILX	Sangamon	4 hr
Jun 18, 8:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Macon	63 min
Jun 18, 8:31 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Logan, Sangamon	44 min
Jun 18, 8:51 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Christian	69 min
Jun 18, 9:02 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Champaign, Vermilion	58 min
Jun 18, 9:39 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Shelby	51 min
Jun 18, 9:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Coles, Cumberland	68 min
Jun 18, 9:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Douglas	68 min
Jun 18, 9:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Clark, Edgar	76 min
Jun 18, 10:06 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Vermilion	39 min
Jun 18, 10:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Christian	47 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 1998 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1998

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.