Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 29, NWS Lincoln, IL

April 7, 1998DeWitt County, McLean County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at Apr 7, 1998, 7:28 PM CDT for DeWitt County, McLean County, Illinois. It was in force for 62 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
Apr 7, 1998, 7:28 PM CDT (00:28 UTC)
Expired
Apr 7, 1998, 8:30 PM CDT
In force
62 min
Issued by
NWS Lincoln, IL
Area
Whole counties

Counties DeWitt County, IL, McLean County, IL

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 44 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:29 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
Apr 7, 7:52 PM CDTHail 1.75Bloomington, IL
Apr 7, 8:20 PM CDTHail 1.75Wapella, IL

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 7, 2:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr
Apr 7, 7:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 31 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 00:00Z on 1998-04-08Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 756 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, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 1998-04-08The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 75 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
756 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
671 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
75 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
185 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
2.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

738 
WFUS1 KSPI 080030 RRA
TORSPI
ILC039-113-080130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
728 PM CDT TUE APR 7 1998

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  DE WITT COUNTY IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS
  MCLEAN COUNTY IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS

* UNTIL 830 PM CDT

* SOME LOCATIONS AFFECTED
  CLINTON
  FARMER CITY
  HEYWORTH
  BLOOMINGTON/NORMAL

* AT 725 PM CDT LINCOLN DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A POSSIBLE TORNADO 6
  MILES NORTH OF LINCOLN...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY IN A BASEMENT OR INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR. ABANDON MOBILE HOMES AND VEHICLES FOR SAFER SHELTER.

FRIEDERS

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 7, 7:01 PM CDTTornado WarningILXVermilion59 min
Apr 7, 7:03 PM CDTTornado WarningILXColes, Douglas57 min
Apr 7, 7:13 PM CDTTornado WarningILXPeoria, Tazewell62 min
Apr 7, 7:23 PM CDTTornado WarningILXWoodford67 min
Apr 7, 7:39 PM CDTTornado WarningILXEdgar51 min
Apr 7, 8:00 PM CDTTornado WarningILXDouglas45 min
Apr 7, 8:10 PM CDTTornado WarningILXVermilion50 min
Apr 7, 8:24 PM CDTTornado WarningILXDeWitt, McLean66 min
Apr 7, 8:28 PM CDTTornado WarningILXEdgar62 min
Apr 7, 8:36 PM CDTTornado WarningILXEffingham54 min
Apr 7, 9:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXChampaign, Piatt52 min
Apr 7, 9:11 PM CDTTornado WarningILXJasper64 min
Apr 7, 9:30 PM CDTTornado WarningILXClay, Effingham60 min
Apr 7, 9:48 PM CDTTornado WarningILXChampaign, Douglas42 min
Apr 7, 10:07 PM CDTTornado WarningILXClark53 min
Apr 7, 10:22 PM CDTTornado WarningILXJasper53 min
Apr 7, 10:33 PM CDTTornado WarningILXClay57 min
Apr 7, 11:09 PM CDTTornado WarningILXCrawford, Jasper51 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 1998Every tornado warning in 1998Tornadoes 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.