Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 49, NWS Lincoln, IL

April 30, 1998Macon County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at Apr 30, 1998, 4:42 PM CDT for Macon County, Illinois. It was in force for 48 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
Apr 30, 1998, 4:42 PM CDT (21:42 UTC)
Expired
Apr 30, 1998, 5:30 PM CDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Lincoln, IL
Area
Whole counties

County Macon County, IL

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 45 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:38 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 30, 4:47 PM CDTTornado F0Macon, ILA tornado briefly touched down in a field 4 miles east of Macon. No injuries or damage 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 nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 45 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 1998-04-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 1998-04-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -66 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
2 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-64 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
905 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-66 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-102 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.

928 
WFUS1 KSPI 302143 RRA
TORSPI
ILC115-302230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
442 PM CDT THU APR 30 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LINCOLN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  MACON COUNTY IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS

* UNTIL 530 PM CDT

* AT 437 PM CDT CONSERVATION POLICE OFFICER REPORTED A TORNADO 5
  MILES EAST OF MACON ON COUNTY LINE ROAD...MOVING NORTH NORTHWEST
  AT 20 MPH.

* THIS STORM IS EXPECTED TO AFFECT AREAS AROUND...
  DECATUR
  HARRISTOWN
  WARRENSBURG

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...TAKE COVER IN A BASEMENT OR
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. VEHICLES AND MOBILE HOMES SHOULD
BE ABANDONED FOR A SAFER SHELTER.

GOETSCH


&

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 29, 7:43 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningILXLogan, McLean2 hr
Apr 29, 8:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMason, Tazewell52 min
Apr 29, 8:46 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXPeoria44 min
Apr 30, 5:30 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMacon60 min
Apr 30, 6:29 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMacon61 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.