Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1998

Tornado Warning 51, NWS Lincoln, IL

April 30, 1998Macon County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at Apr 30, 1998, 6:29 PM CDT for Macon County, Illinois. It was in force for 61 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Apr 30, 1998, 6:29 PM CDT (23:29 UTC)
Expired
Apr 30, 1998, 7:30 PM CDT
In force
61 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 23:32 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 11.5 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°0°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.

524 
WFUS1 KSPI 302330 RRA
TORSPI
ILC115-010030-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LINCOLN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR
  MACON COUNTY IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS

* UNTIL 730 PM CDT

* AT 626 PM CDT LINCOLN DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM 10 MILES NORTHWEST OF
  DECATUR TO 10 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DECATUR...MOVING NORTH AT 20 MPH.

  NUMEROUS REPORTS OF FUNNEL CLOUDS CONTINUE TO BE RECEIVED FROM
  THIS LINE OF STORMS. IN ADDITION...BRIEF HEAVY RAIN IS OCCURRING
  WITH THE PASSAGE OF THESE STORMS...CAUSING SOME LOCALIZED
  FLOODING OF ROADWAYS AND LOW LYING AREAS.

* THESE STORMS WILL AFFECT AREAS AROUND...
  FORSYTH
  MAROA
  OREANA
  ARGENTA
  DECATUR

IF THESE STORMS MOVE INTO YOUR AREA...MOVE TO SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.
WHEN APPROACHING FLOODED ROADWAYS...DO NOT CROSS THEM.
MOST DEATHS OCCUR FROM VEHICLES TRYING TO CROSS FLOODED ROADS.

GOETSCH/FRIEDERS

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, 4:42 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMacon48 min
Apr 30, 5:30 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMacon60 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.