Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 77, NWS St. Louis, MO
NWS St. Louis, MO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 2, 1998, 3:44 PM CDT for Randolph County, Illinois. It was in force for 61 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
- May 2, 1998, 3:44 PM CDT (20:44 UTC)
- Expired
- May 2, 1998, 4:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 61 min
- Issued by
- NWS St. Louis, MO
- Area
- Whole counties
County Randolph County, IL
The radar
The St Louis radar (KLSX), 104 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:46 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 3:50 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Sparta, IL | Spotters reported 3/4 inch hail south of Sparta. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 2:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 5 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 256 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 4 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -189 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1009 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 19 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 113 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 150 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
499 WUUS1 KSTL 022046 RRA SVRSTL ILC157-022145- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 344 PM CDT SAT MAY 2 1998 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A * SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR... CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN RANDOLPH COUNTY IN SOUTHWESTERN ILLINOIS * UNTIL 445 PM CDT * AT 344 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS 3 MILES NORTH OF CHESTER TO 10 MILES WEST OF STE GENEVIEVE... MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH. * LOCATIONS THAT WILL BE AFFECTED... CHESTER BREMAN WELGE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...DAMAGING HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OR YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS. HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO DO NOT DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD. AMS/TRUETT
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.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 2, 11:23 AM CDT, 4 hours 21 minutes before
ILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-079-095>102-MOZ009-010-018-019-026- 027-034>036-041-042-047>052-059>065-072>075-084-085-099-022230- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 1123 AM CDT SAT MAY 2 1998 THIS OUTLOOK COVERS THE COUNTY WARNING AREA OF THE NWS OFFICE IN ST LOUIS. AREAS INCLUDED ARE PARTS OF CENTRAL...NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI...AND SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY TONIGHT OVER PARTS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND NORTHEAST THROUGH SOUTHEAST MISSOURI IN THE AREAS COVERED BY ST LOUIS WARNING AREA. THIS INCLUDES ALL THE AREA COVERED BY THE ST LOUIS AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY. EXTREMELY COLD AIR IN MIDDLE AND UPPER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE IS MOVING SOUTHEAST FROM THE DAKOTAS OVER SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND EASTERN MISSOURI. THIS...COMBINED WITH SURFACE HEATING WILL PRODUCE A VERY UNSTABLE AIR MASS...AND CAUSE THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE STATE THIS AFTERNOON. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL. THE HEIGHT OF THE FREEZING LEVEL IS RELATIVELY LOW...WHICH WILL REDUCE MELTING BEFORE STRIKING THE GROUND. EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND STORM SPOTTERS GROUPS SHOULD MONITOR WEATHER INFORMATION THROUGHOUT TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR POSSIBLE SKYWARN ACTIVATION. BECHTOLD
Special weather statement, May 2, 11:23 AM CDT, 4 hours 21 minutes before
ILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-079-095>102-MOZ009-010-018-019-026- 027-034>036-041-042-047>052-059>065-072>075-084-085-099-022230- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 1123 AM CDT SAT MAY 2 1998 THIS OUTLOOK COVERS THE COUNTY WARNING AREA OF THE NWS OFFICE IN ST LOUIS. AREAS INCLUDED ARE PARTS OF CENTRAL...NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL MISSOURI...AND SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY TONIGHT OVER PARTS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND NORTHEAST THROUGH SOUTHEAST MISSOURI IN THE AREAS COVERED BY ST LOUIS WARNING AREA. THIS INCLUDES ALL THE AREA COVERED BY THE ST LOUIS AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY. EXTREMELY COLD AIR IN MIDDLE AND UPPER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE IS MOVING SOUTHEAST FROM THE DAKOTAS OVER SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND EASTERN MISSOURI. THIS...COMBINED WITH SURFACE HEATING WILL PRODUCE A VERY UNSTABLE AIR MASS...AND CAUSE THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE STATE THIS AFTERNOON. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER FROM THESE STORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL. THE HEIGHT OF THE FREEZING LEVEL IS RELATIVELY LOW...WHICH WILL REDUCE MELTING BEFORE STRIKING THE GROUND. EMERGENCY MANAGERS AND STORM SPOTTERS GROUPS SHOULD MONITOR WEATHER INFORMATION THROUGHOUT TODAY AND TONIGHT FOR POSSIBLE SKYWARN ACTIVATION. BECHTOLD
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 1998Every 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.