Alert archive / Wisconsin / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 110, NWS Milwaukee, WI

July 20, 1998Kenosha County, Racine County, Walworth County, Wisconsin

NWS Milwaukee, WI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 20, 1998, 6:48 PM CDT for Kenosha County, Racine County, Walworth County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 72 min. 4 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: Jul 20, 1998, 6:48 PM CDT (23:48 UTC)
Expired: Jul 20, 1998, 8:00 PM CDT
In force: 72 min
Issued by: NWS Milwaukee, WI
Area: Whole counties

Counties Kenosha County, WI, Racine County, WI, Walworth County, WI

The radar

The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 53 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:48 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
Jul 20, 7:03 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 52	Delavan, WI
Jul 20, 7:15 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 87	Lake Geneva, WI
Jul 20, 7:20 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Burlington, WI
Jul 20, 7:45 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind	Silver Lake, WI

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
Jul 20, 4:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 203 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1558 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 42 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 62 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.

583 
WUUS1 KMKE 202349 RRA
SVRMKE
WIC059-101-127-210100-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
648 PM CDT MON JUL 20 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  KENOSHA COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN
  RACINE COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN
  WALWORTH COUNTY IN SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN

* UNTIL 800 PM CDT

* AT 648 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM MILWAUKEE TO
  JANESVILLE...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

THE LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING WINDS
OF 60 MPH AND HAIL TO ONE INCH.

IF YOU ARE IN THESE AREAS... SEEK SAFETY IN A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM
AWAY FROM WINDOWS. A BASEMENT OFFERS THE BEST PROTECTION. SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCASIONALLY PRODUCE TORNADOES.

JDH/DAVIS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Milwaukee, WI issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jul 20, 5:18 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Iowa, Sauk	72 min
Jul 20, 5:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Dane	65 min
Jul 20, 5:55 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Lafayette	65 min
Jul 20, 6:29 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Jefferson, Waukesha	61 min
Jul 20, 6:33 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Rock	62 min
Jul 20, 6:42 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	MKX	Milwaukee	48 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Wisconsin, 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.