Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 1999

Tornado Warning 5, NWS St. Louis, MO

February 11, 1999Pike County, Illinois

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this tornado warning at Feb 11, 1999, 2:12 PM CST for Pike 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
Feb 11, 1999, 2:12 PM CST (20:12 UTC)
Expired
Feb 11, 1999, 3:00 PM CST
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Whole counties

County Pike County, IL

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 104 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:12 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
Feb 11, 2:12 PM CSTTornado F1Beecreek, 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
Feb 11, 11:15 AM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 8.2 hours before the alert went out and 204 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 1999-02-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 394 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 1999-02-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 293 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
394 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-231 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
746 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
293 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
310 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KSTL 112011
TORSTL
ILC149-112100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
212 PM CST THU FEB 11 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHEASTERN PIKE COUNTY ILLINOIS IN WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS

* UNTIL 300 PM CST

* AT 210 PM... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  TORNADO 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF BELLVIEW... MOVING NORTHEAST AT 40
  MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE PATH...
  BEECREEK
  PEARL



THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION! IF IN THE PATH...TAKE COVER NOW!
MOVE TO A BASEMENT IF AVAILABLE. IF NOT...STAY ON THE LOWEST LEVEL
AND GO TO A SMALL INTERIOR ROOM. MOBILE HOMES AND AUTOMOBILESHOULD
BE ABANDONED IN FAVOR OF A STRONG STRUCTURE. AS A LAST RESORT...
MOVE TO A DITCH OR CULVERT AND COVER YOUR HEAD.

GKS/RP

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this tornado 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, Feb 11, 10:25 AM CST, 3 hours 47 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>075-084-085-099-112300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
1025 AM CST THU FEB 11 1999

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
THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION.  THIS INCLUDES
THE LARGER CITIES OF ST LOUIS...COLUMBIA...JEFFERSON CITY...
HANNIBAL...FARMINGTON...STE GENEVIEVE...QUINCY IL...VANDALIA IL...AND
CENTRALIA IL.

A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO PUSH
WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE AREA.  THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT
WITH THIS LINE OF STORMS WILL BE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS
OF 60 MPH.  THE THREAT OVER CENTRAL MISSOURI SHOULD BE EARLY
THIS AFTERNOON...OVER EASTERN MISSOURI AROUND MIDDLE AFTERNOON...
AND OVER WESTERN ILLINOIS DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EARLY
EVENING.

STORM SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGERS SHOULD KEEP ADVISED OF
THE LATEST FORECASTS...AND MONITOR WEATHER INFORMATION FOR POSSIhBLE
SKYWARN ACTION.

GLASS
Special weather statement, Feb 11, 1:51 PM CST, 21 minutes before
MOZ009-010-018-019-026-027-034-041-042-047>050-112054-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
151 PM CST THU FEB 11 1999

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 45 HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR, THE
FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN MISSOURI...

SCOTLAND...CLARK...KNOX...LEWIS...SHELBY...MARION...MONROE...
AUDRAIN...BOONE...CALLAWAY...MONITEAU...COLE...OSAGE

THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE MOVED EAST OF THESE COUNTIES.

SDT

The office that day

Everything else NWS St. Louis, MO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Feb 11, 12:22 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXAdams48 min
Feb 11, 1:54 PM CSTTornado WarningLSXBrown46 min
Feb 11, 1:56 PM CSTTornado WarningLSXCalhoun49 min
Feb 11, 2:09 PM CSTTornado WarningLSXGreene51 min
Feb 11, 2:47 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXMadison48 min
Feb 11, 4:24 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXFayette51 min
Feb 11, 4:37 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXMarion48 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 1999Every tornado warning in 1999Tornadoes in 1999

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.