Alert archive / Wisconsin / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1999

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 13, NWS Milwaukee, WI

May 16, 1999Sauk County, Wisconsin

NWS Milwaukee, WI issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 16, 1999, 3:55 PM CDT for Sauk County, Wisconsin. It was in force for 60 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 16, 1999, 3:55 PM CDT (20:55 UTC)
Expired
May 16, 1999, 4:55 PM CDT
In force
60 min
Issued by
NWS Milwaukee, WI
Area
Whole counties

County Sauk County, WI

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 109 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:57 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
May 16, 4:20 PM CDTThunderstorm WindReedsburg, 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 nearest sounding before it

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 189 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 1999-05-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 1999-05-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 135 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
687 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
135 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
223 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.

000 
TTAA00 KMKE 162055 RRA
SVRMKE
WIC111-162155-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
355 PM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SAUK COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN

* UNTIL 455 PM CDT

* AT 355 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM RICHLAND CENTER IN RICHLAND
  COUNTY TO HIGHLAND IN IOWA COUNTY...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR...REEDSBURG...ROCK SPRINGS
  AND LELAND BY 430 PM.

DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE LIKELY. GO INSIDE A STURDY
BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FRpOM WINDOWS!

JH/SD

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 16, 11:03 AM CDT, 4 hours 52 minutes before
WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-170000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1103 AM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND TONIGHT...
...FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...

THREAT...
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

DISCUSSION...
A SOUTHERLY FLOW OF MOIST AND MORE UNSTABLE AIR IS WORKING
NORTH INTO SOUTHERN WISCONSIN THIS AFTERNOON. AN UPPER AIR
DISTURBANCE AND STRENGTHENING LOW LEVEL JET STREAM ARE EXPECTED TO
INTERACT WITH THE INSTABILTY...TO PRODUCE PERIODS OF THUNDERSTORMS
LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SOME ISOLATED STORMS MAY BECOME
SEVERE.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION...
STORM SPOTTER GROUPS MAY NEED TO BE ACTIVATED THIS AFTERNOON
INTO TONIGHT.
Special weather statement, May 16, 11:03 AM CDT, 4 hours 52 minutes before
WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-170000-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1103 AM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND TONIGHT...
...FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...

THREAT...
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

DISCUSSION...
A SOUTHERLY FLOW OF MOIST AND MORE UNSTABLE AIR IS WORKING
NORTH INTO SOUTHERN WISCONSIN THIS AFTERNOON. AN UPPER AIR
DISTURBANCE AND STRENGTHENING LOW LEVEL JET STREAM ARE EXPECTED TO
INTERACT WITH THE INSTABILTY...TO PRODUCE PERIODS OF THUNDERSTORMS
LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SOME ISOLATED STORMS MAY BECOME
SEVERE.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION...
STORM SPOTTER GROUPS MAY NEED TO BE ACTIVATED THIS AFTERNOON
INTO TONIGHT.
Special weather statement, May 16, 11:13 AM CDT, 4 hours 42 minutes before
WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-162300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1113 AM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND TONIGHT...
...FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...

THREAT...
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

DISCUSSION...
A SOUTHERLY FLOW OF MOIST AND MORE UNSTABLE AIR IS WORKING
NORTH INTO SOUTHERN WISCONSIN THIS AFTERNOON. AN UPPER AIR
DISTURBANCE AND STRENGTHENING LOW LEVEL JET STREAM ARE EXPECTED TO
INTERACT WITH THE INSTABILTY...TO PRODUCE PERIODS OF THUNDERSTORMS
LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SOME ISOLATED STORMS MAY BECOME
SEVERE.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION...
STORM SPOTTER GROUPS MAY NEED TO BE ACTIVATED THIS AFTERNOON
INTO TONIGHT.
Special weather statement, May 16, 11:13 AM CDT, 4 hours 42 minutes before
WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-162300-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1113 AM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND TONIGHT...
...FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...

THREAT...
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

DISCUSSION...
A SOUTHERLY FLOW OF MOIST AND MORE UNSTABLE AIR IS WORKING
NORTH INTO SOUTHERN WISCONSIN THIS AFTERNOON. AN UPPER AIR
DISTURBANCE AND STRENGTHENING LOW LEVEL JET STREAM ARE EXPECTED TO
INTERACT WITH THE INSTABILTY...TO PRODUCE PERIODS OF THUNDERSTORMS
LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SOME ISOLATED STORMS MAY BECOME
SEVERE.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION...
STORM SPOTTER GROUPS MAY NEED TO BE ACTIVATED THIS AFTERNOON
INTO TONIGHT.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 16, 3:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXIowa56 min
May 16, 4:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXDane, Iowa60 min
May 16, 5:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXDane62 min
May 16, 5:33 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXJefferson57 min
May 16, 6:34 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXKenosha, Racine, Walworth61 min
May 16, 6:56 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXMilwaukee64 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Wisconsin, 1999Every severe thunderstorm warning 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.