Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 16, NWS Chicago, IL

May 18, 2000Lake County, Indiana

NWS Chicago, IL issued this tornado warning at May 18, 2000, 6:47 PM CDT for Lake County, Indiana. It was in force for 28 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 18, 2000, 6:47 PM CDT (23:47 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 2000, 7:15 PM CDT
In force
28 min
Issued by
NWS Chicago, IL
Area
Whole counties

County Lake County, IN

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 61 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:44 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 18, 7:08 PM CDTHail 1Lowell, IN

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
May 18, 6:00 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 179 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 2000-05-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 557 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 2000-05-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 328 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
557 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-308 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1218 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
328 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
351 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KLOT 182348
TORCHI
INC089-190015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
647 PM CDT THU MAY 18 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY IN NORTHWEST INDIANA

* UNTIL 715 PM CDT

* AT 647 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO OVER HAMMOND. THIS DANGEROUS STORM IS MOVING
  EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR
  GARY AROUND 655 PM CDT

STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

BROWNING

NNNN

The office that day

Everything else NWS Chicago, IL issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 6:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTLake35 min
May 18, 6:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTJasper, Lake, Porter68 min
May 18, 6:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTNewton68 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Indiana, 2000Every tornado warning in 2000Tornadoes in 2000

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.