Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 2000
Tornado Warning 20, NWS Chicago, IL
NWS Chicago, IL issued this tornado warning at May 31, 2000, 3:05 PM CDT for Ford County, Iroquois County, Illinois. It was in force for 25 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline the Iowa Environmental Mesonet reconstructed for it; the warning itself named whole counties, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- May 31, 2000, 3:05 PM CDT (20:05 UTC)
- Expired
- May 31, 2000, 3:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 25 min
- Issued by
- NWS Chicago, IL
- Area
- Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction
Counties Ford County, IL, Iroquois County, IL
The radar
The Chicago radar (KLOT), 99 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:08 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 31, 3:05 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Cullom, IL | A tornado was reported on the ground near Cullom by the fire department. There was no damage. |
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
Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 8.1 hours before the alert went out and 78 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
- 1153 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -82 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 936 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 43 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -6 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 124 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- -0.1
- Supercell composite
- -0.7
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
140 WFUS53 KLOT 312006 TORCHI ILC053-075-312030- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 305 PM CDT WED MAY 31 2000 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... FORD COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS IROQUOIS COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS * UNTIL 330 PM CDT * AT 305 PM CDT...A TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED A TORNADO 3 MILES SOUTH OF CULLOM...OR ABOUT 13 MILES NORTHEAST OF FAIRBURY..MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 50 MPH. * THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR PIPER CITY AROUND 310 PM CDT 15 MILES NORTHEAST OF MELVIN AROUND 315 PM CDT GILMAN AROUND 320 PM CDT ONARGA AROUND 325 PM CDT CISSNA PARK AROUND 335 PM CDT THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM. MOVE INTO YOUR TORNADO SHELTER NOW LAT...LON 4093 8824 4054 8830 4050 8778 4066 8770 & RATZER NNNN
The office that day
Everything else NWS Chicago, IL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 2:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Ford, Kankakee, Livingston | 42 min |
| May 31, 2:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Iroquois | 42 min |
| May 31, 3:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Ford, Iroquois | 28 min |
| May 31, 5:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | LaSalle | 61 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 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.