Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 2000

Tornado Warning 16, NWS St. Louis, MO

May 12, 2000Fayette County, Illinois

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this tornado warning at May 12, 2000, 6:49 PM CDT for Fayette County, Illinois. It was in force for 51 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 12, 2000, 6:49 PM CDT (23:49 UTC)
Expired
May 12, 2000, 7:40 PM CDT
In force
51 min
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Whole counties

County Fayette County, IL

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 12, 7:10 PM CDTTornado F0Vandalia, ILA small tornado formed in Fayette County south of Vandalia. One mobile home was destroyed, a boat dock at a pond destroyed and several trees downed. Power lines were also downed.

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 12, 4:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 11.8 hours before the alert went out and 133 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 2000-05-12Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2035 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 2000-05-12The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 283 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
2035 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-305 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1023 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
283 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
282 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.

277 
WFUS53 KLSX 122349
TORSTL
ILC051-130035-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
649 PM CDT FRI MAY 12 2000

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ST LOUIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  FAYETTE COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS

* UNTIL 740 PM CDT

* AT 645 PM CDT... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  A TORNADO JUST EAST OF GOVERNOR BOND LAKE... MOVING EAST NORTHEAST
  AT 30 MPH.

* LOCATIONS IN THE PATH...
  VANDALIA
  SHAFTER
  VANDALIA LAKE

DAMAGE HAS BEEN REPORTED AT GOVERNORS LAKE
A STORM CHASER REPORTED FUNNEL CLOUD 4 MILES NORTH OF I70 AND
4 MILES WEST OF THE FAYETTE - BOND COUNTY LINE.

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.

RP/ST/GKS


&

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 12, 3:41 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXCalhoun, Greene49 min
May 12, 4:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXJersey51 min
May 12, 4:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXGreene50 min
May 12, 4:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXMacoupin48 min
May 12, 5:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXJersey, Macoupin48 min
May 12, 5:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXMontgomery58 min
May 12, 6:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXBond, Madison64 min
May 12, 6:05 PM CDTTornado WarningLSXBond, Madison50 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.