Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Watches in 2000

Tornado Watch 301

May 18, 200056 counties in Indiana

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 18, 2000, 11:00 AM EST for 56 counties in Indiana. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 18, 2000, 11:00 AM EST (16:00 UTC)
Expired
May 18, 2000, 4:00 PM EST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 56 counties

Adams County, IN, Allen County, IN, Benton County, IN, Blackford County, IN, Boone County, IN, Carroll County, IN, Cass County, IN, Clinton County, IN, DeKalb County, IN, Delaware County, IN, Elkhart County, IN, Fayette County, IN, Fountain County, IN, Fulton County, IN, Grant County, IN, Hamilton County, IN, Hancock County, IN, Hendricks County, IN, Henry County, IN, Howard County, IN, Huntington County, IN, Jasper County, IN, Jay County, IN, Johnson County, IN, Kosciusko County, IN, LaGrange County, IN, Lake County, IN, LaPorte County, IN, Madison County, IN, Marion County, IN, Marshall County, IN, Miami County, IN, Montgomery County, IN, Morgan County, IN, Newton County, IN, Noble County, IN, Parke County, IN, Porter County, IN, Pulaski County, IN, Putnam County, IN, Randolph County, IN, Rush County, IN, Saint Joseph County, IN, Shelby County, IN, Starke County, IN, Steuben County, IN, Tippecanoe County, IN, Tipton County, IN, Union County, IN, Vermillion County, IN, Wabash County, IN, Warren County, IN, Wayne County, IN, Wells County, IN, White County, IN, Whitley County, IN

The radar

The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:02 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.

Warnings issued inside it

15 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 11:16 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDMontgomery14 min
May 18, 11:31 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDBoone44 min
May 18, 11:40 AM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDFountain, Vermillion35 min
May 18, 12:07 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDMontgomery38 min
May 18, 12:29 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDDelaware46 min
May 18, 12:36 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDFountain24 min
May 18, 12:49 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDMontgomery, Tippecanoe26 min
May 18, 1:09 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDClinton36 min
May 18, 1:15 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDBoone, Hamilton45 min
May 18, 1:29 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDHoward, Tipton46 min
May 18, 1:32 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDMadison43 min
May 18, 1:52 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDDelaware38 min
May 18, 2:00 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDHenry45 min
May 18, 2:10 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDRandolph35 min
May 18, 2:24 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXGrant46 min

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 4.0 hours before the alert went out and 199 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.

327 
WWUS9 KMKC 181531
SEL1  

SEL1  
MKC WW 181531
INZ000-182100-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 301
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1031 AM EST THU MAY 18 2000

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   NORTHERN AND CENTRAL INDIANA                            

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 1100 AM UNTIL
400 PM EST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 80 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND
SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF LAFAYETTE INDIANA
TO 30 MILES SOUTHEAST OF FORT WAYNE INDIANA.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.


DISCUSSION...RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAS OCCURRED
IN ECENTRAL IL WHERE AIRMASS MODERATELY UNSTABLE AND CAP IS WEAK. 
WITH LOCAL VAD PROFILES AND MODELS INDICATING STRONG VEERING SHEAR
PROFILES...CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF TORNADIC
SUPERCELLS AS STORMS MOVE/DEVELOPMENT INTO INDIANA.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 70 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25035.


...HALES

414,0873 414,0844 393,0844 392,0873

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 18, 1:30 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAdams, Allen, DeKalb, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben6 hr
May 18, 6:00 PM ESTTornado WatchSPCBenton, Carroll, Cass, Fountain, Fulton, Jasper and 15 more5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Indiana, 2000Every tornado watch 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; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.