Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Watches in 2000
Tornado Watch 302
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 18, 2000, 11:30 AM CDT for 32 counties in Illinois; 36 counties in Iowa; Clark County, Schuyler County, Scotland County, Missouri. It was in force for 6 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 18, 2000, 11:30 AM CDT (16:30 UTC)
- Expired
- May 18, 2000, 5:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 6 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
All 71 counties
Appanoose County, IA, Benton County, IA, Boone County, IA, Cedar County, IA, Clarke County, IA, Dallas County, IA, Davis County, IA, Decatur County, IA, Des Moines County, IA, Henry County, IA, Iowa County, IA, Jasper County, IA, Jefferson County, IA, Johnson County, IA, Keokuk County, IA, Lee County, IA, Louisa County, IA, Lucas County, IA, Madison County, IA, Mahaska County, IA, Marion County, IA, Marshall County, IA, Monroe County, IA, Muscatine County, IA, Polk County, IA, Poweshiek County, IA, Ringgold County, IA, Scott County, IA, Story County, IA, Tama County, IA, Union County, IA, Van Buren County, IA, Wapello County, IA, Warren County, IA, Washington County, IA, Wayne County, IA, Bureau County, IL, Champaign County, IL, DeWitt County, IL, Ford County, IL, Fulton County, IL, Grundy County, IL, Hancock County, IL, Henderson County, IL, Henry County, IL, Iroquois County, IL, Kankakee County, IL, Kendall County, IL, Knox County, IL, LaSalle County, IL, Livingston County, IL, Logan County, IL, Marshall County, IL, Mason County, IL, McDonough County, IL, McLean County, IL, Mercer County, IL, Peoria County, IL, Piatt County, IL, Putnam County, IL, Rock Island County, IL, Stark County, IL, Tazewell County, IL, Vermilion County, IL, Warren County, IL, Whiteside County, IL, Will County, IL, Woodford County, IL, Clark County, MO, Schuyler County, MO, Scotland County, MO
The radar
The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 94 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 16:31 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
37 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 11:35 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Champaign | 40 min |
| May 18, 11:48 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Iowa, Johnson | 42 min |
| May 18, 11:51 AM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Polk, Warren | 29 min |
| May 18, 11:55 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Jefferson, Keokuk | 50 min |
| May 18, 11:56 AM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Vermilion | 49 min |
| May 18, 12:07 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Jasper, Marion | 28 min |
| May 18, 12:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Cedar, Johnson, Linn | 48 min |
| May 18, 12:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Johnson, Washington | 45 min |
| May 18, 12:35 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Washington | 25 min |
| May 18, 12:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Jasper | 29 min |
| May 18, 12:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Whiteside | 47 min |
| May 18, 12:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Jefferson, Keokuk | 46 min |
| May 18, 12:44 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Iowa, Johnson | 46 min |
| May 18, 12:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Poweshiek | 32 min |
| May 18, 1:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Johnson, Louisa, Washington | 44 min |
| May 18, 1:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Cedar, Johnson, Muscatine | 30 min |
| May 18, 1:32 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Muscatine | 28 min |
| May 18, 1:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Cedar | 29 min |
| May 18, 1:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Louisa | 29 min |
| May 18, 1:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Cedar, Scott | 52 min |
| May 18, 1:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Muscatine | 46 min |
| May 18, 2:21 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Iowa | 24 min |
| May 18, 2:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Henry, Rock Island | 46 min |
| May 18, 3:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Henry | 31 min |
| May 18, 3:14 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Henry | 31 min |
| May 18, 3:21 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Bureau | 24 min |
| May 18, 3:28 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Whiteside | 47 min |
| May 18, 3:43 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Bureau | 47 min |
| May 18, 3:47 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Henry | 28 min |
| May 18, 4:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Peoria, Stark | 45 min |
| May 18, 4:18 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Marshall | 42 min |
| May 18, 4:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | LaSalle | 67 min |
| May 18, 4:38 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | ILX | Marshall | 37 min |
| May 18, 4:41 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Putnam | 34 min |
| May 18, 4:46 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Peoria | 44 min |
| May 18, 4:58 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Woodford | 47 min |
| May 18, 5:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Kendall | 60 min |
The nearest sounding before it
Davenport, (KDVN), launched 12:00Z, 4.5 hours before the alert went out and 101 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
- 1779 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -77 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 796 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 59 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 178 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 310 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 2.4
- Supercell composite
- 10.8
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
423 WWUS9 KMKC 181553 SEL2 SEL2 MKC WW 181553 IAZ000-ILZ000-182200- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 302 STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 1053 AM CDT THU MAY 18 2000 THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN IOWA NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ILLINOIS EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 1130 AM UNTIL 500 PM CDT. 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 60 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES WEST OF DES MOINES IOWA TO 30 MILES NORTH OF DANVILLE ILLINOIS. 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. OTHER WATCH INFORMATION... CONTINUE...WW 301... DISCUSSION...RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OCCURING SRN IA AHEAD OF SURFACE/UPPER LOW. AIRMASS VERY UNSTABLE EWD ACROSS SERN IA INTO IL WITH CAPES AOA 3000 J/KG. E/W BOUNDARY ACROSS NRN IL INTO IA WILL ENHANCE LOW LEVEL SHEAR PROFILES SUPPORTING TORNADIC SUPERCELLS AS STORMS DEVELOP EWD FROM SRN IA. 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 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 25040. ...HALES 422,0942 413,0873 394,0873 403,0942
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 3:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Adams, Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Cass, Christian and 39 more | 6 hr |
| May 18, 6:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bond, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton and 40 more | 5 hr |
| May 17, 8:00 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Page and 3 more | 5 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Iowa, 2000Tornado Watches in Illinois, 2000Tornado Watches in Missouri, 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.