Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Watches in 2000

Tornado Watch 311

May 18, 200030 counties in Indiana; 15 counties in Ohio

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 18, 2000, 9:00 PM EST for 30 counties in Indiana; 15 counties in Ohio. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 18, 2000, 9:00 PM EST (02:00 UTC)
Expired: May 19, 2000, 2:00 AM EST
In force: 5 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center

All 45 counties

Adams County, IN, Allen County, IN, Blackford County, IN, Boone County, IN, Clinton County, IN, DeKalb County, IN, Delaware County, IN, Fayette County, IN, Grant County, IN, Hamilton County, IN, Hancock County, IN, Hendricks County, IN, Henry County, IN, Howard County, IN, Huntington County, IN, Jay County, IN, Madison County, IN, Marion County, IN, Miami County, IN, Montgomery County, IN, Noble County, IN, Putnam County, IN, Randolph County, IN, Rush County, IN, Tipton County, IN, Union County, IN, Wabash County, IN, Wayne County, IN, Wells County, IN, Whitley County, IN, Allen County, OH, Auglaize County, OH, Darke County, OH, Defiance County, OH, Hancock County, OH, Hardin County, OH, Henry County, OH, Mercer County, OH, Paulding County, OH, Preble County, OH, Putnam County, OH, Sandusky County, OH, Shelby County, OH, Van Wert County, OH, Wood County, OH

Warnings issued inside it

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 18, 9:00 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IWX	Huntington, Whitley	50 min
May 18, 9:31 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IWX	Miami, Wabash	29 min
May 18, 9:40 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IWX	Allen	30 min
May 18, 9:54 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Carroll, Clinton, Tippecanoe	36 min
May 18, 10:03 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IWX	Paulding, Van Wert	42 min
May 18, 10:17 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IWX	Wells	33 min

The nearest sounding before it

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 182 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 246 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -242 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1489 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 167 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 236 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 1.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

601 
WWUS9 KMKC 190149
SEL1  
MKC WW 190149
INZ000-OHZ000-190700-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 311
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
949 PM EDT THU MAY 18 2000

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

   CENTRAL AND NORTHERN INDIANA                            
   WESTERN OHIO                               

EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING FROM 1000 PM UNTIL
300 AM EDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 60 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 15 MILES SOUTHEAST OF INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA TO 40
MILES NORTHWEST OF FINDLAY OHIO.

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 308...WW 309...WW 310...

DISCUSSION...SQLN WITH EMBEDDED LEWPS/BOWS AND SUPERCELLS EXPECTED
TO CONTINUE E ACROSS IND/OH LATER TONIGHT...WHERE GREATEST MOISTURE
INFLUX WILL OCCUR ALONG AXIS OF 50+ KT LOW LEVEL JET.  STRENGTH OF
DEEP-LAYER SHEAR /ON THE ORDER OF 50 KTS/...COUPLED WITH EXISTING
AREAS OF LOW LEVEL STORM ROTATION SUGGEST CONTINUED THREAT FOR
ISOLATED TORNADOES...ESPECIALLY ALONG STALLED FRONT FROM N OF GUS
TO S OF FDY. 

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES.  EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 50 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 450. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 26040.

...CORFIDI

412,0825 393,0844 393,0872 412,0853

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 18, 10:45 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	Jefferson	5 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Indiana, 2000 Tornado Watches in Ohio, 2000 Every 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.