Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 17, NWS Lincoln, IL

April 6, 2001McLean County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 6, 2001, 12:41 PM CDT for McLean County, Illinois. It was in force for 49 min. 2 reports 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: Apr 6, 2001, 12:41 PM CDT (17:41 UTC)
Expired: Apr 6, 2001, 1:30 PM CDT
In force: 49 min
Issued by: NWS Lincoln, IL
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County McLean County, IL

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:40 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
Apr 6, 1:10 PM CDT	Hail 0.75	Lexington, IL
Apr 6, 1:15 PM CDT	Thunderstorm Wind 60 E	Colfax, IL	A barn was reported destroyed 3 miles north of Colfax, as well as minor damage to a house. The contents of the barn, including two loaded wagons, hay, straw and a antique potato planter, were all lost. Total damage for the location was estimated around $45,00

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.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Apr 6, 12:15 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 5.7 hours before the alert went out and 60 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: 903 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -37 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 687 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 48 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 154 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 151 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.7
Supercell composite: 3.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS53 KILX 061741
SVRSPI
ILC113-061830-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
1241 PM CDT FRI APR 6 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LINCOLN HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  MCLEAN COUNTY IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS

* UNTIL 130 PM CDT

* AT 1241 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 7 MILES NORTHWEST OF HUDSON...OR ABOUT 11 MILES
  EAST OF EUREKA...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 40 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  TOWANDA
  LEXINGTON
  CHENOA
  COOKSVILLE
  COLFAX

THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...
DAMAGING HAIL...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN. TAKE
SHELTER IN A STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER OR ANY STORM DAMAGE TO YOUR LOCAL ESDA...OR THE
NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY...FOR RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE. STAY TUNED FOR LATER STATEMENTS.

LAT...LON 4076 8892 4059 8914 4046 8845 4075 8858

HEDGES

NNNN

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Lincoln, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 6, 10:43 AM CDT, 1 hour 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 6, 10:43 AM CDT, 1 hour 58 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
1042 AM CDT THU APR 5 2001

MESOETA AND RUC MODELS FM 12Z BOTH SUGGESTED BOUNDARIES FM EARLIER
CONVECTION STILL ACRS ILX CWA...WITH SFC MOISTURE CONVERGENCE
APPARENT SOUTH OF MAIN SYNOPTIC SCALE FRONT. MAIN SURFACE FNT FM
SE IA TO JUST NORTH OF PIA...TO NRN IN ATTM. CONVECTION ALONG THIS
REMAINING MAINLY NORTH OF ILX CWA. INSTABILITY EXPECTED TO ENHANCE
ACRS CRL IL THIS AFTERNOON. THIS AND PRE-EXISTING BOUNDARIES (AT
LEAST TWO APPARENT OFF KILX 88D) WILL BRING CHANCE OF STORMS TO OUR
REGION AGAIN TODAY. BEST CHANCES TO REMAIN IN THE NORTH CLOSER TO
MAIN SYNOPTIC BOUNDARY WHERE CAP IS WEAKEST.

CURRENT ZONES HAVE A GOOD HANDLE ON THESE TRENDS FOR PERIOD ONE.
TEMPS STILL LOOK ON TRACK. ONLY PROBLEM AREA LOOKS TO BE WINDS...SO
UPDATE WL BE COMING OUT SHORTLY TO ADJUST WIND SPEEDS TODAY.

.ILX...NONE.

PLAHMER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 6, 11:15 AM CDT, 1 hour 26 minutes before

ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-071100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR CENTRAL ILLINOIS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
1115 AM CDT FRI APR 6 2001

A FRONTAL BOUNDARY ACROSS NORTHERN ILLINOIS IN COMBINATION WITH
ABUNDANT MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY WILL HELP TO TRIGGER SHOWER AND
THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY ACROSS MUCH OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS THIS AFTERNOON
AND THIS EVENING.

SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BE SEVERE...MAINLY ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE
FROM ST. LOUIS TO DECATUR TO CHAMPAIGN. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE
NEEDED IN THIS REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

PLAHMER

The office that day

Everything else NWS Lincoln, IL issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Apr 5, 9:37 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Morgan, Scott	53 min
Apr 6, 11:09 AM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Knox, Stark	66 min
Apr 6, 11:32 AM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Marshall, Peoria, Stark	43 min
Apr 6, 12:01 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Woodford	44 min
Apr 6, 1:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Champaign	50 min
Apr 6, 2:04 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Vermilion	56 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 2001 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2001

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.