Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 12, NWS Lincoln, IL

August 18, 2001Mason County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at Aug 18, 2001, 11:59 AM CDT for Mason County, Illinois. It was in force for 61 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
Aug 18, 2001, 11:59 AM CDT (16:59 UTC)
Expired
Aug 18, 2001, 1:00 PM CDT
In force
61 min
Issued by
NWS Lincoln, IL
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

County Mason County, IL

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 52 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:01 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

TimeReportWhereRemark
Aug 18, 12:16 PM CDTHail 2.75Manito, IL
Aug 18, 12:36 PM CDTTornado F0Mason City, ILA tornado briefly touched down 5.3 miles north of Mason City. It ripped off a large top of a tree and carried it 100 feet. One small tree was snapped. All gutters on a house were lifted off, as well as a table being blown into a open garage door (facing sou

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 nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 5.0 hours before the alert went out and 112 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 2001-08-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 192 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 2001-08-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 92 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
192 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-146 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1002 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
92 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
136 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

113 
WFUS53 KILX 181701
TORSPI
ILC125-181800-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
1159 AM CDT SAT AUG 18 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LINCOLN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  MASON COUNTY IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS

* UNTIL 100 PM CDT

* AT 1159 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  DEVELOPING TORNADO OVER HAVANA...OR ABOUT 4 MILES NORTHEAST OF
  HAVANA...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  EASTON
  TOPEKA
  FOREST CITY
  UNION

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...ACT NOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF.
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THE TORNADO BEFORE TAKING ACTION. YOU MAY
NOT SEE OR HEAR ITS APPROACH.

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 4042 8999 4026 9014 4019 8961 4042 8973

AUTEN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 18, 12:24 PM CDTTornado WarningILXLogan, Tazewell66 min
Aug 18, 12:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMcLean62 min
Aug 18, 1:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMason44 min
Aug 18, 1:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXChampaign67 min
Aug 18, 1:25 PM CDTTornado WarningILXLogan, Menard65 min
Aug 18, 1:33 PM CDTTornado WarningILXDeWitt, McLean57 min
Aug 18, 1:40 PM CDTTornado WarningILXChampaign50 min
Aug 18, 2:20 PM CDTTornado WarningILXVermilion55 min
Aug 18, 2:22 PM CDTTornado WarningILXChampaign, Piatt53 min
Aug 18, 2:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXLogan, Menard45 min
Aug 18, 2:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMacon54 min
Aug 18, 3:01 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXSangamon59 min
Aug 18, 3:16 PM CDTTornado WarningILXChampaign, Piatt59 min
Aug 18, 3:17 PM CDTTornado WarningILXVermilion58 min
Aug 18, 3:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXChristian, Macon60 min
Aug 18, 3:30 PM CDTTornado WarningILXDouglas60 min
Aug 18, 3:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMoultrie38 min
Aug 18, 4:05 PM CDTTornado WarningILXEdgar, Vermilion55 min
Aug 18, 4:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXColes59 min
Aug 18, 4:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXChristian, Shelby81 min
Aug 18, 4:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMoultrie53 min
Aug 18, 5:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXCrawford60 min
Aug 18, 5:16 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXColes, Cumberland59 min
Aug 18, 5:53 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXEffingham67 min
Aug 18, 6:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXJasper66 min
Aug 18, 6:30 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXCrawford60 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 2001Every tornado warning in 2001Tornadoes 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.