Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 2001

Tornado Warning 15, NWS Lincoln, IL

August 18, 2001DeWitt County, McLean County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at Aug 18, 2001, 1:33 PM CDT for DeWitt County, McLean County, Illinois. It was in force for 57 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, 1:33 PM CDT (18:33 UTC)
Expired
Aug 18, 2001, 2:30 PM CDT
In force
57 min
Issued by
NWS Lincoln, IL
Area
Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties DeWitt County, IL, McLean County, IL

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 35 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:33 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, 2:00 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 52 MClinton, ILDamaging downburst winds moved across central portions of Dewitt county. The path of the damage was two to three miles wide and extended from 2.25 miles north of Clinton to Dewitt to 2.5 miles north of Weldon. The extent of the damage included a cement block w
Aug 18, 2:05 PM CDTTornado F0De Witt, ILA tornado formed along the leading edge of downburst winds just northwest of Dewitt. It moved southeast into town before lifting. It blew a chimney off of a church as well as some of its windows. Also, two homes sustained roof damage and a garage was blown dow

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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Aug 18, 12:30 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 6.6 hours before the alert went out and 33 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°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.

619 
WFUS53 KILX 181833
TORSPI
ILC039-113-181930-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LINCOLN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  DE WITT COUNTY IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS
  MCLEAN COUNTY IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS

* UNTIL 230 PM CDT

* AT 133 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED 
  A DEVELOPING TORNADO OVER WAYNESVILLE...OR ABOUT 12 MILES 
  NORTHEAST OF LINCOLN...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH.

* THE POSSIBLE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  WAPELLA
  HEYWORTH
  CLINTON
  LE ROY
  WELDON
  FARMER CITY

IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...TAKE COVER IN A BASEMENT OR
INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. VEHICLES AND MOBILE HOMES SHOULD
BE ABANDONED FOR A SAFER SHELTER.

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 4035 8918 4017 8916 4011 8871 4036 8855

AUTEN

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 18, 11:59 AM CDTTornado WarningILXMason61 min
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, 1:40 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.