Alert archive / Ohio / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2001

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 36, NWS Northern Indiana

May 15, 2001Van Wert County, Ohio; Adams County, Indiana

NWS Northern Indiana issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 15, 2001, 8:25 PM EDT for Van Wert County, Ohio; Adams County, Indiana. It was in force for 55 min. 5 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: May 15, 2001, 8:25 PM EDT (00:25 UTC)
Expired: May 15, 2001, 9:20 PM EDT
In force: 55 min
Issued by: NWS Northern Indiana
Area: Whole counties; the outline is the Mesonet’s reconstruction

Counties Adams County, IN, Van Wert County, OH

The radar

The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 105 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:28 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
May 15, 8:27 PM EDT	Hail 1	Decatur, IN
May 15, 8:28 PM EDT	Hail 0.75	Decatur, IN
May 15, 8:30 PM EDT	Hail 1.25	Decatur, IN
May 15, 8:40 PM EDT	Hail 1.25	Wren, OH
May 15, 8:45 PM EDT	Hail 0.75	Wren, OH

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
May 15, 8:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 168 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: 1147 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1684 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 89 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 177 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 4.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS53 KIWX 160026
SVRFWA
INC001-OHC161-160120-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
825 PM EDT TUE MAY 15 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTHERN INDIANA HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  NORTHEASTERN ADAMS COUNTY IN INDIANA
  SOUTHWESTERN VAN WERT COUNTY IN OHIO

* UNTIL 920 PM EDT(820 PM EST)

* AT 825 PM EDT(725 PM EST)...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR
  INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 4 MILES NORTHEAST OF DECATUR...
  MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

* SOME LOCATIONS IN THE PATH OF THIS SEVERE THUNDERSTORM ARE...
  WREN
  WILLSHIRE
  OHIO CITY

ONE HAIL WAS REPORTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AT 724 PM EST 9 MILES NORTH 
OF DECATUR. ONE INCH SIZE HAIL OR LARGER IS LIKELY WITH THIS SEVERE 
STORM SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. THEY
WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST
OFFICE IN NORTHERN INDIANA.

LAT...LON 4095 8485 4086 8503 4045 8457 4063 8432

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 Northern Indiana wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 15, 2:55 PM EDT, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 15, 2:55 PM EDT, 5 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
155 PM EST TUE MAY 15 2001

TSRA DVLPG OVR SW CWA AT 1830Z AND SPC ISSUING SVA. S/W MOVG FRM
WI/IL BRDR THIS EVE TO IN/OH BRDR AS WRM FNT WAVES S A LTL THIS EVE
AND THEN PULLS BACK N AS SFC LO MOVS E ACRS GRT LKS TNGT.

OVRNGT...S/W MOVS FRM WI INTO MI. LARGE DIFFS BTWN MODELS...ESP IN
QPF. HWVR GENERAL CONSENSUS IS FOR MCS OVR WI TNGT IN BEST THETA E
AIR TO MOV E INTO MI AND THEN SLIP SE AS IS DSSIPTS WED AM. HIEST
POPS AGAIN IN NE CWFA. PWAT TNGT 1.3 TO 1.4 WITH KI LO-MID 30S.
FLOODING MAY BE A PROB IN NE CWFA BUT WL HOLD OF ON FFA ATTM DUE TO
UNCERTAINTY IN WHERE BEST RA WL FALL. ALSO...URBAN/SML STRM ADVS SHUD
BE SUFF GIVEN HIGH FFG NUMS.

HI CHC POPS WED AS DYING MCS MOVS THRU NE CWFA IN THE AM AND
WEAKENING CD FNT PUSHES THRU CWFA IN THE PM. WED AFTN PWATS MAY BE
EVEN HIR THAN TDY...WITH LI -3 TO -5 AND CAPE 1500 TO 2000.

WL MOV POPS UP FRM FRI TO THU AS AVN AND MRF AGREE ON BRINGING CD
FNT THRU ATTM. SMALL CHC OF SHRA SUN AS WEAK TROF MOVS THRU. MRF
BLOWS UP BIG LO PRES IN PLAINS SUN NGT AND BRNGS FNT THRU HERE
MON/TUE SO WL MENTION CHC TSRA.

.IWX...NONE.

TAR

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 15, 6:47 PM EDT, 1 hour 38 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
547 PM EST TUE MAY 15 2001

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0542 PM    2 S GOSHEN                IN   1 INCH HAIL
05/15/01   ELKHART                        REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
                                          OPERATOR.

0543 PM    GOSHEN                    IN   .75 INCH HAIL
05/15/01   ELKHART                        REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
                                          OPERATOR.

Local storm report, May 15, 6:53 PM EDT, 1 hour 32 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
553 PM EST TUE MAY 15 2001

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0552 PM    NEW PARIS                 IN   WIND DAMAGE
05/15/01   ELKHART                        REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
                                          OPERATOR.  8 INCH
                                          BRANCHES DOWN. ON NORTH
                                          SIDE OF NEW PARIS.

Local storm report, May 15, 7:17 PM EDT, 1 hour 8 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
617 PM EST TUE MAY 15 2001

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0613 PM    1 E NEW PARIS             IN   .75 INCH HAIL
05/15/01   ELKHART                        REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
                                          OPERATOR.

Local storm report, May 15, 7:48 PM EDT, 37 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
648 PM EST TUE MAY 15 2001

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0530 PM    5 SW GOSHEN               IN   WIND DAMAGE
05/15/01   ELKHART                        3 FOOT DIAMETER TREE
                                          BLOWN DOWN. REPORTED BY
                                          STORM SPOTTER.

Local storm report, May 15, 8:00 PM EDT, 25 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
700 PM EST TUE MAY 15 2001

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0655 PM    WOLFLAKE                  IN   WIND DAMAGE
05/15/01   NOBLE                          REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
                                          TREE DOWN ACROSS ROAD
                                          SOUTH OF WOLFLAKE

Local storm report, May 15, 8:05 PM EDT, 20 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
705 PM EST TUE MAY 15 2001

TIME(EST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0614 PM    GOSHEN                    IN   WIND DAMAGE
05/15/01   ELKHART                        TREES ALONG WITH 3 TO 4
                                          INCH LIMBS DOWN ON
                                          SOUTH SIDE OF GOSHEN.
                                          REPORTED BY OFF-DUTY
                                          NWS EMPLOYEE.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Northern Indiana issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 15, 8:21 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IWX	LaGrange	49 min
May 15, 8:41 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IWX	Elkhart	49 min
May 15, 8:51 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IWX	Allen	49 min
May 15, 8:56 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IWX	Noble	54 min
May 16, 1:10 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IWX	White	50 min
May 16, 2:15 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IWX	Cass	65 min
May 16, 2:43 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IWX	Cass, Miami	47 min
May 16, 7:28 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IWX	Cass	22 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Ohio, 2001 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Indiana, 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.