Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 2001
Tornado Warning 8, NWS Chicago, IL
NWS Chicago, IL issued this tornado warning at Aug 25, 2001, 5:31 PM CDT for Lake County, Porter County, Indiana. It was in force for 44 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 25, 2001, 5:31 PM CDT (22:31 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 25, 2001, 6:15 PM CDT
- In force
- 44 min
- Issued by
- NWS Chicago, IL
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Lake County, IN, Porter County, IN
The radar
The Chicago radar (KLOT), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:34 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25, 5:31 PM CDT | Tornado F1 | Merrillville, IN | A tornado touched down in Merrillville just east of the intersection of Merrillville Road and 84th Street. There was spotty minor structural damage in an industrial park with some small trees broken or pushed over, damage to signs and a few broken windows. |
| Aug 25, 5:43 PM CDT | Tornado F0 | Wheeler, IN | A small weak tornado touched down briefly on the north side of Wheeler. A few tree limbs were blown down and corn was flattened. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25, 5:15 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 4 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 189 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1008 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -128 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1154 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 20 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 149 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 160 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
519 WFUS53 KLOT 252233 TORCHI INC089-127-252315- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 531 PM CDT SAT AUG 25 2001 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... EASTERN LAKE COUNTY IN NORTHWEST INDIANA PORTER COUNTY IN NORTHWEST INDIANA * UNTIL 615 PM CDT * AT 531 PM CDT...LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED A TORNADO OVER MERRILLVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 15 MPH. * THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR HOBART AROUND 537 PM CDT LAKE STATION AROUND 540 PM CDT PORTAGE AROUND 555 PM CDT SOUTH HAVEN AROUND 600 PM CDT VALPARAISO AROUND 610 PM CDT GO TO THE BASEMENT AND SEEK SHELTER UNDER THE STAIRS OR UNDER A HEAVY PIECE OF FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR CLOSET...BATHROOM...OR HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST FLOOR.STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. NNNN
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Indiana, 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.