Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 117, NWS Quad Cities, IA

August 21, 2002Jo Daviess County, Stephenson County, Illinois

NWS Quad Cities, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 21, 2002, 10:26 PM CDT for Jo Daviess County, Stephenson County, Illinois. It was in force for 64 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 21, 2002, 10:26 PM CDT (03:26 UTC)
Expired
Aug 21, 2002, 11:30 PM CDT
In force
64 min
Issued by
NWS Quad Cities, IA
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Jo Daviess County, IL, Stephenson County, IL

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 99 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:27 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 00:00Z, 3.4 hours before the alert went out and 94 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, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2002-08-22Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2239 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, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2002-08-22The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 288 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
2239 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-23 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
997 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
288 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
522 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
4.5
Supercell composite
24.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 21, 1:51 PM CDT, 8 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 21, 1:51 PM CDT, 8 hours 35 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
151 PM CDT WED AUG 21 2002

SYNOPSIS...
MORNING UA AND SURFACE ANALISIS SHOWS THE AREA IS NOW IN THE WARM AND
MOIST SECTOR.  THE SURFACE WARM FRONT AT 15Z EXTENDS FROM NEAR FSD TO
ALO TO VYS.  WELL DEFINED SHORT WAVE JUST WEST OF MCI AT 12Z...NOW
APPROACHING THE UPPER MIDWEST FROM THE SOUTHWEST.  THIS WAVE HAS
SPAWNED OVERNIGHT CONVECTION FROM KANSAS THROUGH NORTHWEST IOWA.  MUCH
OF THIS IS NOW DECAYING AS EXPECTED...WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PORTION
NEAR MCI.  THIS WILL BE THE CONVECTIVE CLUSTER TO WATCH AS IT
APPROACHES THE CWA THIS AFTERNOON.  CIRRUS AND DEBRIS CLOUDS CONTINUE
TO SLOWLY THIN NORTH OF INTERSTATE 80...WITH MODERATED INSOLATION
ALREADY IN PLACE SOUTH OF THE INTERSTATE.  THIS WILL ALLOW ADEQUATE
HEATING FOR STORMS TO INTENSIFY IN OUR AREA THIS AFTERNOON.

SHORT TERM...
SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL MAINLY AFFECT THE AREA THIS EVENING...WITH
HEAVY RAIN EXPECTED LATE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT.  PWAT VALUES IN EXCESS
OF TWO INCHES NOTED ON THE OMA 12Z SOUNDING AND NEAR 2 INCHES ON 18Z
DVN SOUNDING...SHOW TROPICAL AIRMASS OVER THE REGION.  DESPITE MODEL
DIFFERENCES...ALL SHORT TERM MODELS INDICATE DIFFLUENT THICKNESS OVER
THE CWA TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING.  TRAINING CELLS APPEAR TO BE
LIKELY GIVEN NEARY STATIONARY BOUNDARY OVER THE CWA.  ALL THIS SAID...
COUNTY FFG GUIDANCE VALUES ARE RUNNING RATHER HIGH AND CROPS ARE MATURE.
 THEREFORE I FEEL WIDESPREAD FLOODING PROBLEMS DO NOT WARRANT A FLOOD
WATCH AT THIS TIME. URBAN FLOODING MAY BECOME AN ISSUE...IF STORMS PICK
ON ONE AREA REPEATEDLY.  THE FRONT BECOMES QUASI-STATIONARY THURSDAY AND
FRIDAY...WITH SEVERAL ROUNDS OF HEAVY RAIN AND THUNDESTORMS EXPECTED
THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT.  IF HEAVY RAIN DOES MATERIALIZE TONIGHT...A FLOOD
WATCH MAY BE NEEDED FOR THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY FOR AREAS THAT RECIEVE
HEAVY RAIN TONIGHT.

EXTENDED...
NO MAJOR CHANGES EXPECTED IN EXTENDED AS CANADIAN HIGH SETTLES SOUTH
ACROSS THE AREA FOR SEVERAL DAYS OF PLEASANT WEATHER.  MRF AND UKMET
CONTINUE TO INDICATE A LOBE UPPER LEVEL VORTICITY WORKING SOUTH
ACROSS THE AREA MONDAY.  FOR NOW...I WILL NOT CHANGES THE GOING
FORECAST...BUT SHOWERS MAY NEED TO BE ADDED IF THIS FEATURE MOVES OVER
THE AREA DURING PEAK HEATING.  OTHERWISE...DRY WEATHER WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH WEDNESDAY...WITH SLOWLY MODERATING TEMPERATURES.

.DVN...
IA...NONE.
IL...NONE.
MO...NONE.

ERVIN/DVN LAST/OMA NEXT

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 21, 5:04 PM CDT, 5 hours 22 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
504 PM CDT WED AUG 21 2002

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

0459 PM    2 S OXFORD JCT            IA   51 MPH TSTM GUST
08/21/02   JONES                          WIND SPEEDS MEASURED.
                                          SMALL BRACHES BLOWN
                                          DOWN.  REPORTED BY
                                          STORM SPOTTER.
Local storm report, Aug 21, 6:29 PM CDT, 3 hours 57 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
629 PM CDT WED AUG 21 2002

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

0556 PM    NICHOLS                   IA   NON SVR WIND DAMAGE
08/21/02   MUSCATINE                      POWER LINES AND TREE
                                          LIMBS DOWNED BY STRONG
                                          THUNDERSTORM WINDS.
                                          REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.

0617 PM    MUSCATINE                 IA   TORNADO
08/21/02   MUSCATINE                      REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
Local storm report, Aug 21, 6:31 PM CDT, 3 hours 55 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
631 PM CDT WED AUG 21 2002

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

0630 PM    4 W MONTPELIER            IA   FUNNEL CLOUD
08/21/02   MUSCATINE                      REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.
Local storm report, Aug 21, 6:57 PM CDT, 3 hours 29 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
657 PM CDT WED AUG 21 2002

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

0617 PM    2 N MUSCATINE             IA   TORNADO
08/21/02   MUSCATINE                      TREES AND BUILDINGS
                                          DESTROYED. REPORTED BY
                                          HAM RADIO OPERATOR.

0655 PM    2 N BLUE GRASS            IA   FUNNEL CLOUD
08/21/02   SCOTT                          REPORTED BY OFF-DUTY
                                          NWS EMPLOYEE.
Local storm report, Aug 21, 10:11 PM CDT, 15 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
1011 PM CDT WED AUG 21 2002

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

0944 PM    (DBQ)DUBUQUE MUNI ARPT    IA   64 MPH TSTM GUST
08/21/02   DUBUQUE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Quad Cities, IA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 21, 11:34 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDVNBuchanan, Delaware, Dubuque, Jackson, Jones9 hr
Aug 21, 11:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNJackson66 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 2002Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2002

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.