Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Watches in 2002

Tornado Watch 695

September 20, 200227 counties in Indiana; 13 counties in Ohio

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Sep 20, 2002, 12:35 PM EST for 27 counties in Indiana; 13 counties in Ohio. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Sep 20, 2002, 12:35 PM EST (17:35 UTC)
Expired
Sep 20, 2002, 6:00 PM EST
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 40 counties

Adams County, IN, Allen County, IN, Blackford County, IN, Boone County, IN, Clinton County, IN, DeKalb County, IN, Delaware County, IN, Grant County, IN, Hamilton County, IN, Hancock County, IN, Hendricks County, IN, Henry County, IN, Howard County, IN, Huntington County, IN, Jay County, IN, LaGrange County, IN, Madison County, IN, Marion County, IN, Miami County, IN, Noble County, IN, Randolph County, IN, Steuben County, IN, Tipton County, IN, Wabash County, IN, Wayne County, IN, Wells County, IN, Whitley County, IN, Allen County, OH, Auglaize County, OH, Darke County, OH, Defiance County, OH, Fulton County, OH, Henry County, OH, Lucas County, OH, Mercer County, OH, Paulding County, OH, Putnam County, OH, Van Wert County, OH, Williams County, OH, Wood County, OH

The radar

The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 94 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 17:35 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.

Warnings issued inside it

17 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 20, 1:08 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDHendricks37 min
Sep 20, 1:22 PM ESTTornado WarningINDJohnson, Marion38 min
Sep 20, 1:46 PM ESTTornado Warning EmergencyINDHancock44 min
Sep 20, 1:58 PM ESTTornado WarningINDMarion17 min
Sep 20, 2:06 PM ESTTornado WarningINDMadison54 min
Sep 20, 2:07 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDHamilton23 min
Sep 20, 2:44 PM ESTTornado WarningINDDelaware46 min
Sep 20, 2:49 PM ESTTornado WarningIWXBlackford, Grant56 min
Sep 20, 3:14 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXAllen, Putnam46 min
Sep 20, 3:19 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningINDRandolph41 min
Sep 20, 3:21 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNFayette, Wayne39 min
Sep 20, 3:27 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXJay33 min
Sep 20, 3:31 PM ESTTornado WarningIWXAdams, Wells44 min
Sep 20, 3:45 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNDarke, Mercer45 min
Sep 20, 3:59 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXVan Wert46 min
Sep 20, 3:59 PM ESTTornado WarningIWXPutnam31 min
Sep 20, 4:14 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILNAuglaize, Shelby61 min

The nearest sounding before it

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 12:00Z, 5.6 hours before the alert went out and 186 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 2002-09-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 339 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 2002-09-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 153 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
339 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-46 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
850 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
153 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
179 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
1.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 201734
SEL5  
SPC WW 201735
INZ000-OHZ000-LEZ000-202300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 695
STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
1135 AM CST FRI SEP 20 2002

THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF

   NORTHERN AND CENTRAL INDIANA                            
   NORTHWESTERN OHIO                               
   LAKE ERIE                          

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 1135 AM UNTIL 500
PM CST.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO
70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 60 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 25 MILES EAST OF INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA TO 30 MILES
WEST NORTHWEST OF TOLEDO OHIO.

REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. 
PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE
WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...  CONTINUE...WW 693...WW 694...

DISCUSSION...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED INTO SRN IN AHEAD
OF EJECTING TROUGH FROM CENTRAL PLAINS.  WITH VERY MOIST AND
UNSTABLE AIRMASS IN PLACE AND STRONG DEEP LAYER SHEAR...EXPECT
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP NEWD ACROSS WATCH AREA DURING
AFTERNOON.  SUPERCELLS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES LIKELY GIVEN
FAVORABLE SHEAR.


AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 1 INCH...EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS.  A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. 
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22040.


...HALES

394,0865 414,0853 414,0831 394,0844

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Sep 20, 11:30 AM ESTTornado WatchSPCBartholomew, Brown, Clark, Clay, Crawford, Daviess and 32 more6 hr
Sep 20, 3:30 PM ESTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAdams, Ashland, Brown, Butler, Champaign, Clark and 36 more6 hr

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Indiana, 2002Tornado Watches in Ohio, 2002Every tornado watch 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.