Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 11, NWS Lincoln, IL

May 8, 2003Clay County, Effingham County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at May 8, 2003, 3:49 PM CDT for Clay County, Effingham County, Illinois. It was in force for 41 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: May 8, 2003, 3:49 PM CDT (20:49 UTC)
Expired: May 8, 2003, 4:30 PM CDT
In force: 41 min
Issued by: NWS Lincoln, IL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Clay County, IL, Effingham County, IL

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 8, 12:20 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	4 hr
May 8, 3:40 PM CDT	Tornado Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 131 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 797 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 50 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 50 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 161 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

614 
WFUS53 KILX 082049
TORILX
ILC025-049-082130-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
347 PM CDT THU MAY 8 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LINCOLN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  EFFINGHAM COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS
  CLAY COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS

* UNTIL 430 PM CDT

* AT 347 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG
  ROTATION 11 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ALTAMONT...OR ABOUT 12 MILES EAST OF
  VANDALIA...MOVING EAST AT 45 MPH. THIS STORM COULD PRODUCE A
  TORNADO AT ANY TIME. ANOTHER SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WAS BEHIND THE 
  FIRST ONE IN WESTERN FAYETTE COUNTY. IN ADDITION TO THE THREAT OF
  A TORNADO...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED WITH
  THIS STORM. GO TO A SAFE PLACE NOW

* THE TORNADO IS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR...
  EDGEWOOD
  ALTAMONT
  IOLA
  WATSON
  EFFINGHAM
  BIBLE GROVE
  TEUTOPOLIS
  DIETERICH

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 3907 8901 3879 8893 3880 8837 3917 8838

$$

BYRD

NNNN

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 8, 3:13 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Lawrence, Richland	47 min
May 8, 3:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Lawrence	31 min
May 8, 4:30 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Clay, Effingham, Jasper, Richland	60 min
May 8, 5:08 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Crawford, Lawrence	37 min
May 8, 5:18 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	ILX	Effingham	3 hr
May 8, 5:30 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	ILX	Lawrence	3 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 2003 Every tornado warning in 2003 Tornadoes in 2003

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.