Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 34, NWS Chicago, IL

May 14, 2003Ford County, Iroquois County, Livingston County, Illinois

NWS Chicago, IL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 14, 2003, 5:11 PM CDT for Ford County, Iroquois County, Livingston County, Illinois. It was in force for 49 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
May 14, 2003, 5:11 PM CDT (22:11 UTC)
Expired
May 14, 2003, 6:00 PM CDT
In force
49 min
Issued by
NWS Chicago, IL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Ford County, IL, Iroquois County, IL, Livingston County, IL

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 96 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:15 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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 14, 1:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 10.2 hours before the alert went out and 74 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2003-05-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2003-05-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 44 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1154 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
44 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
132 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

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 Chicago, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 14, 2:10 PM CDT, 3 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 14, 2:10 PM CDT, 3 hours 1 minute before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
210 PM CDT WED MAY 14 2003

PUBLIC DISCUSSION FOR 330PM ZONES/GRIDS

MORNING PRECIP KEEPING FAR NORTHERN FA CLOUDY/COOL AS FRONT LIES
ACROSS SOUTHWEST FA FROM ROUGHLY LA SALLE TO IROQUOIS COUNTY. BEST
INSTABILITY AND SUNSHINE SOUTH OF THIS FRONT AS STORMS HAVE FIRED
ACROSS QUAD CITIES LAST 1-2 HRS. THIS AREA OF TSRA TO MOVE ESE THRU
THE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING WITH MAIN SVR THREAT BEING LARGE HAIL
ACROSS SOUTHWEST COUNTIES. PRECIP DIMINISHES DURING THE EVENING
HOURS AS FIRST VORT EXITS BUT CONVECTION CURRENTLY FIRING ACROSS MN
NORTH CENTRAL IA...ASSOCIATED WITH SECOND VORT ROTATING AROUND UPPER
LOW TO BRING ANOTHER CHANCE OF -TSRA OVERNIGHT. UPPER LOW MAKES IT
AS FAR SOUTH AS SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES BEFORE STALLING THEN WEAKENING
INTO FRIDAY SO SHOWERS AGAIN POSSIBLE DURING THE DAY THURS. AS UPPER
LOW WEAKENS...HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS ACROSS EASTERN LAKES INTO THE
WEEKEND. NEXT SYSTEM DEVELOPS OVER THE PLAINS FRIDAY NIGHT AND TRIES
TO LIFT NORTHEAST SAT/SAT NIGHT. UNCERTAINTY AS TO HOW FAR NORTH...
HOW STRONG EASTERN LAKES HIGH WILL BE SO WILL CONTINUE WITH DRY
FORECAST FOR NOW BUT TREND IS TO BRING SYSTEM FURTHER NORTH. WARMUP
INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK THEN NEXT SYSTEM COMES THRU TUES NIGHT/WED AND
HAVE INCLUDED PRECIP. HAVE TRENDED TOWARD A BLEND OF GUIDANCE FOR
TEMPS IN THE SHORT TERM WITH COOLER ALONG THE LAKE WITH NE FLOW.

.CHI...NONE.

CMS

AVIATION DISCUSSION FOR 18 UTC TAFS

MAIN CONCERN NXT 6 HRS WILL BE TSTMS.  COLD POOL ALF MOVG SEWD INTO
IA...SWRN WI...NRN/CNTRL IL WILL INCRS TSTM THREAT THRU AFTN/ERLY
EVENING HRS.  VIS SATLT IMAGERY THRU NOON CDT HAS SHOWN CLOUDINESS
OVR ERN IA/NWRN IL BCMG INCREASINGLY CONVECTIVE AND RADAR PAST HR
HAS SHOWN MARKED INCRS IN TSTM COVG AND ITENSITY.  ATMOSPHERIC
TEMP/MOISTURE PROFILES SUGGEST HIGH PROBABILITY OF HAIL IN STGR
CELLS.  CIGS WILL BE GENLY MVFR...BUT WILL BE QUITE VRBL DUE TO
CONVECTIVE NATURE OF WX...VARYING BTWN BKN CIGS NR FL012 TO VFR OVC
ARND FL060.  VIS GENLY OK...AOA 5SM BUT LCLLY BLO 3SM IN
SHWRS/TSTMS.  SHWRS/TSTMS EXPECTED TO DMNSH AFT SS AS LOWER
ATMOSPHERE STABILIZES.  WINDS ELY-ESELY THIS AFTN SHUD MAINTAIN
STABILIZING INFLUENCE IN CHI AREA DUE TO COOL AIR OFF LK MI.
HOWEVER...THIS FLOW WILL CONTINUE THRU TAF PERIOD AND WILL BE
CONDUCIVE TO MORE SOLID MVFR CIGS BY THIS EVENING.

MERZLOCK
Hazardous weather outlook, May 14, 4:20 PM CDT, 51 minutes before
ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019-020>023-032-033-039-INZ001-002-010-011-019
-151100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
420 PM CDT WED MAY 14 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST
ILLINOIS...NORTHWEST INDIANA...AND THE ADJACENT WATERS OF LAKE
MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE... TONIGHT

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY IN THE
EARLY EVENING...GENERALLY SOUTH AND WEST OF A LINE FROM
ROCKFORD...TO KANKAKEE...TO RENSSELAER INDIANA.

LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS IOWA THIS AFTERNOON...AS A
STATIONARY FRONT EXTENDS EASTWARD ACROSS CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND
INDIANA. COOLING TEMPERATURES ALOFT WILL HELP DESTABILIZE THE
ATMOSPHERE...ESPECIALLY IN THE VICINITY OF THE FRONT. THE SEVERE
THREAT WILL DIMINISH AFTER SUNSET AS LOW LEVEL TEMPERATURES COOL.
DUE TO THE PARTICULARLY COLD TEMPERATURES ALOFT...THE PRIMARY SEVERE
THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL. WIND PROFILES APPEAR RATHER WEAK SO
DAMAGING WINDS ARE LESS LIKELY. THIS TYPE OF ATMOSPHERE MAY ALSO
PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF COLD AIR FUNNELS IN ASSOCIATION WITH
RAPIDLY BUILDING CUMULONIMBI. FARTHER TO THE NORTH OF THE WARM
FRONT...LESS INSTABILITY ACROSS NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AND EXTREME
NORTHWEST INDIANA WILL TEND TO LIMIT THE SEVERE THREAT...ESPECIALLY
ACROSS NORTHEAST ILLINOIS WHERE COOL EASTERLY WINDS OFF LAKE
MICHIGAN WILL KEEP THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE RELATIVELY STABLE. ALTHOUGH
ELEVATED THUNDERSTORMS MAY OCCUR IN THESE AREAS...THEY ARE NOT
EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THE NEXT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE TUESDAY NIGHT OR WEDNESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

&&

           NWS CHICAGO WEBPAGE

    HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/LOT (LOWER CASE)
OR  HTTP://WEATHER.NOAA.GOV/CHICAGO (LOWER CASE)

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 14, 4:38 PM CDT, 33 minutes before
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Local storm report, May 14, 4:46 PM CDT, 25 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
446 PM CDT WED MAY 14 2003

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

0443 PM    CORNELL                   IL   1 INCH HAIL
05/14/03   LIVINGSTON                     REPORTED BY LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 14, 4:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTLivingston50 min
May 14, 5:57 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTFord, Iroquois48 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 2003Every severe thunderstorm warning 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.