Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2003
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 59, NWS Chicago, IL
NWS Chicago, IL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 6, 2003, 1:12 PM CDT for Kankakee County, Illinois. It was in force for 48 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
- Jul 6, 2003, 1:12 PM CDT (18:12 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 6, 2003, 2:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 48 min
- Issued by
- NWS Chicago, IL
- Area
- Counties, with a storm outline in the text
County Kankakee County, IL
The radar
The Chicago radar (KLOT), 55 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 18:13 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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 6, 11:45 AM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 6.2 hours before the alert went out and 126 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
- 1041 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -148 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1114 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 27 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 131 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 153 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 2.4
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 Jul 6, 12:15 PM CDT, 57 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 6, 12:15 PM CDT, 57 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 1215 PM CDT SUN JUL 6 2003 AVIATION DISCUSSION FOR 18Z TAFS... CONVECTIVE TRENDS CONTINUE TO BE FOCUS OF FORECAST. THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY THIS AFTERNOON AS MID LEVEL VORTICITY MAX MOVES OUT OF NORTHERN IA AND ACROSS SRN WI. UNSTABLE AIRMASS REMAINS ACROSS FORECAST AREA...WITH SB CAPES ALREADY APPROACHING 4000 J/KG JUST SOUTH OF TERMINAL SITES. CONCERN WITH APPROACHING VORTICITY CENTER AND ASSOCIATED MID LEVEL SPEED MAX IS THAT 0-6 KM DEEP LAYER SHEAR WILL INCREASE INTO 40-45 KT RANGE...ENOUGH FOR SUPERCELLULAR STORMS...AND SPC HAS JUST ISSUED TOR WATCH FOR WHOLE FORECAST AREA VALID UNTIL 00Z. TSTMS ALREADY FIRING ALONG OUTFLOW BOUNDARY FROM SE LASALLE CO INTO SE IROQUOIS COUNTY. HAVE GONE WITH TEMPO TSTSMS 20-24 KRFD AND 21-01 ORD/MDW/DPA/GYY. SHOULD BE A LULL EARLY TONIGHT AS MID LEVEL WAVE PASSES...THEN EXPECT ANOTHER ROUND AFTER MIDNIGHT AS DEVELOPMENT OCCURS ON NOCTURNAL LLVL JET WEST OR NORTHWEST OF FORECAST AREA. RATZER DISCUSSION FOR MORNING UPDATE OF GRIDS AND ZONES... ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN TO CONTINUE FOR NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. MAIN ISSUE THIS MORNING IS POSSIBLE HEAVY RAINS EARLY WITH PERSISTENT ECHO TRAINING FAR SOUTH CWA WHICH. AFTER THAT IS NEXT THREAT OF A SEVERE WEATHER EPISODE OVERNIGHT SUNDAY NIGHT. MODEL PROBLEMS, AS NOTED IN PMDHMD: ETA NOT HANDLING MCS IN WESTERN IOWA WELL THIS MORNING WHILE GFS BLOWS UP A SURFACE/850 LOW OVER THE WESTERN GREAT LAKES TONIGHT INTO MONDAY WHICH IS ALMOST CERTAINLY SPURIOUS. INITIAL PROBLEMS NOTWITHSTANDING WILL FOLLOW GENERAL SCENARIO LAID OUT BY ETA. FORECAST TIMING REMAINS INEXACT OF COURSE, BUT GENERAL SCENARIO LAYS OUT ABOUT AS PREVIOUSLY FORECAST IN ZONES. EXPECT PERSISTENT OVERRUNNING OF SURFACE BOUNDARY TO DECREASE THIS MORNING. WARM FRONT WILL ATTEMPT TO REFORM TO THE NORTH THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING TO PROVIDE NEW FOCUS WHILE HOPEFULLY THE OLD BOUNDARY IN OUR AREA IS WASHED OUT. BELIEVE WITH IA MCS HEADING MAINLY SOUTHEAST AND NOT A THREAT IT SHOULD RUN OUT OF OF FUEL SOMEWHERE IN MO ANYWAY THIS MORNING. THUS A QUIET PERIOD EXPECTED BY THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY NIGHTTIME HOURS. TEMPS SIMILAR TO YESTERDAY. NEXT MCS DEVELOPMENT EARLY SUNDAY NIGHT MORE LIKELY IN MINNESOTA ON NOSE OF LOW LEVEL JET, AND TRANSLATING SOUTHEASTWARD INTO OUR AREA AFTER MIDNIGHT...WITH HIGHER LIKELY POPS NORTH AND EAST. ANOTHER ROUND OF LATE NOCTURNAL SEVERE EXPECTED. SEE SWODY1. BY MID TO LATE MORNING MONDAY THIS SHOULD BE OUT OF THE PICTURE. ETA PRECIP DURING MONDAY AFTERNOON ON FIRST INSPECTION WOULD SEEM BOGUS WITH AREA STRONGLY CAPPED. THINGS WILL BE EXTREMELY UNSTABLE HOWEVER WITH CAPES ABOVE 4000, SO SUPPOSE A 30 POP IS WORTH MAINTAINING AS PER MOS BLEND. WILL KEEP GOING TEMPS GENERALLY 93-95 ACROSS THE AREA. REMAINDER OF SCENARIO PLAYED OUT IN GRIDS STILL LOOKS GOOD: COLD FRONT TO PUSH THRU THE AREA TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY ACCOMPANIED BY MORE STORMS AND THEN A BREAK. LATEST GFS NOT SUPPORTED BY OTHER MODELS IN DEVELOPING A RATHER INTENSE SURFACE LOW AND BRINGING PRECIP BACK IN AFTER WEDNESDAY EVENING. LOOKS LIKE MORE GRID SCALE FEEDBACK. WILL MAKE NO CHANGES AT THIS TIME. .CHI...NONE KAPLAN
Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 6, 11:00 AM CDT, 2 hours 12 minutes before
ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019-020>023-032-033-039-INZ001-002-010-011-019
-071100-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK/SUPPLEMENTAL
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
1100 AM CDT SUN JUL 6 2003
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST
ILLINOIS...NORTHWEST INDIANA...AND THE ADJACENT WATERS OF LAKE
MICHIGAN.
.DAY ONE... THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT
A WATCH BOX WILL BE ISSUED FOR THE ENTIRE AREA AROUND NOON.
FOLLOWING A LULL IN ACTIVITY THIS EVENING...THERE IS A MODERATE RISK
OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AFTER MIDNIGHT IN AREAS NORTH OF ABOUT I
80...AND A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE STORMS SOUTH OF I 80.
DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT THIS AFTERNOON WITH ISOLATED
SUPERCELLS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND TORNADOES.
THE PRIMARY THREAT TONIGHT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.
A MESOSCALE STORM SYSTEM OVER NORTHEAST IOWA LATE THIS MORNING
WILLBE TRACKING EASTWARD ACROSS SOUTHERN WISCONSIN THIS AFTERNOON.
AS IT DOES SO IT WILL BE MOVING INTO VERY UNSTABLE AIR OVER NORTHERN
ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA. DUE TO THE DEGREE OF INSTABILITY IN
PLACE...WITH SURFACE TEMPERATURES AROUND 90 AND DEW POINTS IN THE
LOWER AND MIDDLE 70S...SOME SUPERCELLS ARE POSSIBLE. WIND SHEAR
THROUGH THE MID LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE MAY PROVIDE AN ENVIRONMENT
FAVORABLE FOR ROTATION.
ANOTHER MESOSCALE WEATHER SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO BLOW UP THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT IN MINNESOTA AND TRACK
SOUTHEAST INTO OUR AREA AFTER MIDNIGHT.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY
TEMPERATURES REACHING THE MID 90S...AND DEWPOINTS INTO THE 70S WILL
COMBINE TO PRODUCE HEAT INDICES APPROACHING 105 IN SOME AREAS.
PERIODS OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING. SOME OF
THESE MAY BE SEVERE WITH ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN. DRIER AND COOLER
AIR IS EXPECTED LATER WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. MORE THUNDERSTORMS
ARE POSSIBLE SATURDAY.
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON AND MAY BE NEEDED AGAIN
LATE TONIGHT...AFTER MIDNIGHT.
&&
NWS CHICAGO WEBPAGE
HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/LOT (LOWER CASE)
OR HTTP://WEATHER.NOAA.GOV/CHICAGO (LOWER CASE)
MERZLOCKThe office that day
Everything else NWS Chicago, IL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 6, 1:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Cook | 36 min |
| Jul 6, 1:58 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Lake, McHenry | 47 min |
| Jul 6, 1:59 PM CDT | Special Marine Warning | LOT | 91 min | |
| Jul 6, 2:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Grundy, Will | 46 min |
| Jul 6, 2:25 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LOT | Lake, McHenry | 50 min |
| Jul 6, 2:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | LaSalle | 49 min |
| Jul 6, 3:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Grundy, Will | 59 min |
| Jul 6, 3:08 PM CDT | Special Marine Warning | LOT | 52 min | |
| Jul 6, 3:12 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Kankakee | 63 min |
| Jul 6, 3:16 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Cook, DuPage | 44 min |
| Jul 6, 3:18 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LOT | Lake | 27 min |
| Jul 6, 3:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | McHenry | 50 min |
| Jul 6, 4:07 PM CDT | Special Marine Warning | LOT | 53 min | |
| Jul 6, 5:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | DuPage, Kane | 35 min |
| Jul 6, 5:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | DuPage | 32 min |
| Jul 6, 5:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Cook | 48 min |
| Jul 6, 5:32 PM CDT | Special Marine Warning | LOT | 58 min | |
| Jul 6, 5:32 PM CDT | Special Marine Warning | LOT | 58 min | |
| Jul 6, 5:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Iroquois | 50 min |
| Jul 6, 6:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Cook, Will | 51 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.