Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 2003

Tornado Warning 9, NWS Chicago, IL

May 14, 2003Ford County, Iroquois County, Illinois

NWS Chicago, IL issued this tornado warning at May 14, 2003, 5:57 PM CDT for Ford County, Iroquois 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 outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 14, 2003, 5:57 PM CDT (22:57 UTC)
Expired
May 14, 2003, 6:45 PM CDT
In force
48 min
Issued by
NWS Chicago, IL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Ford County, IL, Iroquois County, IL

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 113 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:00 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, 11.0 hours before the alert went out and 65 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

The text

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

440 
WFUS53 KLOT 142257
TORLOT
ILC053-075-142345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
556 PM CDT WED MAY 14 2003

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CHICAGO HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHERN FORD COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS
  SOUTHERN IROQUOIS COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS

* UNTIL 645 PM CDT

* AT 556 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED STRONG ROTATION IN SEVERAL 
  LOCATIONS ALONG A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM 3 
  MILES NORTHWEST OF CRESCENT CITY TO 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF 
  GIBSON CITY...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE STORM WILL BE NEAR...
  BUCKLEY AROUND 605 PM CDT.
  WATSEKA AROUND 615 PM CDT.
  PAXTON AROUND 620 PM CDT.
  CISSNA PARK AROUND 625 PM CDT.

IF NO BASEMENT IS AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER IN AN INTERIOR CLOSET...
BATHROOM...OR HALLWAY ON THE LOWEST FLOOR. STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

LAT...LON 4043 8848 4041 8816 4073 8755 4095 8780
$$

JHV

NNNN

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, 5:11 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTFord, Iroquois, Livingston49 min

Nearby

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