Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Watches in 2003

Tornado Watch 444

May 30, 20034 states

The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at May 30, 2003, 7:30 PM CDT for 4 states. It was in force for 6 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
May 30, 2003, 7:30 PM CDT (00:30 UTC)
Expired
May 31, 2003, 1:00 AM CDT
In force
6 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
All 59 counties

Boone County, IL, Bureau County, IL, Cass County, IL, Champaign County, IL, Cook County, IL, DeKalb County, IL, DeWitt County, IL, Douglas County, IL, DuPage County, IL, Ford County, IL, Fulton County, IL, Grundy County, IL, Iroquois County, IL, Kane County, IL, Kankakee County, IL, Kendall County, IL, Lake County, IL, LaSalle County, IL, Lee County, IL, Livingston County, IL, Logan County, IL, Macon County, IL, Marshall County, IL, Mason County, IL, McHenry County, IL, McLean County, IL, Menard County, IL, Morgan County, IL, Moultrie County, IL, Ogle County, IL, Peoria County, IL, Piatt County, IL, Putnam County, IL, Sangamon County, IL, Scott County, IL, Stark County, IL, Tazewell County, IL, Vermilion County, IL, Will County, IL, Winnebago County, IL, Woodford County, IL, Jasper County, IN, Lake County, IN, Newton County, IN, Porter County, IN, Berrien County, MI, Muskegon County, MI, Newaygo County, MI, Oceana County, MI, Ottawa County, MI, Jefferson County, WI, Kenosha County, WI, Milwaukee County, WI, Ozaukee County, WI, Racine County, WI, Rock County, WI, Walworth County, WI, Washington County, WI, Waukesha County, WI

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 65 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:33 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

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 30, 7:35 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMarshall40 min
May 30, 7:37 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTCook, Lake53 min
May 30, 7:43 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTLivingston32 min
May 30, 7:49 PM CDTTornado WarningILXWoodford41 min
May 30, 7:49 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTLaSalle11 min
May 30, 7:53 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTWill52 min
May 30, 7:55 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMason50 min
May 30, 8:06 PM CDTTornado WarningILXLogan, Tazewell39 min
May 30, 8:09 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMcLean51 min
May 30, 8:19 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTFord, Iroquois, Livingston26 min
May 30, 8:25 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTCook50 min
May 30, 8:30 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTFord, Iroquois, Livingston15 min
May 30, 8:40 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTKankakee, Will35 min
May 30, 8:42 PM CDTTornado WarningILXDeWitt, Logan48 min
May 30, 8:45 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTFord, Livingston30 min
May 30, 8:48 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTIroquois27 min
May 30, 9:10 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTLake35 min
May 30, 9:14 PM CDTTornado WarningLOTFord31 min
May 30, 9:15 PM CDTTornado WarningILXPiatt45 min
May 30, 9:20 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMacon25 min
May 30, 9:22 PM CDTTornado WarningILXMacon23 min
May 30, 9:27 PM CDTTornado WarningILXChampaign, Vermilion63 min
May 30, 9:50 PM CDTTornado WarningILXDouglas40 min

Discussions around it

SPC mesoscale discussions over the same counties from four hours before the watch to its end.

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 122 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 00:00Z on 2003-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 142 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, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 2003-05-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 190 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
142 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-148 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1329 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
63 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
190 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
219 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WWUS20 KWNS 310029
SEL4  
SPC WW 310030
ILZ000-INZ000-WIZ000-LMZ000-310600-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 444 
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 
730 PM CDT FRI MAY 30 2003

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

       CENTRAL AND NORTHERN ILLINOIS
       NORTHWEST INDIANA
       SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN
       LAKE MICHIGAN

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING FROM 730 PM UNTIL
100 AM CDT.

TORNADOES...HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER...THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS
TO 70 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 75 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST
OF A LINE FROM 55 MILES NORTHWEST OF MUSKEGON MICHIGAN TO 25 MILES
SOUTHEAST OF SPRINGFIELD ILLINOIS.

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...THIS TORNADO WATCH REPLACES TORNADO
WATCH NUMBER 442. WATCH NUMBER 442 WILL NOT BE IN EFFECT AFTER 730
PM CDT. CONTINUE...WW 441...WW 443...


DISCUSSION...SUPERCELLS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP/MOVE E FROM
SURFACE DRY LINE ORIENTED FROM S CNTRL WI SWWD INTO CNTRL IL. 
INCREASING DEEP SHEAR/LARGE SCALE FORCING OVER REGION ASSOCIATED
WITH APPROACH OF 90+ KT MID LEVEL JET STREAK WILL REMAIN FAVORABLE
FOR STORM ROTATION. STRENGTHENING CAP SHOULD MAINTAIN A SHARP SWRN
LIMIT TO CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT FARTHER S ALONG DRY LINE.

AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL
SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 2 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND
GUSTS TO 60 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 400.
MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 29030.


...CORFIDI

434,0853 393,0875 393,0904 434,0883

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 30, 9:04 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClark, Crawford, Edgar86 min
May 30, 9:10 PM CDTTornado WatchSPCClark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas and 6 more6 hr
May 30, 11:21 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCClark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas and 6 more84 min
May 30, 11:50 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBartholomew, Brown, Clark, Dearborn, Decatur, Delaware and 21 more5 hr
May 31, 1:01 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBartholomew, Brown, Clark, Dearborn, Decatur, Delaware and 22 more59 min
May 31, 2:32 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDearborn, Franklin, Jefferson, Ohio, Ripley, Switzerland and 2 more28 min

Nearby

Tornado Watches in Illinois, 2003Tornado Watches in Wisconsin, 2003Tornado Watches in Michigan, 2003Every tornado watch 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.