Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 12, NWS Lincoln, IL

May 18, 2004McLean County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this tornado warning at May 18, 2004, 6:11 PM CDT for McLean County, Illinois. It was in force for 64 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: May 18, 2004, 6:11 PM CDT (23:11 UTC)
Expired: May 18, 2004, 7:15 PM CDT
In force: 64 min
Issued by: NWS Lincoln, IL
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County McLean County, IL

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 54 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:14 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 18, 6:26 PM CDT	TORNADO	1 S Bloomington, IL	BRIEF TOUCHDOWN AT I-74 AND US-51 ON SOUTH SIDE OF BLOOMINGTON.
May 18, 6:26 PM CDT	TORNADO	1 S Bloomington, IL	BRIEF TOUCHDOWN AT I-74 AND US-51 ON SOUTH SIDE OF BLOOMINGTON.
May 18, 6:26 PM CDT	TORNADO	1 S Bloomington, IL	BRIEF TOUCHDOWN AT I-74 AND US-51 ON SOUTH SIDE OF BLOOMINGTON.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

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 18, 12:00 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	7 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 50 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: 989 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -53 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 838 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 124 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 85 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.3
Supercell composite: 2.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KILX 182311
TORILX
ILC113-190015-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
611 PM CDT TUE MAY 18 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LINCOLN HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  MCLEAN COUNTY IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS

* UNTIL 715 PM CDT

* AT 611 PM CDT...RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WITH STRONG
  ROTATION ABOUT 4 MILES WEST OF BLOOMINGTON...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH. 
  THIS STORM COULD PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME. 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...
  BLOOMINGTON
  NORMAL
  TOWANDA
  HOLDER
  ELLSWORTH
  COOKSVILLE
  ARROWSMITH
  COLFAX

ANOTHER LOCATION IN THIS WARNING IS...DANVERS.

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 4057 8913 4046 8925 4041 8855 4061 8856

$$

KH

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 18, 12:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Morgan	63 min
May 18, 1:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Champaign, Piatt	62 min
May 18, 1:58 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	ILX	DeWitt	6 hr
May 18, 3:41 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	McLean	49 min
May 18, 3:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	McLean	47 min
May 18, 4:43 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford	62 min
May 18, 4:45 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	ILX	Peoria	4 hr
May 18, 4:53 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Christian, Shelby	52 min
May 18, 5:08 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Tazewell, Woodford	52 min
May 18, 5:35 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Tazewell, Woodford	25 min
May 18, 5:40 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	McLean	65 min
May 18, 6:24 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	ILX	McLean	3 hr

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Illinois, 2004 Every tornado warning in 2004 Tornadoes in 2004

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.