Alert archive / Indiana / Tornado Warnings in 2004

Tornado Warning 71, NWS Indianapolis, IN

August 18, 2004Monroe County, Indiana

NWS Indianapolis, IN issued this tornado warning at Aug 18, 2004, 7:23 PM EST for Monroe County, Indiana. It was in force for 52 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: Aug 18, 2004, 7:23 PM EST (00:23 UTC)
Expired: Aug 18, 2004, 8:15 PM EST
In force: 52 min
Issued by: NWS Indianapolis, IN
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Monroe County, IN

The radar

The Indianapolis radar (KIND), 65 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:26 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
Aug 18, 7:29 PM EST	HAIL 0.5	Ellettsville, IN
Aug 18, 7:30 PM EST	TSTM WND DMG	2 E Ellettsville, IN	SEVERAL TREES BLOWN DOWN.
Aug 18, 7:55 PM EST	FUNNEL CLOUD	5 N Bloomington, IN

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
Aug 18, 5:35 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 212 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: 2496 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -25 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1175 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 236 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 376 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 3.2
Supercell composite: 21.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WFUS53 KIND 190023
TORIND
INC105-190115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
TORNADO WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
722 PM EST WED AUG 18 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN INDIANAPOLIS HAS ISSUED A

* TORNADO WARNING FOR...
  MONROE COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA
  THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF BLOOMINGTON

* UNTIL 815 PM EST

* AT 718 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR
  ELLETTSVILLE...OR ABOUT 11 MILES NORTHWEST OF BLOOMINGTON...MOVING
  EAST AT 20 MPH.

* THE TORNADO IS WILL BE NEAR...
  ELLETTSVILLE AROUND 730 PM EST
  BLOOMINGTON AROUND 745 PM EST

THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.

IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.

LAT...LON 3933 8670 3932 8667 3933 8640 3907 8640
      3904 8637 3904 8634 3900 8634 3899 8640
      3899 8670

$$

JB

The office that day

Everything else NWS Indianapolis, IN issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 18, 7:04 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Monroe, Owen	56 min
Aug 18, 7:51 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Owen	54 min
Aug 18, 8:57 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Monroe	48 min
Aug 18, 9:57 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Jackson, Jennings	48 min
Aug 19, 4:23 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Randolph	37 min
Aug 19, 5:29 PM EST	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	IND	Rush	16 min

Nearby

Tornado Warnings in Indiana, 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.