Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2006

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 76, NWS Chicago, IL

May 17, 2006Grundy County, Kendall County, Will County, Illinois

NWS Chicago, IL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 17, 2006, 3:38 PM CDT for Grundy County, Kendall County, Will County, Illinois. It was in force for 52 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
May 17, 2006, 3:38 PM CDT (20:38 UTC)
Expired
May 17, 2006, 4:30 PM CDT
In force
52 min
Issued by
NWS Chicago, IL
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Grundy County, IL, Kendall County, IL, Will County, IL

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 17, 12:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 8.6 hours before the alert went out and 146 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 2006-05-17Temperature 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 2006-05-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 65 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1308 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
65 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
102 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 May 17, 2:15 PM CDT, 1 hour 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 17, 2:15 PM CDT, 1 hour 23 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL
215 PM CDT WED MAY 17 2006

.DISCUSSION...
FOR AFTERNOON ZONES/GRIDS...
PRESENTLY...VIGOROUS UPR VORT N OF LAKE SUP SEEN ON WATER VAPOR
SATELLITE IMAGERY. MORNING ANALYSIS INDICATED HUGE HGT FALLS AND
VERY COLD AIR AT H5 ACROSS NRN MN/ONTARIO. H5-H7 DELTA T NEAR
20...INDICATING STEEP MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES ACROSS DAKOTAS...
MN...ONTARIO ADVECTING SSE. NE IL AND NW IN IN LEFT FRONT REGION OF
STRONG UPR LEVEL JET. ONLY THING MISSING IS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE.
DEWPOINTS IN LOWER 50S ARE MARGINAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER. AREA OF
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS MOVING
THROUGH THE REGION ATTM. MAIN THREAT WILL BE SMALL TO MODERATE
HAIL. CONVECTION SHOULD DIMINISH TO SHOWERS AFTER DARK AND END BY
MIDNIGHT.

LOOKS LIKE NRN IL/NW IN WILL BE IN SOMEWHAT SUBSIDENT REGIME THU.
ALSO DRIER AIR AT SURFACE. HOWEVER...SHOULD BE ENOUGH MORNING
INSOLATION...LINGERING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE...AND SUFFICIENTLY COLD
ALOFT FOR INSTABILITY CU AND PERHAPS A FEW SHOWERS.

NEXT CHANCE OF RAIN APPEARS TO BE SAT NIGHT AS BAROCLINIC ZONE SETS
UP BUT NOT MUCH IN THE WAY OF A MID LEVEL WAVE. WILL CONTINUE CHANCE
POPS FOR NOW.

STRONG UPPER LOW PUSHING INTO THE WEST COAST MAY FINALLY BREAK THE
PATTERN AND SHIFT FLATTENING WESTERN US RIDGE INTO MIDWEST NEXT
WEEK. IF THIS IS PANS OUT CHICAGO COULD GET FIRST TASTE OF SUMMER
WITH TEMPS WELL INTO THE 80S BY WED/THU. HOWEVER SINCE THIS IS THE
MODEL WORLD AND NOT THE REAL WORLD...WILL PLAY IT CONSERVATIVE AND
TEMPER WARM UP WITH FCST HIGHS AROUND 80 MID WEEK. COULD BE ANOTHER
CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS BY TUE NIGHT OR WED BUT WOULD LIKE TO SEE
ANOTHER MODEL RUN WITH SOME CONSISTENCY BEFORE JUMPING ON PRECIP
FORECAST THAT FAR OUT IN FORECAST.

ALLSOPP
&&

.AVIATION DISCUSSION REGARDING 18Z TAFS...

104 PM CDT

MAIN AVIATION CONCERNS ARE THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL FOR NEXT SVRL
HOURS...ALONG WITH WINDS/WIND SHIFT WITH COLD FROPA THROUGH THIS
EVENING.

IMPRESSIVE MID LEVEL SHORT WAVE TROUGH DIGGING THROUGH UPPER MIDWEST
THIS AFTERNOON...AND WILL CONTINUE TO PROPAGATE SOUTH/SOUTHEASTWARD
AND ACROSS FCST AREA THROUGH THIS EVENING. STRONG SYNOPTIC SCALE
FORCING INDICATED BOTH IN SATELLITE/PROFILER OBS AND NUMERICAL MODEL
FCSTS. THUNDERSTORMS BECOMING INCREASINGLY LIKELY NEXT FEW HOURS AS
COMBINATION OF MID/UPPER LVL SPEED MAX APPROACHES...WITH LLVL WAA
AND COOLING ALOFT INCREASING INSTABILITY WITH RUC FCST MLCAPES
500-750 J/KG. 0-6 KM BULK SHEAR INCREASING INTO 40-50 KT RANGE
THROUGH AFTN SUPPORTS CONVECTIVE ORGANIZATION AND SVR
POTENTIAL...ALONG WITH FAIRLY HIGH CONFIDENCE IN TAFS. SVR TSTM
WATCH NOW IN EFFECT THROUGH 7 PM CDT FOR ALL TERMINAL SITES. TRW
ALREADY DEVELOPING RAPIDLY ACROSS WI VCNTY COLD POOL ALOFT AND
REGION OF UPPER DIVERGENCE IN LEFT EXIT REGION OF UPPER JET. THUS
HAVE MOVED TSRA TIMING UP AN HOUR OR TWO FROM PREVIOUS FCST INTO
19-20Z TIME FRAME. EXPECT MAIN TSRA THREAT AT TERMINALS TO BE
THROUGH LATE AFTN...DIMINISHING RAPIDLY WITH COLD FROPA 22-24Z. SHRA
MAY CONTINUE INTO EARLY EVENING AS MID LEVEL TROUGH AXIS MOVES
THROUGH...THOUGH SHOULD BE SOUTH OF TERMINALS BY MID EVENING AS
SUBSIDENCE BECOMES DOMINANT AND LOW LEVEL INSTABILITY DECREASES WITH
SUNSET AND LLVL COOL/DRY ADVECTION. SUBSIDENCE APPEARS STRONG ENOUGH
THAT STRAOCU DECK TRAILING FRONT SHOULD SCATTER OUT OVERNIGHT.
ANOTHER MORE SHEARED MID LEVEL VORT MAX APPROACHES MID DAY
THURSDAY...THOUGH INSTABILITY CONSIDERABLY LESS AND FOR NOW EXPECT
PERHAPS JUST BROKEN VFR STRATOCU DECK TO FORM MID/LATE MORNING.

FOR WINDS...WESTERLY GRADIENT AHEAD OF APPROACHING COLD FRONT THIS
AFTERNOON...WITH POTENTIAL FOR SOME GUSTINESS TO 20 KTS OR SO AT
TIMES. APPEARS FROPA WILL OCCUR 22-24Z ACROSS TERMINALS...WITH
WINDSHIFT TO NORTH. GRADUAL DECREASE AND SHIFT BACK TO MORE NW
EXPECTED LATER THIS EVENING WITH MAIN PRESSURE RISE/ISALLOBARIC
GRADIENT PASSING WEST OF FCST AREA ACROSS IOWA. SOME GUSTINESS AGAIN
MID/LATE THURS MORNING FROM NW AS LOW LEVELS MIX OUT.

RATZER

&&

.LOT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
.IL...NONE.
.IN...NONE.
.LM...NONE.

&&
Hazardous weather outlook, May 17, 4:30 AM CDT, 11 hours 8 minutes before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 17, 2:48 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTDeKalb26 min
May 17, 4:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTLake, McHenry55 min
May 17, 5:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTCook50 min
May 17, 5:18 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLOT27 min
May 17, 5:48 PM CDTSpecial Marine WarningLOT27 min
May 17, 6:02 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTDuPage, Kane, Kendall, Will43 min
May 17, 6:28 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTGrundy, Will28 min
May 17, 6:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTLake, Porter46 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 2006Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2006

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.