Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2016
Severe Thunderstorm Watch 45
The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Mar 15, 2016, 8:40 PM CDT for 13 counties in Illinois; 13 counties in Indiana; Berrien County, Michigan. It was in force for 4 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Mar 15, 2016, 8:40 PM CDT (01:40 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 16, 2016, 12:24 AM CDT
- In force
- 4 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 2 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 27 counties
Boone County, IL, Cook County, IL, DeKalb County, IL, DuPage County, IL, Ford County, IL, Grundy County, IL, Iroquois County, IL, Kane County, IL, Kankakee County, IL, Kendall County, IL, Lake County, IL, McHenry County, IL, Will County, IL, Benton County, IN, Cass County, IN, Fulton County, IN, Jasper County, IN, Lake County, IN, LaPorte County, IN, Marshall County, IN, Newton County, IN, Porter County, IN, Pulaski County, IN, Saint Joseph County, IN, Starke County, IN, White County, IN, Berrien County, MI
The radar
The Chicago radar (KLOT), 45 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 01:43 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 SPC expected
The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.
- Two or more tornadoes
- 10%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 5%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 20%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 10%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 40%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 30%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
8 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 15, 9:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Grundy, LaSalle, Livingston | 47 min |
| Mar 15, 9:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Ford, Iroquois, Livingston | 39 min |
| Mar 15, 9:28 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | DeKalb, Lee, Ogle | 32 min |
| Mar 15, 9:52 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Ford, Iroquois, Kankakee | 38 min |
| Mar 15, 9:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Grundy, Kendall, LaSalle, Will | 36 min |
| Mar 15, 10:22 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LOT | Iroquois, Kankakee | 23 min |
| Mar 15, 10:34 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | LOT | Kankakee | 26 min |
| Mar 15, 10:58 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT | Kankakee, Will | 34 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, 1.7 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1364 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -54 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1257 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 54 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 135 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 241 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.2
- Supercell composite
- 8.9
The text
As transmitted.
867
WWUS20 KWNS 160138
SEL5
SPC WW 160138
ILZ000-INZ000-MIZ000-LMZ000-160800-
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 45
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
835 PM CDT TUE MAR 15 2016
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF
NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS
NORTHERN INDIANA
EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN LOWER MICHIGAN
LAKE MICHIGAN
* EFFECTIVE THIS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING FROM 835 PM
UNTIL 300 AM CDT.
* PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE...
SCATTERED LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED VERY LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 2
INCHES IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE
ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE
SUMMARY...A BAND OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...WITH A FEW EMBEDDED
SUPERCELLS AND BOW ECHOES...WILL OFFER A RISK FOR DAMAGING WIND IN
THE WESTERN AND SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE WATCH AREA OVER A SLIVER OF
NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS. LARGE HAIL IS POSSIBLE ANYWHERE IN THE WATCH
INCLUDING THE CHICAGO AREA...SOUTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN AND NORTHWESTERN
INDIANA.
THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 60
STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF A LINE FROM 70 MILES SOUTH SOUTHWEST
OF VALPARAISO INDIANA TO 60 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF BENTON HARBOR
MICHIGAN. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE
ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5).
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
REMEMBER...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE
FAVORABLE FOR 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. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY
DO PRODUCE TORNADOES.
&&
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 44...
AVIATION...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 450. MEAN STORM
MOTION VECTOR 24030.
...EDWARDSSPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 15, 8:07 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cook, DuPage, Iroquois, Kankakee, Lake, Vermilion and 1 more | 53 min |
| Mar 15, 10:58 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Cass, Fulton, Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Marshall and 6 more | 92 min |
| Mar 16, 5:42 AM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Gogebic | 6 hr |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Illinois, 2016Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Indiana, 2016Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Michigan, 2016Every severe thunderstorm watch in 2016
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.