Alert archive / Illinois / Tornado Watches in 2020
Tornado Watch 376
The Storm Prediction Center issued this tornado watch at Jul 15, 2020, 6:12 PM CDT for 26 counties in Illinois. It was in force for 5 hr.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 15, 2020, 6:12 PM CDT (23:12 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 15, 2020, 11:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 5 hr
- Issued by
- the Storm Prediction Center
- Largest hail expected
- 1.5 in
- Strongest gust expected
- 60 kt
All 26 counties
Champaign County, IL, Clark County, IL, Clay County, IL, Coles County, IL, Crawford County, IL, Cumberland County, IL, Douglas County, IL, Edgar County, IL, Edwards County, IL, Franklin County, IL, Gallatin County, IL, Hamilton County, IL, Jackson County, IL, Jasper County, IL, Jefferson County, IL, Johnson County, IL, Lawrence County, IL, Perry County, IL, Richland County, IL, Saline County, IL, Union County, IL, Vermilion County, IL, Wabash County, IL, Wayne County, IL, White County, IL, Williamson County, IL
The radar
The Evansville,IN radar (KVWX), 95 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 SPC expected
The probabilities SPC published with the watch, for the watch area over its life.
- Two or more tornadoes
- 40%
- One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
- 20%
- Ten or more severe wind reports
- 50%
- One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
- 20%
- Ten or more severe hail reports
- 30%
- One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
- 10%
- Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
- 60%
Warnings issued inside it
11 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 15, 6:17 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Coles, Cumberland, Douglas, Moultrie, Shelby | 43 min |
| Jul 15, 6:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Clay, Cumberland, Effingham, Shelby | 44 min |
| Jul 15, 7:04 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Clark, Clay, Crawford, Cumberland, Effingham, Jasper and 2 more | 56 min |
| Jul 15, 7:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Jackson, Perry | 41 min |
| Jul 15, 7:40 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Jackson | 50 min |
| Jul 15, 7:52 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | PAH | Perry | 6 hr |
| Jul 15, 8:00 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | PAH | Jackson | 30 min |
| Jul 15, 8:01 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Clay, Richland | 44 min |
| Jul 15, 8:52 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PAH | Jackson, Union | 38 min |
| Jul 15, 9:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Clay, Richland | 49 min |
| Jul 15, 10:20 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | PAH | Wayne | 4 hr |
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 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 136 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
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1529 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 20 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 30 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 32 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
116 WWUS20 KWNS 152308 SEL6 SPC WW 152308 ILZ000-160400- URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 376 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 610 PM CDT Wed Jul 15 2020 The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a * Tornado Watch for portions of Eastern and southern Illinois * Effective this Wednesday evening from 610 PM until 1100 PM CDT. * Primary threats include... A couple tornadoes possible Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible SUMMARY...Severe thunderstorms currently over portions of central and southwestern Illinois may continue to pose a threat for damaging wind, isolated hail and a couple of tornadoes, before weakening in more-stable air near the Indiana line. The tornado watch area is approximately along and 30 statute miles east and west of a line from 30 miles south southeast of Mount Vernon IL to 20 miles north northwest of Danville IL. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU6). PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... 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...CONTINUE...WW 373...WW 374...WW 375... AVIATION...Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector 26025. ...Edwards
SPC that day
Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 15, 1:10 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bond, Calhoun, Cass, Christian, Clinton, Fayette and 17 more | 2 hr |
| Jul 15, 2:10 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Bond, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Christian, Clinton and 30 more | 7 hr |
| Jul 15, 2:13 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Brown, Fulton, Livingston, McDonough, McLean, Marshall and 5 more | 62 min |
| Jul 15, 3:14 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, Kankakee, Livingston | 6 hr |
| Jul 15, 5:35 PM CDT | Mesoscale Discussion | SPC | Bond, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton and 35 more | 85 min |
Nearby
Tornado Watches in Illinois, 2020Every tornado watch in 2020
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.