Alert archive / Illinois / Mesoscale Discussions in 2021

Mesoscale Discussion 1470

August 11, 202121 counties in Illinois; 5 counties in Indiana

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Aug 11, 2021, 1:20 AM CDT for 21 counties in Illinois; 5 counties in Indiana. It was in force for 115 min.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 11, 2021, 1:20 AM CDT (06:20 UTC)
Expired
Aug 11, 2021, 3:15 AM CDT
In force
115 min
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Concerning
Severe potential...watch possible
Chance of a watch
40%
All 26 counties

Bureau County, IL, Ford County, IL, Fulton County, IL, Grundy County, IL, Henry County, IL, Iroquois County, IL, Kankakee County, IL, Kendall County, IL, Knox County, IL, LaSalle County, IL, Livingston County, IL, Marshall County, IL, McLean County, IL, Peoria County, IL, Putnam County, IL, Stark County, IL, Tazewell County, IL, Vermilion County, IL, Warren County, IL, Will County, IL, Woodford County, IL, Benton County, IN, Jasper County, IN, Lake County, IN, Newton County, IN, Warren County, IN

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 91 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 06:23 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 00:00Z, 6.3 hours before the alert went out and 82 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 00:00Z on 2021-08-11Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2608 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 2021-08-11The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 167 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
2608 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-33 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1127 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
167 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
194 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

758 
ACUS11 KWNS 110620
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 110620 
INZ000-ILZ000-110815-

Mesoscale Discussion 1470
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
0120 AM CDT Wed Aug 11 2021

Areas affected...North-Central/Central IL...Far Northwest IN

Concerning...Severe potential...Watch possible 

Valid 110620Z - 110815Z

Probability of Watch Issuance...40 percent

SUMMARY...Thunderstorm development anticipated across
north-central/central IL and far northwest IN tonight. Some stronger
storms are possible and convective trends will be monitored for
potential watch issuance.

DISCUSSION...Recent IR satellite imagery shows some colder cloud
tops beginning to emerge along northern edge of low to mid-level
warm-air advection fostered by the low-level jet emanating out of
the southern Plains. This low-level jet is expected to spread
eastward/northeastward over the next few hours as an low-amplitude
shortwave trough moves out of the central Plains into IA and
southern MN. As it does, the continued warm-air advection will
likely result in convective initiation across central IL. Steep
mid-level lapse rates remain in place, fostering the potential for
strong buoyancy as the high theta-e air along the MS River is
advected northeastward. Effective bulk shear across the region also
remains strong enough for organization/rotation within any stronger,
more persistent updrafts. Even so, overall convective evolution
remains uncertain, particularly across northeast IL and adjacent
northwest IN where the low-level air mass has been stabilized by
earlier storms. 

Given the anticipated elevated character of the storms, large hail
appears to be the main severe threat. A strong cold pool could
theoretically penetrate the low-level stability and produce gusts at
the surface, but the development of such a cold pool would be
dependent on organization into a convective line, which is uncertain
at this time. Overall trends will be monitored closely for enough
storm strength and coverage to merit a watch.

..Mosier/Guyer.. 08/11/2021

...Please see www.spc.noaa.gov for graphic product...

ATTN...WFO...IWX...IND...LOT...ILX...DVN...

LAT...LON   40378995 40569106 41469047 41758968 41628793 41518739
            41188695 40338704 40138760 40308904 40378995

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 10, 7:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCKankakee5 hr
Aug 11, 4:49 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams86 min
Aug 11, 6:26 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Brown, Cass, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson and 12 more2 hr
Aug 11, 8:34 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBureau, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Ford, Grundy and 13 more86 min
Aug 11, 8:52 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCCook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee and 6 more4 hr
Aug 11, 9:52 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Lake and 1 more83 min
Aug 11, 3:56 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarroll, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Jo Daviess, Mercer and 2 more3 hr
Aug 11, 5:40 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCarroll, Jo Daviess, Stephenson95 min
Aug 10, 7:12 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDeKalb, Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Lake, LaPorte and 6 more63 min
Aug 10, 9:57 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllen, DeKalb, Elkhart, Fulton, Huntington, Jasper and 8 more93 min
Aug 11, 10:50 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAdams, Allen, Blackford, Cass, DeKalb, Elkhart and 18 more4 hr
Aug 11, 12:26 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Allen, DeKalb, Elkhart, Huntington, Kosciusko and 7 more94 min

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in Illinois, 2021Mesoscale Discussions in Indiana, 2021Every mesoscale discussion in 2021

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.