Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 282

June 18, 202139 counties in Illinois

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Jun 18, 2021, 9:20 PM CDT for 39 counties in Illinois. It was in force for 7 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jun 18, 2021, 9:20 PM CDT (02:20 UTC)
Expired
Jun 19, 2021, 4:00 AM CDT
In force
7 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
2 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt
All 39 counties

Cass County, IL, Champaign County, IL, Christian County, IL, Clark County, IL, Clay County, IL, Coles County, IL, Crawford County, IL, Cumberland County, IL, DeWitt County, IL, Douglas County, IL, Edgar County, IL, Effingham County, IL, Fayette County, IL, Fulton County, IL, Greene County, IL, Jasper County, IL, Knox County, IL, Lawrence County, IL, Logan County, IL, Macon County, IL, Macoupin County, IL, Marshall County, IL, Mason County, IL, McLean County, IL, Menard County, IL, Montgomery County, IL, Morgan County, IL, Moultrie County, IL, Peoria County, IL, Piatt County, IL, Richland County, IL, Sangamon County, IL, Schuyler County, IL, Scott County, IL, Shelby County, IL, Stark County, IL, Tazewell County, IL, Vermilion County, IL, Woodford County, IL

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 13 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:22 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
60%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
20%
Ten or more severe hail reports
70%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
50%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
90%

Warnings issued inside it

17 tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for its counties while it was in force.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 18, 9:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXClark, Cumberland46 min
Jun 18, 10:24 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXKnox, Peoria36 min
Jun 18, 10:32 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXClark, Crawford25 min
Jun 18, 11:06 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXKnox39 min
Jun 18, 11:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXClark46 min
Jun 18, 11:47 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXFulton, Knox, Peoria43 min
Jun 18, 11:57 PM CDTTornado WarningILXFulton, Knox33 min
Jun 19, 12:13 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXFulton, Mason, Peoria, Tazewell47 min
Jun 19, 12:26 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningILXClark6 hr
Jun 19, 12:28 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningILXFulton, Knox5 hr
Jun 19, 12:52 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXLogan, McLean, Mason, Tazewell38 min
Jun 19, 1:19 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXLogan, McLean, Tazewell41 min
Jun 19, 1:23 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMcLean52 min
Jun 19, 1:53 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningILXColes, Douglas, Edgar5 hr
Jun 19, 1:59 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXEdgar46 min
Jun 19, 2:19 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningILXMcLean41 min
Jun 19, 3:29 AM CDTFlash Flood WarningILXChampaign, Douglas, Edgar, Vermilion3 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 00:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 64 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 2021-06-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2124 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 2021-06-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 165 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
2124 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-145 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1616 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
165 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
200 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
4.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

769 
WWUS20 KWNS 190217
SEL2  
SPC WW 190217
ILZ000-190900-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 282
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
920 PM CDT Fri Jun 18 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  Central and Eastern Illinois

* Effective this Friday night and Saturday morning from 920 PM
  until 400 AM CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Scattered large hail likely with isolated very large hail events
    to 2 inches in diameter possible
  Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely

SUMMARY...Strong to severe thunderstorms are expected to develop
this evening across central to east-central/southeast Illinois, with
additional storms also potentially moving into the region late
tonight from the west. Large hail and damaging winds can be expected
with the strongest storms given the degree of instability and
moderately strong belt of west-northwesterly winds aloft.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 60
statute miles north and south of a line from 50 miles west northwest
of Springfield IL to 40 miles east of Mattoon IL. For a complete
depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU2).

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 279...WW 280...WW 281...

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 600. Mean storm motion vector
29025.

...Guyer

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 18, 8:53 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBond, Brown, Cass, Christian, Clark, Clay and 26 more97 min
Jun 18, 9:27 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Brown, Hancock, Henderson, McDonough, Mercer and 2 more2 hr
Jun 18, 10:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAdams, Brown, Bureau, Hancock, Henderson, Henry and 6 more8 hr
Jun 19, 2:10 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Brown, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Clark and 27 more2 hr
Jun 19, 11:15 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCEffingham, Fayette, Greene, Macoupin, Montgomery, Morgan and 1 more2 hr
Jun 19, 2:12 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBond, Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin and 7 more93 min
Jun 19, 2:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCBond, Calhoun, Clinton, Fayette, Greene, Jersey and 9 more7 hr
Jun 19, 5:11 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCalhoun, Clinton, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison and 6 more64 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Illinois, 2021Every severe thunderstorm watch 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.