Alert archive / Indiana / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 400

July 29, 202124 counties in Illinois; 26 counties in Indiana; 7 counties in Michigan

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Jul 29, 2021, 1:00 AM CDT for 24 counties in Illinois; 26 counties in Indiana; 7 counties in Michigan. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Jul 29, 2021, 1:00 AM CDT (06:00 UTC)
Expired
Jul 29, 2021, 6:12 AM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
65 kt
All 57 counties

Boone County, IL, Bureau County, IL, Carroll County, IL, Cook County, IL, DeKalb County, IL, DuPage County, IL, Ford County, IL, Grundy County, IL, Iroquois County, IL, Jo Daviess County, IL, Kane County, IL, Kankakee County, IL, Kendall County, IL, Lake County, IL, LaSalle County, IL, Lee County, IL, Livingston County, IL, McHenry County, IL, Ogle County, IL, Putnam County, IL, Stephenson County, IL, Whiteside County, IL, Will County, IL, Winnebago County, IL, Adams County, IN, Allen County, IN, Benton County, IN, Cass County, IN, DeKalb County, IN, Elkhart County, IN, Fulton County, IN, Huntington County, IN, Jasper County, IN, Kosciusko County, IN, LaGrange County, IN, Lake County, IN, LaPorte County, IN, Marshall County, IN, Miami County, IN, Newton County, IN, Noble County, IN, Porter County, IN, Pulaski County, IN, Saint Joseph County, IN, Starke County, IN, Steuben County, IN, Wabash County, IN, Wells County, IN, White County, IN, Whitley County, IN, Allegan County, MI, Berrien County, MI, Branch County, MI, Cass County, MI, Kalamazoo County, MI, Saint Joseph County, MI, Van Buren County, MI

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:59 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
20%
One or more EF2 to EF5 tornadoes
10%
Ten or more severe wind reports
70%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
30%
Ten or more severe hail reports
20%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
10%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
90%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 29, 1:23 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTBoone, McHenry, Winnebago82 min
Jul 29, 1:30 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNJo Daviess, Stephenson60 min
Jul 29, 1:49 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTLake, McHenry71 min
Jul 29, 2:14 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTCook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane76 min
Jul 29, 2:58 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTCook, Grundy, Kendall, Will77 min
Jul 29, 3:05 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRAllegan, Ottawa, Van Buren55 min
Jul 29, 3:09 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXBerrien, Cass36 min
Jul 29, 3:23 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXElkhart, Kosciusko, LaPorte, Marshall, Saint Joseph52 min
Jul 29, 3:45 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTKankakee60 min
Jul 29, 3:47 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningGRRAllegan, Barry, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Van Buren58 min
Jul 29, 3:59 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXElkhart, Kosciusko, Marshall, Noble, Saint Joseph46 min
Jul 29, 4:25 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXAllen, DeKalb, Kosciusko, Noble, Whitley50 min
Jul 29, 5:07 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningIWXAllen, DeKalb38 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, 6.0 hours before the alert went out and 205 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 2021-07-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 332 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 2021-07-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 57 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
332 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-288 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1661 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
39 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
57 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
101 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

965 
WWUS20 KWNS 290558
SEL0  
SPC WW 290558
ILZ000-INZ000-MIZ000-LMZ000-291300-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 400
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
100 AM CDT Thu Jul 29 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  Northern Illinois
  Northern Indiana
  Southwestern Lower Michigan
  Lake Michigan

* Effective this Thursday morning from 100 AM until 800 AM CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Scattered damaging winds likely with isolated significant gusts
    to 75 mph possible
  Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible
  A tornado or two possible

SUMMARY...A quasi-linear convective system, with embedded severe
thunderstorms (including a supercell or two) will proceed
southeastward from Wisconsin across the watch area.  Some eastward
pivot or growth of this activity toward southwestern MI also is
possible.  Severe gusts will be the main concern, though the threat
exists for an embedded tornado or two, as well as isolated hail.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 110
statute miles east and west of a line from 40 miles east northeast
of Rockford IL to 65 miles south southeast of Valparaiso IN. For a
complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline
update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU0).

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 399...

AVIATION...A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 65 knots. A
few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 600. Mean storm motion vector
32035.

...Edwards

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 29, 12:32 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBoone, Carroll, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy and 11 more88 min
Jul 29, 1:34 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBoone, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Kendall and 3 more86 min
Jul 29, 3:18 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Iroquois, Kankakee and 4 more87 min
Jul 29, 2:19 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Brown, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Clark and 34 more116 min
Jul 29, 4:55 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Allen, Blackford, DeKalb, Grant, Huntington and 6 more95 min
Jul 29, 2:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCDearborn, Fayette, Franklin, Ohio, Ripley, Switzerland and 2 more7 hr
Jul 29, 5:34 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCDearborn, Fayette, Franklin, Henry, Rush, Union and 1 more116 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Indiana, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Illinois, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Michigan, 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.