Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 462

August 24, 202110 counties in Illinois; 4 counties in Wisconsin

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Aug 24, 2021, 3:55 PM CDT for 10 counties in Illinois; 4 counties in Wisconsin. It was in force for 5 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Aug 24, 2021, 3:55 PM CDT (20:55 UTC)
Expired
Aug 24, 2021, 8:32 PM CDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
1.5 in
Strongest gust expected
60 kt

Counties Boone County, IL, Cook County, IL, DeKalb County, IL, DuPage County, IL, Kane County, IL, Lake County, IL, Lee County, IL, McHenry County, IL, Ogle County, IL, Winnebago County, IL, Green County, WI, Lafayette County, WI, Rock County, WI, Walworth County, WI

The radar

The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 81 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:56 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
40%
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
20%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
70%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 24, 4:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXLafayette32 min
Aug 24, 4:18 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXIowa, Lafayette27 min
Aug 24, 4:39 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXLafayette47 min
Aug 24, 5:26 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTBoone, Lee, Ogle, Winnebago64 min
Aug 24, 5:40 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLOTBoone, McHenry4 hr
Aug 24, 6:09 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTBoone, DeKalb, Kane, Lee, McHenry, Ogle66 min
Aug 24, 6:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningMKXRock33 min
Aug 24, 6:36 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningLOTCook, DuPage, Lake3 hr
Aug 24, 7:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOTCook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry67 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

Davenport, (KDVN), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 145 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, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 2021-08-24Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1809 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, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 2021-08-24The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 35 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
1809 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-127 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1284 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
35 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
9 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

025 
WWUS20 KWNS 242052
SEL2  
SPC WW 242052
ILZ000-WIZ000-250400-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 462
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
350 PM CDT Tue Aug 24 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  northern Illinois
  southern Wisconsin

* Effective this Tuesday afternoon and evening from 350 PM until
  1100 PM CDT.

* Primary threats include...
  Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
  Scattered large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible

SUMMARY...An organized cluster of thunderstorms may continue
developing eastward out of northeastern Iowa into far southern
Wisconsin and northern Illinois, posing a risk for damaging wind
gusts before weakening this evening.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 45
statute miles north and south of a line from 40 miles west of
Rockford IL to 70 miles east of Rockford 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 461...

AVIATION...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
27035.

...Kerr

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 24, 6:00 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCJo Daviess90 min
Aug 24, 1:52 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCCarroll, Jo Daviess, Rock Island, Stephenson, Whiteside5 hr
Aug 24, 3:09 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBoone, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Winnebago66 min
Aug 24, 5:10 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBoone, Carroll, DeKalb, DuPage, Jo Daviess, Kane and 7 more2 hr
Aug 24, 2:17 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCPierce, Polk, Saint Croix7 hr
Aug 24, 3:00 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCPierce, Polk, Saint Croix2 hr
Aug 24, 7:10 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Barron, Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn and 15 more95 min
Aug 24, 9:13 AM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBrown, Calumet, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano and 3 more62 min
Aug 24, 12:44 PM CDTMesoscale DiscussionSPCCrawford, Grant, Iowa, Richland, Sauk, Vernon91 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Illinois, 2021Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Wisconsin, 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.