Alert archive / Wisconsin / Severe Thunderstorm Watches in 2021

Severe Thunderstorm Watch 567

December 15, 20214 counties in Illinois; Delta County, Menominee County, Michigan; 28 counties in Wisconsin

The Storm Prediction Center issued this severe thunderstorm watch at Dec 15, 2021, 9:44 PM CST for 4 counties in Illinois; Delta County, Menominee County, Michigan; 28 counties in Wisconsin. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Dec 15, 2021, 9:44 PM CST (03:44 UTC)
Expired
Dec 16, 2021, 1:00 AM CST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
the Storm Prediction Center
Largest hail expected
0.5 in
Strongest gust expected
70 kt
All 34 counties

Boone County, IL, Lee County, IL, Ogle County, IL, Winnebago County, IL, Delta County, MI, Menominee County, MI, Brown County, WI, Calumet County, WI, Columbia County, WI, Dane County, WI, Dodge County, WI, Door County, WI, Fond du Lac County, WI, Forest County, WI, Green County, WI, Green Lake County, WI, Jefferson County, WI, Kewaunee County, WI, Langlade County, WI, Lincoln County, WI, Manitowoc County, WI, Marinette County, WI, Menominee County, WI, Oconto County, WI, Oneida County, WI, Outagamie County, WI, Rock County, WI, Shawano County, WI, Sheboygan County, WI, Walworth County, WI, Washington County, WI, Waukesha County, WI, Waupaca County, WI, Winnebago County, WI

The radar

The Green Bay radar (KGRB), 26 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:43 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
2%
Ten or more severe wind reports
70%
One or more gusts of 65 knots or more
30%
Ten or more severe hail reports
5%
One or more hailstones of 2 inches or more
5%
Six or more combined severe hail and wind reports
80%

Warnings issued inside it

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 15, 9:55 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatGRBLanglade, Lincoln, Marathon, Portage, Waushara, Wood65 min
Dec 15, 10:45 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm Warning Considerable damage threatGRBForest, Langlade, Menominee, Oconto, Oneida, Shawano and 1 more45 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

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 00:00Z, 3.7 hours before the alert went out and 24 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 00:00Z on 2021-12-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 29 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, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 00:00Z on 2021-12-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 689 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
29 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-469 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
505 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
689 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
687 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

691 
WWUS20 KWNS 160342
SEL7  
SPC WW 160342
ILZ000-MIZ000-WIZ000-LMZ000-160700-

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 567
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
945 PM CST Wed Dec 15 2021

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of 
  Northern Illinois
  Southern Upper Michigan
  Eastern Wisconsin
  Lake Michigan

* Effective this Wednesday night and Thursday morning from 945 PM
  until 100 AM CST.

* Primary threats include...
  Scattered damaging winds likely with isolated significant gusts
    to 80 mph possible
  A tornado or two possible

SUMMARY...A fast-moving line of thunderstorms will spread across the
watch area during the next few hours.  This line has resulted in
numerous reports of wind damage during the past few hours, and will
likely remain capable of at least occasional severe wind gusts until
after midnight.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 50
statute miles east and west of a line from 30 miles northwest of
Escanaba MI to 50 miles southwest of Rockford IL. For a complete
depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update
(WOUS64 KWNS WOU7).

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 565...WW 566...

AVIATION...A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
0.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 70 knots. A
few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 450. Mean storm motion vector
24055.

...Hart

SPC that day

Everything else SPC issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 15, 6:00 PM CSTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPCAdams, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Fulton, Greene and 6 more6 hr
Dec 15, 9:48 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAdams, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Fulton, Greene and 16 more87 min
Dec 15, 7:11 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCAllamakee, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Chickasaw and 13 more2 hr
Dec 15, 9:03 PM CSTMesoscale DiscussionSPCBarron, Chippewa, Clark, Eau Claire, Forest, Langlade and 14 more117 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Watches in Wisconsin, 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.