Author: Jim Angel

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On this Date in 1953, First Documented Tornado Hook Echo Captured on Radar

Today is the 62nd anniversary of the first documented case of a tornado detected by radar. Illinois State Water Survey staff, at Willard Airport in Champaign, IL, captured the historic event on film on April 9, 1953. This discovery helped lead to the first national weather radar network in the United States.

Radar hook echo
First recorded radar hook echo associated with a tornado, April 9, 1953, near Champaign, IL. The radar was located to the south of Champaign-Urbana at Willard Airport. The tornado was located north of Champaign-Urbana. Photo by Illinois State Water Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois. 

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Hail in Champaign-Urbana

Here is a shot of the hail dents on our hailpad at the Illinois State Water Survey in Champaign from this morning’s storm. Most of the dents where in the 1/4 to 1/2 inch range.

To construct a hailpad, we use sections of flourist or floral foam covered with aluminum foil. It is low tech but an excellent way to record hail sizes and density, especially when no one is around.

hail-april8-2015

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Cold, Snowy March for Illinois

Temperature

The statewide average temperature for March was 38.2 degrees, 3.1 degrees below average. This follows on the heels of a slightly colder-than-average January and much colder-than-average February. As a result, the year-to-date temperature for Illinois was 27.8 degrees, 5.1 degrees below average and the 16th coldest on record. In comparison, the same period in 2014 was 24.4 degrees and the 4th coldest on record.

According to the latest NWS forecasts, the first two weeks of April are expected to be warmer-than-average.

Precipitation

prcpmo1
March precipitation – click to enlarge.

The statewide precipitation for March was 2.44 inches, 0.52 inches below average. However, it was not evenly distributed (left). Northern Illinois was dry with less than 2 inches of precipitation in many locations. Central Illinois was close to average with 2 to 4 inches widely reported. On the other hand, Southern Illinois was much wetter with 4 to 8 inches of precipitation (shades of blue). The largest reported total for the month was in Belknap (far southern Illinois) with 8.43 inches.

The heavy rains in southern Illinois contributed to moderate flooding on tributaries of the Wabash and Ohio Rivers.

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