Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1986

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 68, NWS Des Moines, IA

July 8, 1986Guthrie County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 8, 1986, 7:28 PM CDT for Guthrie County, Iowa. It was in force for 36 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 8, 1986, 7:28 PM CDT (00:28 UTC)
Expired
Jul 8, 1986, 8:04 PM CDT
In force
36 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Whole counties

County Guthrie County, IA

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 0.5 hours before the alert went out and 161 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1986-07-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 1986-07-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 68 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
3591 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
68 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
105 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KDSM 090032
SVRDSM
IAC077-090110-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
728 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 810 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTY OF

WEST CENTRAL IOWA...GUTHRIE

AT 730 PM..DES MOINES WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM ALONG THE AUDUBON-GUTHRIE COUNTY LINE..ABOUT
10 MILES WEST OF GUTHRIE CENTER OR ABOUT 50 MILES WEST OF
DES MOINES.

THE STORM WAS MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

REMEMBER..A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAN PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS
OF 60 MPH..LARGE HAIL..DEADLY LIGHTNING..AND HEAVY RAINS THAT CAN
QUICKLY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS.  PEOPLE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM
SHOULD TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION IMMEDIATELY.

IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES..YOU SHOULD GO TO A SAFE PLACE
IMMEDIATELY.  IF SEVERE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE OBSERVED..PLEASE ASK
THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

SCHUMACHER/TRUETT

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 8, 1:50 PM CDT, 5 hours 38 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1 45PM CDT TUE JUL 8 1986

AT 130 PM CDT...NO SEVERE WEATHER HAD BEEN REPORTED IN IOWA.

SCOTT
Special weather statement, Jul 8, 2:42 PM CDT, 4 hours 46 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
2 35PM CDT TUE JUL 8 1986

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF NORTHWEST AND
NORTH CENTRAL IOWA UNTIL 7PM THIS EVENING.

AT 230 PM CDT...NO SEVERE WEATHER HAD BEEN REPORTED IN IOWA..HOWEVER
A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSHOWERS HAD ENTERED EXTREME NORTHWEST IOWA
AND WERE LOCATED NEAR SIOUX CENTER..ABOUT 35 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SIOUX
FALLS.

HEAVIER THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED IN SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL
MINNESOTA..AND IN NORTHEAST NEBRASKA.

THESE THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR..
AND WILL BE ENTERING IOWA NEAR SPIRIT LAKE..AND ALSO NEAR SIOUX CITY.
|
SCOTT
Special weather statement, Jul 8, 3:41 PM CDT, 3 hours 47 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
339 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 1986

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF NORTHWEST AND
NORTH CENTRAL IOWA UNTIL 7PM THIS EVENING.

NO SEVERE WEATHER WAS REPORTED IN IOWA BETWEEN 235 AND 335 PM CDT.

AT 331 PM CDT...
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED OVER EXTREME NORTHWEST
IOWA.  THEY WERE GENERALLY BETWEEN SIOUX CITY AND THE SPENCER AREA.

A VERY STRONG STORM WAS LOCATED OVER NORTHEAST NEBRASKA.  THIS STORM
WILL MOVE INTO THE ONAWA AREA OF WEST CENTRAL IOWA BY 400 PM.

THE SHOWERS AND STORMS WERE MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

SCHUMACHER
Special weather statement, Jul 8, 4:42 PM CDT, 2 hours 46 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
438 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 1986

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF NORTHWEST AND
NORTH CENTRAL IOWA UNTIL 7PM THIS EVENING.

NO SEVERE WEATHER WAS REPORTED IN IOWA BETWEEN 335 AND 435 PM CDT.

AT 434 PM CDT...
VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING OVER NORTH CENTRAL..NORTHWEST
AND PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL IOWA.  THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE IN A 20 MILE
WIDE AREA EXTENDING FROM 30 MILES SOUTHEAST OF SIOUX CITY..TO NEAR
SPENCER..THEN EAST TO JUST NORTH OF MASON CITY.  THESE STORMS WILL
PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAIN..GUSTY WINDS AND POSSIBLY SOME SMALL HAIL.

ELSEWHERE..A FEW THUNDERSHOWERS HAD DEVELOPED OVER EAST CENTRAL IOWA.
THEY WERE IN AND JUST NORTH OF CEDAR RAPIDS.

THE STORMS WERE ALL MOVING EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.  BOTH AREAL
COVERAGE AND INTENSITY WERE INCREASING.

SCHUMACHER

The office that day

Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 8, 7:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAudubon37 min
Jul 8, 8:25 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXPoweshiek22 min
Jul 8, 9:05 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXPoweshiek25 min
Jul 8, 9:39 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXRinggold, Taylor26 min
Jul 8, 10:31 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXDecatur29 min
Jul 8, 10:45 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAppanoose, Monroe30 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 1986Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1986

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.