Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1986

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 72, NWS Des Moines, IA

July 13, 1986Cass County, Iowa

NWS Des Moines, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 13, 1986, 7:55 PM CDT for Cass County, Iowa. It was in force for 65 min. 2 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jul 13, 1986, 7:55 PM CDT (00:55 UTC)
Expired
Jul 13, 1986, 9:00 PM CDT
In force
65 min
Issued by
NWS Des Moines, IA
Area
Whole counties

County Cass County, IA

The radar

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

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 13, 8:15 PM CDTHail 1.5Cass, IA
Jul 13, 8:45 PM CDTHail 1.5Cass, IA

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in. Storm Data before 1996 records only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail.

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 0.9 hours before the alert went out and 120 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 1986-07-14Temperature 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 1986-07-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 46 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
3607 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
46 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
182 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 140057
SVRDSM
IAC029-140200-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
755 PM CDT SUN JUL 13 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 900 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING
COUNTY OF

SOUTHWEST IOWA...CASS

AT 753 PM..DES MOINES WEATHER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM OVER NORTHEAST POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY..ABOUT 40
MILES NORTHEAST OF COUNCIL BLUFFS OR ABOUT 10 MILES WEST OF
ATLANTIC.

THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST 15 MILES AN HOUR..AND WILL MOVE INTO
THE ATLANTIC AREA BETWEEN 8 AND 830 PM THIS EVENING.
<
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.

TAKE COVER IF SEVERE WEATHER THREATENS YOUR AREA.  IF TIME PERMITS..
RELAY YOUR SEVERE WEATHER REPORT TO YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY..AND ASQK THEM TO RELAY THE REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE.

FERRY/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 13, 7:49 PM CDT, 6 minutes before
RADAR SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
740 PM CDT SUN JUL 13 1986

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT FOR SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA...

...THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPS IN SOUTHWEST IOWA...

AT 730 PM CDT...
A STRONG THUNDERSTORM HAD DEVELOPED OVER SOUTHWEST IOWA...25 MILES
EAST OF COUNCIL BLUFFS NEAR OAKLAND.  THIS STORM WILL PRODUCE
BRIEF HEAVY RAINS AS IT MOVES EAST AT 20 MILES AN HOUR.  THE STORM
SHOULD BE SOUTH OF ATLANTIC BY 83I0 PM.

AN INTENSE THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED IN EAST CENTRAL NEBRASKA ABOUT
35 MILES NORTHWEST OF COUNCIL BLUFFS.  THIS STORM WAS ALSO MOVING
EAST AT 20 TO 25 MILES AN HOUR AND SHOULD CROSS THE IOWA BORDER
SOUTH OF MONDAMIN BY 830 PM.

FERRY

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 13, 8:25 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXCass55 min
Jul 13, 9:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair56 min
Jul 13, 9:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXCass35 min
Jul 13, 10:13 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAudubon, Cass32 min
Jul 13, 10:20 PM CDTTornado WarningDMXAudubon, Cass30 min
Jul 13, 10:36 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair39 min
Jul 13, 10:41 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDMXAdair89 min
Jul 13, 11:04 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXClarke, Madison, Union36 min
Jul 13, 11:40 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXClarke, Lucas60 min
Jul 14, 12:15 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXClarke, Decatur, Lucas, Wayne45 min
Jul 14, 12:58 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAppanoose, Wayne62 min
Jul 14, 3:00 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXAdair30 min
Jul 14, 9:18 AM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDMXClay42 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; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.