Alert archive / Iowa / Tornado Warnings in 1986
Tornado Warning 32, NWS Des Moines, IA
NWS Des Moines, IA issued this tornado warning at Sep 28, 1986, 8:51 PM CDT for Polk County, Iowa. It was in force for 29 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Sep 28, 1986, 8:51 PM CDT (01:51 UTC)
- Expired
- Sep 28, 1986, 9:20 PM CDT
- In force
- 29 min
- Issued by
- NWS Des Moines, IA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Polk 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, 1.9 hours before the alert went out and 236 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 3596 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 0 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 0 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 0 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KDSM 290206 COR TORDSM IAC153-290220- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED/EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING...RETRANSMISSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 851 PM CDT SUN SEP 28 1986 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 920 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY OF CENTRAL IOWA...NORTHERN POLK AT 850 PM...DES MOINES RADAR INDICATED A TORNADO OVER NORTHWEST POLK COUNTY...ABOUT 10 MILES NORTHWEST OF DOWNTOWN DES MOINES. THE WARNING INCLUDES THAT PORTION OF THE COUNTY NORTH OF INTERSTATE 80...AND WILL REMAIN NORTH OF DES MOINES. }THE STORM WAS MOVING EAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. } IF A TORNADO APPROACHES..TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY. A BASEMENT.. INTERIOR HALLWAY..OR A ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR IS THE SAFEST PLACE IN MOST BUILDINGS. IF YOU ARE IN A MOBILE HOME OR AN AUTOMOBILE.. LEAVE AT ONCE. TAKE COVER IN A STORM SHELTER..OR LIE IN A NEARBY DITCH OR DEPRESSION. TRUETT
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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, Sep 28, 4:41 PM CDT, 4 hours 10 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT AND RADAR SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 440 PM CDT SUN SEP 28 1986 ...TORNADO WATCH FOR MUCH OF NORTH AND WEST CENTRAL IOWA TIL 11 PM... ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH FOR THE SOUTHWEST TIL 11 PM... AT 430 PM ...NO SEVERE WEATHER REPORTED BETWEEN 415 PM AND 430 PM... ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN WERE LOCATED IN EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST IOWA. THE HEAVIEST WERE LOCATED 20 MILES NORTHWEST OFC THE QUAD CITIES AND 25 MILES SOUTHEAST OF OTTUMWA. ISOLATED THUNDERSHOWERS WERE OCCURRING IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST PARTS OF THE STATE. THE STORMS AND SHOWERS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. OBRIEN
Special weather statement, Sep 28, 4:53 PM CDT, 3 hours 58 minutes before
<PQ< SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 450 PM CDT SUN SEP 28 1986 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING IN CENTRAL IOWA... AT 445 PM...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS OCCURRING IN CENTRAL IOWA OVER NORTHWEST POLK COUNTY NEAR SAYLORVILLE LAKE...JUST NORTHWEST OF DES MOINES. THIS STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR...AND WILL MOVE THROUGH NORTHERN POLK...SOUTHEAST STORY...AND WESTERN MARSHALL COUNTIES...INCLUDING THE CITIES OF HUXLEY...CAMBRIDGE...IOWA CENTER... COLO...AND STATE CENTER...BETWEEN 450 PM AND 550 PM THIS EVENING. EXTREMELY HEAVY RAINS...WINDS OF UP TO 50 MILES AN HOUR...AND PEA TO MARBLE SIZED HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THE STORMS PASSRAGE. TRUETT
Special weather statement, Sep 28, 5:27 PM CDT, 3 hours 24 minutes before
<PQ< SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 525 PM CDT SUN SEP 28 1986 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM CONTINUES IN CENTRAL IOWA... AT 522 PM...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN CENTRAL IOWA...ALONG THE POLK-STORY COUNTY LINE 20 MILES NORTHEAST OF DES MOINES. WINDS OF UP TO 30 MILES AN HOUR HAVE OCCURRED WITH THIS STORM ALONG WITH BRIEF HEAVY RAINS...BUT NO DAMAGE HAS BEEN REPORTED. THE STORM CONTINUED MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR...AND WILL MOVE THROUGH SOUTHEAST STORY A D THE NORTHWEST HALF OF MARSHALL COUNTY ...INCLUDING THE CITIES OF IOWA CENTER...STATE CENTER...AND RHODES... BETWEEN 520 PM AND 6 PM THIS EVE|ING. EXTREMELY HEAVY RAINS...WINDS OF UP TO 50 MILES AN HOUR...AND PEA TO MARBLE SIZED HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THE STORM. < TRUETT
Special weather statement, Sep 28, 5:31 PM CDT, 3 hours 20 minutes before
<PQ< SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTION TO 2ND PARAGRAPH... NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 525 PM CDT SUN SEP 28 1986 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM CONTINUES IN CENTRAL IOWA... AT 522 PM...WEATHER SERVICE RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE A VERY STRONG THUNDERSTORM IN CENTRAL IOWA...ALONG THE POLK-STORY COUNTY LINE 20 MILES NORTH OF DES MOINES. WINDS OF UP TO 30 MILES AN HOUR HAVE OCCURRED WITH THIS STORM ALONG WITH BRIEF HEAVY RAINS...BUT NO DAMAGE HAS BEEN REPORTED. THE STORM CONTINUED MOVING NORTHEAST AT 35 MILES AN HOUR...AND WILL MOVE THROUGH SOUTHEAST STORY AND THE NORTHWEST HALF OF MARSHALL COUNTY ...INCLUDING THE CITIES OF HUXLEY...CAMBRIDGE...IOWA CENTER... NEVADA...STATE CENTER...AND CLEMMONS...BETWEEN 525 PM AND 6 PM THIS EVENING. EXTREMELY HEAVY RAINS...WINDS OF UP TO 50 MILES AN HOUR... AND PEA TO MARBLE SIZED HAIL CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THE STORM. < TRUETT
Special weather statement, Sep 28, 6:40 PM CDT, 2 hours 11 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 645 PM CDT SUN SEP 28 1986 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING OVER NORTHWEST IOWA... AT 645 PM...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE OCCURRING OVER NORTHWEST IOWA...ABOUT 10 MILES WEST OF SPENCER. THE STORM WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. SMALL HAIL...BRIEF VERY HEAVY RAINS...AND WINDS OF UP TO 50 MILES AN HOUR HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS STORM. THIS STORM WILL MOVE THROUGH NORTHWEST CLAY AND DICKINSON COUNTIES...AND THE SPIRIT LAKE AREA...BETWEEN 645 PM AND 745 PM THIS EVENING. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THIS AREA UNTIL 11 PM THIS EVENING...AND PEOPLE SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SEVERE WEATHER. TRUETT
Special weather statement, Sep 28, 8:24 PM CDT, 27 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 825 PM CDT SUN SEP 28 1986 ...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS WITH DANGEROUS LIGHTNING... AT 815 PM...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED IN A NARROW BAND FROM MASON CITY TO OMAHA. ANOTHER INTENSE STORM WAS NORTHWEST OF DES MOINES. ALL OF THESE STORMS ARE PRODUCING NEARLY CONTINOUS AND VERY DEADLY LIGHTNING. SO...STAY INDOORS AND AVOID USING ELECTRICAL APPLICANCES. SHUT OFF YOUR TELEVIS[ION. MYERS
The office that day
Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 28, 7:12 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Clay | 33 min |
| Sep 28, 7:15 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Webster | 30 min |
| Sep 28, 7:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Benton | 34 min |
| Sep 28, 8:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Dallas, Polk | 26 min |
| Sep 28, 9:17 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Jasper | 33 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Iowa, 1986Every tornado warning in 1986Tornadoes 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.