Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1986

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 9, NWS Quad Cities, IA

July 8, 1986Muscatine County, Scott County, Iowa; Rock Island County, Illinois

NWS Quad Cities, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 8, 1986, 9:20 PM CDT for Muscatine County, Scott County, Iowa; Rock Island County, Illinois. It was in force for 40 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jul 8, 1986, 9:20 PM CDT (02:20 UTC)
Expired
Jul 8, 1986, 10:00 PM CDT
In force
40 min
Issued by
NWS Quad Cities, IA
Area
Whole counties

Counties Muscatine County, IA, Scott County, IA, Rock Island County, IL

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

Peoria Regional, IL (KPIA), launched 00:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 137 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, Peoria Regional, IL at 00:00Z on 1986-07-09Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1445 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, Peoria Regional, IL at 00:00Z on 1986-07-09The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 129 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
1445 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-29 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1379 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
129 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
208 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.3
Supercell composite
7.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
TTAA00 KMLI 090220
SVRMLI
IAC163-139-ILC161-090300-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOLINE IL
920 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 1986

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 
WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1000 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING 
COUNTIES OF

EXTREME EAST IOWA...SOUTHERN SCOTT AND MUSCATINE
NORTHWEST ILLINOIS...SOUTHERN ROCK-ISLAND

AT 915 PM CDT RADAR SHOWED  SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHWEST
 AND NORTHEAST MUSCATINE COUNTY MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH.

 SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN PRODUCE ANY OR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:
 DAMAGING WINDS OF 58 MPH OR MORE..HAIL 3/4 INCH IN DIAMETER OR
 LARGER. TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOWLAND AND
 URBAN FLOODING MAY ALSO ACCOMPANY THIS STORM.

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

BOoBLETT

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, 5:45 PM CDT, 3 hours 35 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DUBUQUE IA
545 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 1986

...INTENSE THUNDERSTORMS MOVING THROUGH JONES COUNTY IN EASTCENTRAL
   IOWA...

AT 540 PM THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUED TO STRENGTHEN AS THEY MOVED EAST
THOUGH JONES COUNTY IN NORTHEAST IOWA.

LOCATION OF THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF JONES
COUNTY..10 MILES SOUTH AND EAST OF ANAMOSA..45 MILES SOUTHWEST OF
DUBUQUE.  MOVEMENT WAS EAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR.

THESE STORMS MAY PRODUCE STRONG WIND..HEAVY RAIN AND POSSIBLE PEA TO
MARBLE SIZE HAIL AS THEY MOVE THROUGH.

PERSONS IN JONES COUNTY SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THESE INTENSE STORMS AND
IF THREATENING WEATHER IS SIGHTED..TAKE COVER IMMEDIOATELY.

KOWALSKI
Special weather statement, Jul 8, 6:20 PM CDT, 3 hours before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOLINE IL
620 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 1986

...HEAVY RAINFALL AND STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS EASTERN
IOWA AND INTO NORTHWESTERN ILLINOIS...

AT 615 PM..RADAR SHOWED A 25 MILE WIDE BAND OF SHOWERS AND STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING FROM NORTH OF CEDAR RAPIDS TO NORTH OF
OF CLINTON..BOTH IN IOWA TO SOUTH OF STERLING ILLINOIS.

SOME OF THESE STORMS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY VERY HEAVY DOWNPOURS..
SMALL HAIL AND STRONG WINDS.  THIS COUPLED WITH THE SLOW MOVEMENT
OF THE STORMS WILL CAUSE SOME SMALL STREAM AND URBAN FLOODING IN
SOUTHERN CEDAR..NORTHERN CLINTON AND SOUTHERN JACKSON COUNTIES
IN EASTERN IOWA AND SOUTHERN WHITESIDE COUNTY IN NORTHWESTERN
ILLINOIS.

PERSONS ALONG STREAMS SUBJECT TO RAPID RISES SHOULD BE PREPARED TO
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND./WIGGINS
Special weather statement, Jul 8, 7:54 PM CDT, 1 hour 26 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOLINE IL
755 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 1986

AT 750 PM..RADAR SHOWED A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG
THE WAPSI RIVER BETWEEN CLINTON AND SCOTT COUNTIES IN EASTERN
IOWA.

THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS REPORTS OF STRONG WINDS RESULTING IN
SOME TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN.  HEAVY DOWNPOURS WERE ALSO
OCCURRING AND PRODUCING SMALL STREAM..LOWLAND AND URBAN
FLOODING.

PERSONS ALONG STREAMS SUBJECT TO RAPID; RISES SHOULD BE PREPARED
TO MOVE TO A SAFE PLACE.

WIGGINS
Special weather statement, Jul 8, 8:07 PM CDT, 1 hour 13 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DUBUQUE IA
805 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 1986

...HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ACROSS EASTERN IOWA...

AT 800 PM HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS WERE MOVING ACROSS SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF
JONES AND JACKSON COUNTIES OF EASTCENTRAL IOWA.  THE STRONGEST OF
THESE STORMS WERE ALONG AN EAST - WEST LINE FROM 30 MILES SOUTHWEST
OF DUBUQUE TO 35 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DUBUQUE.  OTHER HEAVY THUNDER-
STORMS WILL BE MOVNING ACROSS SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF DUBUQUE COUNTY.

THESE STORMS HAVE PRODUCED IN EXCESS OF TWO INCHES OF RAIN IN A 2
HOUR PERIOD.  SMALL STREAM AND ROADWAY FLOODING CAN BE EXPECTED AS
THESE STORMS MOVE TO THE SOUTHEAST AT 35 MILES AND HOUR.

PERSONS IN JONES AND JACKSON AND DUBUQUE COUNTIES OF EASTERN IOWA
SHOULD BE ALERT FOR THESE INTENSE STORMS AND IF THREATENING WEATHER
IS SIGHTED..TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY.

ASMUS
Special weather statement, Jul 8, 9:00 PM CDT, 20 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOLINE IL
900 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 1986

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVY RAIN MOVING TOWARD THE QUAD
CITIES...

AT 855 PM CDT..RADAR SHOWED A 20 MILE WIDE LINE OF STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS OVER EASTERN IOWA AND NORTHWESTERN ILLINOIS.
IT EXTENDED FROM IOWA CITY TO JUST NORTH OF THE QUAD CITIES
TO LA SALLE/PERU ILLINOIS.

THE LINE WAS MOVING TO THE SOUTHEAST ABOUT 25 MPH AND WAS
ROUGHLY ALONG I-80.

TiHESE STORMS ARE LIKLEY TO BE ACCOMPANIED BY HEAVY DOWNPOURS..
STRONG WINDS..HAIL AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING.

WIGGINS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Quad Cities, IA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jul 8, 7:35 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNClinton, Scott25 min
Jul 8, 8:51 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDVNCedar, Clinton, Scott3 hr
Jul 8, 7:10 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNWhiteside20 min
Jul 8, 8:29 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningDVNWhiteside31 min
Jul 8, 8:51 PM CDTFlash Flood WarningDVNRock Island, Whiteside3 hr

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 1986Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 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.